Lochgelly Heritage (2.5 miles)
From the railway station, proceed uphill. Number 28 is the house where I grew up. Keep a straight course along the main road past the Lochgelly Centre - a popular venue for all kinds of events. The main shopping area has a tight bend to the right and a sculpture has been installed to commemorate the town's mining past. Cross over to the chip shop and head along the eastern tail of Main Street beyond a no-entry traffic sign. At the junction with High Street, start climbing again. In case you didn't know, Lochgelly is the most elevated town in Fife. It also becomes apparent that "High Street" is named in the literal sense!
At the T-junction, turn left down The Avenue then left again into the public park. A commanding view of Benarty Hill dominates the skyline. Make your way down the slope, bearing right to where the ground levels out. An information point marks the official start of the Lochgelly Heritage Trail - opened in 2017. You are standing on the site of the Jenny Gray Colliery and you can read all about Lochgelly's industrial days. The route takes us along a flat tarmac path beside allotments and this was formerly a mineral railway line. Cross the busy Auchterderran Road (my grandparents lived at number 55) and follow the trail markers through a warren of lanes to reach a patch of grassy banking with an information board and bench. Fine views are available across central Fife.
This area was formerly known as Wheel Brae. Steel cables hauled coal wagons between the Jenny Gray pit and the railway sidings at the bottom of the town. The path descends a shallow flight of steps and passes under the Fife Circle line. Beyond the scrap yard to your left was the town gasworks. On the other side of the railway, we skirt around an industrial estate where the Nellie Pit was once situated. The Lochgelly mines were all gone by the end of the 1960s but some opencast operations continued and many men were employed in pits further afield. A farm road brings us back to the B920 opposite Lochgelly High School. The railway station is a short walk from here.
