Above is a 'then and now' comparison of the west end of Lower Largo's Main Street. In the black and white 1960s view, cars are parked on the left side of the street, leaving the right side clear for pedestrians. Nowadays cars only park on the right and spaces are generally at a premium. Several attics have been converted during the period between the two pictures, with dormer windows added to a few homes. In the middle distance, the height of Alexandra House (where the Rio Cafe was) has increased over time. That extra storey was added in 1965, dating the postcard to before then. The Crusoe Hotel comes into view at the end of the street then and now.

Close inspection of the detail in the distance reveals the 'Wall's' ice-cream sign that hung outside Potter's Newsagent on Defoe Place. There newspapers, groceries and postcards were on sale and there was a Post Office and a public telephone inside. In fact, the early 1960s postcard featured was probably bought from this shop, as the sender was based directly over the street at Edina View (where a cross marks their location). The reverse side of the postcard is shown below. It is stamped 22 August 1967 and was sent to Kent.  An X marks the 'boys bedroom' in the upper flat within Edina View, The message reads:

This is a new card I have got - not great but it shows the back of our house. Weather just grand - only 3 wet days so far. On the beach since 10am this morning except for lunch time at Crusoe. Just off to phone you and it is still glorious. Bob off today, Mr and Mrs L here for 10 days. Love to all, Muriel and gang.

It sounds very much like a holiday maker that is writing but the birth notice below from the Leven Mail in December 1961 suggests that Bob and Muriel were full-time residents of 2 Edina View. 
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Annotated in the image below are Edina View (1), Rock View (2) and Beach House (3). These flats had long been a popular venue for summer visitors, having been built for Andrew Selkirk in phases circa 1890, on the site of some old and run down properties. Lists of summer visitors - like the example further below from 25 August 1898 Leven Advertiser - show their popularity at the time with folks escaping the city for a few weeks. 
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The Belmont Temperance Hotel, pictured in the centre of the image above, once stood adjacent to Largo railway station. The snippet above from the 8 August 1890 East of Fife Record, details the circumstances that would eventually lead to the building of the hotel. The piece highlighted the "enormous" demand for accommodation in Largo but also pointed out the lack of options for those looking for only a short stay. While a couple of hotels existed, these had a small number of rooms, plus, these were "licensed premises" and many visitors at the time would have objected to that. 

The temperance movement, which encouraged abstinence from alcohol, had been established for decades. The local lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars - the Robinson Crusoe Lodge - had been established in 1872 and was still very active in 1890. Lundin Mill had once had its own small Temperance Hotel. Against this backdrop, a proposal was made to build a new temperance hotel. Specifically, it was to be close to the beach at Lower Largo. By the summer of 1890 it was thought that a suitable site at Drummochy had been identified. However, that particular plan did not come to fruition and teetotal visitors had to wait a little longer.

There was no record of a temperance hotel in the census of 1891 but by July 1893, the local papers were listing summer visitors staying at the Belmont Temperance Hotel on its elevated position between Largo Station and the north side of Main Street. A storm in August 1893 resulted in a Norwegian vessel running aground at the Temple. Her crew were given hospitality at the Belmont Hotel under the care of hotelkeeper Mary Carswell. The 1895 valuation roll shows that Andrew Masterton, joiner, was the property owner, suggesting that he was responsible for its construction. 

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The 1 April 1903 Scotsman newspaper ran the small advert above stating that the hotel was "under new management". A W Urquhart was named as proprietor. However, by 1906, it was all change once again when there was another auction of furniture from the hotel (see notice below from 26 April 1906 Leven Advertiser).

Finally, a period of stability began when Miss Margaret Pippet Sawyer and Miss Mary Elizabeth Sawyer took over the Belmont in 1906. The sisters were born in the English coastal town of South Shields and were daughters of a mariner turned hotelier. Before coming to Largo they had lived in both Leith and North Berwick (where the family had run a temperance hotel). The article above detailed one of their early bookings at the Belmont - a tea party for a temperance group (30 June 1906 Fife Free Press). The advert below dates to their era. At the time that the 1911 census was taken, a 29-year-old Margaret Sawyer (also known as Marguerite) was the only resident at the Belmont Hotel. She and her sister later moved to Elie, where they ran various holiday accommodation over the years, both eventually marrying.

The 1920 valuation roll had Mrs J MacDougall and Miss J MacDougall as tenants with Catherine Clayton still the property owner. The 1921 census tells us that this was Jessie MacDougall and her daughter Jessie Mary. Also present for the census were four visitors and a servant (house and table maid). In December 1921 the wedding reception of the only daughter of the minister of Largo Baptist Church, Rev. Pulford, took place at the hotel. The hotel was advertised for sale in both 1920 and in 1922 (but apparently never sold as Catherine Clayton was still listed as owner in 1925). 

By summer of 1923 the hotel was under new management with Hugh and Janet McLean taking over the reins. During their time in charge, the Scottish colourist George Leslie Hunter was a guest on more than one occasion. Hunter's choice of a Temperance hotel is significant as his friend, art dealer and biographer, Dr Tom J Honeyman was a big supporter of the Temperance Movement. It's fascinating to imagine such a well-known artist producing familiar artworks featuring local scenes from this base - his hotel room full of his art materials, rough sketches and works in progress. 

​The story of the Belmont came to an abrupt end in the early hours of Friday 22 January 1926, when the hotel was gutted by fire. Only Hugh and Janet McLean and their child were occupying the hotel at the time. The "magnitude of the blaze attracted many spectators" in what was a unique spectacle for Largo. Later the same day the report below appeared in the Dundee Evening Telegraph.
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The side by side maps below show the hotel in 1912 when still standing (left) and the equivalent site in the 1960s (right) when the empty outline of the shell of the building was still marked on maps. The hotel building outline with its sea-facing bay windows is in the centre of the map extracts (below the F.B. which marks the foot bridge over the railway line). Further below are images of some traces of the old hotel which remain on the foot path up to the car park at the old station. A modern private dwelling, aptly named Belmont House, now occupies the plot of the former hotel.
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For many years there has been a summer one way system in place along the west part Lower Largo's Main Street. The restriction comes into force on 1 April and remains in place until the end of September. The one way section begins at the junction with Harbour Wynd and Drummochy Road, shown above, and runs as far as the Orry. Note the white arrow on blue background rectangular one-way signs on either side of the road. The 'Unsuitable for Buses' sign on the right hand side remains in place all year round (see below).
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The origins of this seasonal system go back to the late 1960s, when rising car ownership and the popularity of Lower Largo on warm sunny days often led to chaos on the narrow, winding street. Matters came to a head in the summer of 1969 when "brilliant sunshine drew thousands" to Fife's beaches. Lower Largo was one of the worst affected by the ensuing "traffic chaos". The 11 June 1969 East Fife Mail reported that "hundreds of motorists were jammed in the village unable to move out or in as traffic piled up in the narrow streets". Some motorists "conducted verbal battles at each other in their efforts to find a way out". 

One astute villager suggested a multi-point plan to relieve the situation, telling "The Mail" that the village's narrow main street, with no outlet at its end, forced cars to turn and come back down, often unable to pass the vehicles they met. He suggested a one way system at peak times between the Crusoe Hotel and the Orry. In addition, he suggested an extension of the Temple car park, the development of the old railway station into a car park and a "properly constructed turning circle at the Temple end of the village". He put his suggestions to the District Council. By the following year, an "experimental traffic regulation order" was issued and the Lower Largo Main Street one way system was put into practice. It came into effect on 4 July 1970 for a six month trial.

The site of the former railway station was converted into a car park in 1972, taking some pressure off the main street. By 1974 there was a proposal to make the seasonal one way system an year-round arrangement. The notice below appeared in the East Fife Mail of 30 October 1972, inviting residents to a public meeting in the Baptist Meeting House. The following week's Mail reported that it took only twenty minutes for residents to reject the proposal, with "an overwhelming 52-2 majority" voting for the system to remain unchanged. The main argument against the permanent system was that the steep Durham Wynd (or Donaldson's Wynd) was notorious for ice in the winter and road users travelling from the Temple shouldn't be forced to use it. 
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The seasonal arrangement (which settled into a pattern of one way between 1 April and 30 September) remains to this day. The other suggestions made in 1969 - a car park at the station site and a proper turning circle at the far end of the Temple (pictured below) - have also stood the test of time. 
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The above pair of images show a 'then and now' comparison of the view from the beach at Lower Largo, up through the Orry towards Goodsir House. The black and white postcard view dates to the 1940s, after the designation of the Orry as a "regulation parking place" by the District Council in 1939. There are only a couple of cars parked there though, in spite of the busyness of the beach. The present day view features far more cars - and dinghies. The Largo Bay Sailing Club building, to the right of Sunnyside, is a later addition. The club was first mooted in 1959. Following a period of fund raising, the club built its permanent club house (pictured below) in 1968. Another noticeable change is the number of attic conversions carried out over the decades, as people seek to maximise their sea views.

In the zoomed in pair of images above, there are three distinct layers of housing. The late Victorian homes, with their bay windows, sit behind the sea wall (Laurel Bank on the left and Sunnyside on the right). They replaced older structures that previously stood on either side of the Orry. Beyond that, in the centre, on the far side of Main Street is the much older Goodsir House, named after its distinguished former owner Dr John Goodsir. Sitting on higher ground beyond that, are the late 1920s dwellings of Durham Terrace. The detail below shows the scene to the east and a beach busy with activity, including an improvised game of cricket.

Largo Arts Week has recently completed its fifth run. Held over nine days 31-21 July 2024, the event showcased the work of more than fifty artists, provided a varied programme of bookable events (music, comedy, food, storytelling and more) and repeated its annual painting competition. All three villages were involved, with bunting adding to the colour of the summer blooms in the gardens, planters and roadsides. The week has evolved since its debut in 2019 and it was great to hear that visitors numbers were up this year.
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Many thanks to the organisers, the artists, the performers, other supporters and the visitors for making it a special occasion with a friendly atmosphere. For more information and news of next year's event - which will take place 12-20 July 2025 - keep an eye on the website www.largoartsweek.com.
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Some news that broke just before the start of this year's Arts Week was the welcome new chapter for the former Largo St David's Church on Lower Largo's Main Street. The building, pictured below, is to become a sister venture to the Aurrie (which is just across the road in the former Baptist Church building and opened in time for Arts Week 2021). To be known as The Aurrie Mor, plans are still in development but you can read a little more here: 

​https://www.theaurrie.com/mor.html.

No doubt by the time that Largo Arts Week 2025 rolls around, things will have progressed in leaps and bounds for Aurrie Mor.

Imagine the scenario - you've just built a fashionable new hotel featuring all mod cons and had some professional promotional photographs of the hotel taken. However an important feature is missing from those images. It's the beginning of the 1900s and motor car ownership is dramatically increasing. Your target audience of well-to-do golfers would want to be sure that your hotel can accommodate their new or future vehicle. Thankfully, there is a solution in the form of photograph manipulation.

​This was not a new phenomenon. The origins of photography can be traced back to 1822 and the editing of photographs developed gradually alongside the evolution of photography itself. The first well-known example of photo manipulation dates to 1846. In that case Calvert Richard Jones, a colleague of the pioneering photographer William Henry Fox Talbot, took a photograph of five Capuchin monks on the roof of a building in Malta. While four of the monks were aesthetically grouped, the fifth one was awkwardly standing a few feet behind them. Jones painted over this figure on the negative using Indian ink. In a positive print, the place where the fifth monk stood simply became a white patch of sky.

As well as removing features from images, technicians began to edit and add features to photographs as well. By the turn of the century manuals had been written for photograph 'retouchers'. Using scalpels, inks, pencils and paints, the retouchers would work at special angled tables to carry out their painstaking work on negatives. Sometimes, as in the case of the Lundin Links Hotel photograph, an entirely new image would be inserted into the main photograph, having been suitably scaled, trimmed and positioned. In the case below, a motor car has been added - exiting the hotel gate onto the main road. Although the scale and positioning are convincing, the tone is not quite right. The pale shade of the car stands out against the darker background scene. 
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According to the National Motor Museum, at the end of 1895, it was estimated that there were only 14 or 15 cars on Britain's roads. This figure had risen to approximately 700 – 800 by 1900, the year that the Lundin Links Hotel opened. The car registrations system was introduced in the UK in 1903 and by 1910, there were approximately 12,000 licensed cars on UK roads. By around 1905 there was even motor car ownership within Largo, with Thomas Graham Wishart being an early adopter. By featuring a motor car on a postcard of the hotel, the proprietors were signalling that this was an innovative establishment, ready to cater for the needs of the modern guest.

Did you notice the other artificially added feature in the postcard above? A large flag was added to the roof for good measure. The hotel did have a flag pole (although not in the position shown here) and often flew a flag. However, when the postcard photograph was taken the flag was absent. The flag is less obviously image manipulation and is not a bad job considering that it was done some nine decades before photoshop.

The hotel postcard is not the only example of photograph manipulation of Largo scenes. Below is a scene where the fishing boat KY 56 Fisher Lass. has been superimposed upon a more modern harbour scene. This earlier blog post explains how the same vessel appeared on various harbour scenes over the decades, as the appearance of the Crusoe Hotel altered. In the composite image below, Fisher Lass rounds the end of the pier circa 1910 but this detail has been overlaid on a 1930s background scene. The sky has also been touched up and the wave detail enhanced.

The scene of an incredibly busy beach in front of Drum Park in this 1930s postcard, exemplifies Largo's popularity as a summer destination during the interwar period. Literally hundreds of people are packed into this small area on a glorious day. Perhaps on this particular day a 'picnic party' had swollen the usual number of summer visitors. In the summer of 1933, for example, there were thirteen large picnic parties officially using the site adjacent to Massney Braes. By the 1936 season, there were bookings for every Saturday.
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Local newspapers of the time noted that this stretch of coast "enjoyed a remarkable measure of popularity". This popularity was nurtured by the newly formed Largo Parish Community Council. Their programme of  foreshore improvements included a "water supply, a convenient fireplace and a comfortable shelter" according to the 23 June 1936 Leven Advertiser piece, below. Other amenities added around this time included public conveniences, a drinking fountain, litter bins and a pitch for mobile refreshment vendors. Twelve new benches were also placed around the district in 1935.
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The 30 July 1935 Leven Advertiser snippet below highlighted how large crowds of day-trippers impacted upon local bus services. It would seem that the concept of queuing was unheard of at the time. Pushing and jostling was the norm - especially at Largo Harbour's bus stop - prompting calls for the supervised introduction of a queuing system!
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Such was the demand for leisure facilities that a longstanding desire for a swimming pool for the Parish was reinvigorated. Soon an engineer was consulted and a scheme devised which readily gathered momentum. The piece below from the 26 March 1935 Leven Advertiser confidently tells of how the scheme was "awaiting the consent of Sir John Gilmour".

A Largo Bay Bathing Pool Association was formed and, on 30 July 1935, a public meeting took place in the Temperance Hall. An update from the scheme's temporary committee was provided, a draft constitution adopted and office bearers appointed along with a management committee. Discussion also took place around the best means of raising the cost of the construction of the pool. Some fundraising activities were proposed along with a plan to encourage subscribers to pledge money for the scheme. However, as matters advanced it became clear that early quotes for the work had been unrealistic. The far higher investment needed to make the pool storm-proof led to the scheme being reluctantly dropped (see 18 February 1936 Dundee Evening Telegraph extract below).

The busy beach scene above has all the hallmarks of an "excursion party". In other words, it looks like a party of day-trippers, enjoying a much-anticipated visit to the beach. The location is the beach at Massney Braes, looking towards Largo Pier. Note the boat masts close to the pier in the background and the salmon stake nets in the sea to the far right. Dressed in their finery, this would have been an important social occasion and a special treat for the group. Their attire may look rather out of place to the modern-day eye, however, it was normal then for ladies to take to the sands in full length skirts and flamboyant hats, while the gents wore three-piece suits with ties. Children were a little less formal. Most boys appear to have on short trousers - perfect for paddling or being buried in sand. The party of at least fifty people included all ages. Close inspection shows a few donkeys are on the beach, giving the youngsters rides along the sand (see detail below). 
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Probably the group would have arrived by train at Lundin Links station and made their way over the iron bridge to the beach at Massney Braes, bringing a picnic with them. This could potentially be a church outing, or perhaps a society of some kind. The example below, mentioned in the 14 June 1906 Leven Advertiser, is of an excursion to Lundin Links by the Markinch Parish Church Sabbath School. Like the group in the photograph, they enjoyed games and races on the sands. In their case a 'special train' was laid on for the occasion, suggesting a sizeable group similar to the one shown. On occasion, a band would accompany these groups on their outing, to provide musical entertainment throughout the day.

Not all visiting groups arrived by train however. The 26 July 1907 East of Fife Record piece below describes how a picnic party a hundred strong from Colinsburgh United Free Church travelled to the seaside at Lundin Links in carts, in "delightful weather". Not all such trips were blessed with favourable weather conditions. Sometimes groups had to retreat into a suitable indoor venue at short notice. However, both the group in the image above, and a similar group shown in a different image below (at the same location but looking west), were fortunate.

The above photograph shows detail from a George Washington Wilson image of the beach at Lundin Links captured in 1899. The houses of Leven Road are in the background, next to Fir Park, and the under-construction Ravenswood and Elmwood is on the right. In the foreground is the beach with the dunes and golf course behind and, perched in a sheltered dip between the dunes, is a row of wooden huts. At the time, these were referred to as 'bathing coaches'. The piece below from 20 January 1909 Leven Advertiser tells of how these came to grief when they were "tossed about in all directions" during a winter storm. 

Bathing coaches or bathing machines were forerunners to beach huts. The concept dates back to the early eighteenth century when it solved the twin issues protecting the modesty of bathers and of getting the sick and infirm into the cold salt water that was deemed to be good for their health. Bathing coaches were basically a wooden hut on wheels - a mobile changing room - pulled between the shore and the sea with the tide, often by a horse. Bathers would pay a hire fee to make use of the facility for the day or part-day.

Largo had long been known as a 'sea-bathing resort' and it would have become apparent during the Victorian era that the provision of bathing coaches was expected by visitors. Summer visitors from Edinburgh would have been familiar with the bathing machines used at Portobello (pictured below, from the Canmore collection). Bathing coaches were also available in larger places within Fife, such as St Andrews and Kirkcaldy. 

At the turn of century, people visited the beach in full formal dress, as the photograph below taken at Massney Braes, with the iron bridge in the background, shows. Ladies wore full-length skirts, blouses and hats, while men donned smart trousers, jackets, shirts and ties. Changing into swimming attire was awkward and time-consuming. Plus, of course, it was widely seen as indecent to undress in the open. 
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The above piece from 9 August 1906 Leven Advertiser mentions both a "bathing shelter" and "bathing coaches". Below is another reference, from 15 July 1908 Leven Advertiser, to both the "coaches and shelters". Both features seem to have proved popular.

Around the time of the First World War, wheeled bathing coaches (examples of which from elsewhere are pictured above) were increasingly replaced with fixed bathing huts. While it was still frowned upon to get changed in the open, it was perhaps more acceptable to make the short dash from shore to sea in your bathing attire. By 1935 there were nearly 20 fixed bathing huts listed on the valuation roll for Largo Parish. These were all at Lundin Links shore, on a site provided by Sir John Gilmour, close to the railway station.

Used for the season rather than for the day, bathing huts became something of a status symbol. Owners of huts at Lundin Links included local well-to-do individuals, including: W. Lindsay Burns who resided at Linburn on Leven Road and was Chairman of  Henry Balfour and Company of Leven; William Moscrip of Duddingston House on Leven Road who was Managing Director of National Steel Foundry Leven Works; and George Victor Donaldson, of Stanely on Leven Road Chairman of James Donaldson and Sons timber merchant.

Many owners of boarding houses and private hotels also kept a bathing hut for the use of their guests. These included Andrew Blyth proprietor of Firpark boarding house, James Peebles Greig of Mount Vernon boarding house, John Balmer at Manderlea and Agnes Watters of Victoria Private Hotel. Above is an advert for Victoria Private Hotel. Note the mention of "private bathing boxes". When Margaret Paxton set up Fife Children's Home at Aithernie House, she also took a bathing hut for the use of her residents. In addition, several individuals from close-by Methil, Buckhaven and Leven, had bathing huts at Lundin Links, just a short train journey away. Below are a few images of local bathing huts over the years.
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The previous posts have covered the life of former Lower Largo resident John Letham (from whom Leven's Letham Glen takes its name) and the days when Letham Glen was known as Spinkie Den (or more officially Sillerhole Den). The renamed Letham Glen dates back to 1925, when Leven Town Council took over the glen and changed its name. The date on the stone arched entrance shown above displays the date 1925 although the arch itself was not constructed until 1930 (see Dundee Evening Telegraph above). The new entrance gates were part of the Town Council's gradual enhancements over the years. Features such as this, and bridges over the burn, like as the one pictured below, were added when budget allowed.

The first Rose Queen was crowned at Letham Glen in 1938, in a new element of Leven Development Association's summer programme. Elizabeth Ballantyne of Dewar's Buildings, Parkhill, a Third Year pupil at Leven Higher Grade School, was elected the first Rose Queen (also briefly known as the May Queen).  After the lavish ceremony was rained off twice, Betty was finally crowned in the glen a week later than scheduled (see photograph below from 10 June Edinburgh Evening News). The following year, a second summer festival took place where once again the Rose Queen crowning took place at Letham Glen. However in subsequent years the event moved to grounds of Carberry House.

The 26 May 1949 Leven Mail updated that "work is going on at Letham Glen which will make the Glen even more attractive. The sunken garden with fountain at the site of the old swimming pond there is now taking shape." There must have been a fashion for sunken gardens around this time, as Festival Gardens close to Leven Prom and Macduff Park by East Wemyss also had sunken gardens laid out around this time. Letham Glen's sunken garden is pictured below.
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The 1940s, 1950s and 1960s were the heyday of the popular 'Go As You Please' contests in the glen. These were talent competitions, hosted by a compere, where people could sign up in advance or on the day to sing, dance, recite a poem, play an instrument or perform some other turn. An accompanist was on hand to play music. Cash prizes were on offer for those judged to be the most skilled performers by the panel of adjudicators. Often consolation prizes handed out for the less talented. Sometimes these contests were themed - for example on the 'Scotch Night' all artists had to perform a Scots item and wear something tartan or a sprig of heather.

Other activities held in the glen included treasure hunts around the grounds, putting competitions, pie eating contests, theatre group performances, community singing, dog shows and by the 1960s barbecues. Other special events included selection of a Glamorous Granny, a Holiday Queen or a Pin-Up Boy. Concerts of various kinds were another feature - from pipe bands and military bands to dance bands and choirs. In the mid-1950s, a bandstand was erected, replacing a smaller 1930s bandstand, and soon afterwards a platform for dancing was added. The above example advert dates to July 1957 while the one below is from July 1961. 
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The gardens were well tended as these postcard images illustrate. In 1970 a wishing well was built thanks to a donation from Leven Inner Wheel Club. The well had the inscription "If in here your siller cast, a wish may well come true at last". Proceeds from the well were given to local charities. The aviary of the 1940s eventually evolved into a much wider Pets' Corner, which by 1970, featured pheasants, swans, ducks, geese, pygmy goats, sheep and deer. Later additions included donkeys, rabbits and guinea pigs as well as occasional more exotic residents. The keeping of animals ended at the glen in 1998 and in 2001 Fife Council took the decision to close all such facilities across the county.
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The above map shows the trail around the glen in the 1980s. The Nature Centre is shown at the foot of the map, with the wishing well and pets' corner close by. The wooden nature centre was constructed around 1980 from timber felled in the glen itself. It was an ideal venue for visiting groups of school children and for evening talks, among other things. The numbered stops on the nature trail were as follows:

1. Duck pond            2. Deer enclosure          3. Bandstand                 4. Woodland A     
5. Woodland B          6. Woodland gorge        7. Ochre mill                 8. Sitka spruce grove     
9. Top bridge            10. Ochre millstone       11. Silver birch trees   12. Geans (Wild cherry trees)
​13. Old oak tree       14. Beech tree                15. Elm tree                  16. The last bridge

The millennium was marked by the installation in the glen's sunken garden of a granite replica of the Leven mercat cross, a structure dating back to the 17th century which features sundials on its shaft, now located in the gardens of Carberry House (pictured above). The replica features designs by local children. Today there are plans afoot to mark the centenary of Letham Glen as a public space in 2025. That will be a fantastic opportunity to reflect on all that the park has seen over the past one hundred years and more. The opportunity will also allow people to recall the role of John Letham in setting the natural beauty spot on the road to becoming an important community space, which so many folks have enjoyed over the decades.