Inverkeithing’s biggest
Friary Gardens
Park or garden
0.6 ha (2 acres)0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Inverkeithing
Queen Street, The Friary Including Well and Vaulted Cellars Grade I
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Dunpharlain · CC BY-SA 3.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Inverkeithing · parks, paths & countryside
Inverkeithing is on the coast, on the Fife Coastal Path
The sea makes up 33% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 62 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 5.0 for every square kilometre. 97% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Inverkeithing has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
1.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
97%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
62 km
5.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
The sea
33%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Inverkeithing?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast33% of the area within 5 km is sea; 27 beaches mapped.A park on every doorstep97% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.On a long-distance trailThe Fife Coastal Path passes through.
Inverkeithing’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by parks close to every home.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Inverkeithing’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Inverkeithing
The biggest is Friary Gardens, 0.6 ha (2 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Witchknowe Park
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)
0.5 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
Almost everyone in Inverkeithing lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (97%)Further (4%)
Inverkeithing97%
Fife towns93%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 59 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 89 residents.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Inverkeithing is on the Fife Coastal Path
62 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Inverkeithing and the kilometre around it, 5.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
Fife Coastal Path14.0 km
Fife Pilgrim Way7.9 km
Forth Bridges Trail2.7 km
The Fife Coastal Path, a national route, passes Inverkeithing. The regional route here is the Fife Pilgrim Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Inverkeithing: May, June, August and September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 7.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.6 | 17.0 | 15.1 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 7.0 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 80 | 51 | 54 | 48 | 41 | 61 | 78 | 67 | 54 | 78 | 92 | 79 |
May is the driest month (41 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 92 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in Inverkeithing →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Inverkeithing
33% of the area within 5 km of Inverkeithing is sea. 27 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
Drum Sands3.0 mi from town
DirectionsThe Fife Coastal Path passes the town.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by SEPA; check it before swimming.
Things to do
7 viewpoints and 59 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 7
Forth Railway Bridge Viewpoint1.0 mi from town
DirectionsForth Bridge Viewpoint1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 5 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 2
Castlandhill85 m (279 ft) · 0.3 mi from town
DirectionsFerry Hills71 m (233 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Battery Point Picnic Area1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 59
Pierhead Play Park0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 58 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Run Free Secure Dog Fields0.0 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 1
Fordell Firs1.1 mi from town
DirectionsSlipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
RosythDalgety Bay and HillendDunfermlineSouth QueensferryCrossgatesKirklistonInverkeithing
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverkeithing | – | 1.7 | 97% | 0% |
| Rosyth 1.2 mi | – | 1.3 | 84% | 0% |
| Dalgety Bay and Hillend 1.5 mi | – | 1.7 | 95% | 0% |
| Dunfermline 3.0 mi | – | 2.8 | 94% | 0% |
| South Queensferry 3.2 mi | – | 0.9 | 75% | 0% |
| Crossgates 3.7 mi | – | 0.3 | 80% | 0% |
| Kirkliston 5.1 mi | – | 3.0 | 97% | 0% |
None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Inverkeithing
What is the biggest park in Inverkeithing?
Friary Gardens, 0.6 ha (2 acres). Witchknowe Park (0.3 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Inverkeithing near a National Park?
No National Park or National Scenic Area is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Inverkeithing.
What are the best walks near Inverkeithing?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Fife Coastal Path, Fife Pilgrim Way and Forth Bridges Trail.
How many people in Inverkeithing live near a park?
97% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Inverkeithing?
May, June, August and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Inverkeithing’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Inverkeithing’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.