Culross Abbey

📌 Culross, Fife
★★

🛠️ Parts of abbey closed for masonry work; rest of site open (checked April 2024)

What is probably the oldest part of Culross is easily missed, at the very top of the village and an uphill hobble through narrow streets from the centre. Here you’ll find the ruins of Culross Abbey: an ancient monastery established by Cistercian monks from Kinloss Abbey in 1217, set on a steep slope. A few centuries later the story becomes a little confusing; the abbot first ordered the demolition of much of the nave around 1500, before adding a tower on top of the remains. The Reformation was soon to come, after which the main, higher parts of the abbey became a parish church, with various redesigns over the following centuries. Today the parish church is still used for worship (and itself worth a look inside). The ruins of the rest of the original abbey are mostly entered from a lower level, with access into the vaulted refectory by a metal ladder. The unusual layout of abbey and church make for an interesting visit, well worth the energy required to get here.