A WEST Fife village has been named as one of the best places to live in the UK.

Culross is one of seven Scottish locations to be named on the Sunday Times' Best Places to Live in 2022 list.

Citing it's reasons for the picturesque location's inclusion, it states: "Step back in time every time you step out of your front door — then hop on the train to Edinburgh or Glasgow in an under an hour."

The report says the village is "Dense with cobbled streets and narrow closes winding and weaving up the hillside, the former royal burgh of Culross is a walk (let’s just admit there are issues with cars and parking here) back in time.

"Though the hustle and bustle of the thriving 17th-century port may now be replaced with Instagrammers, tourists, and occasional commuters in search of sea views and period charm within an hour’s drive of Edinburgh and Glasgow, this immaculately preserved historical wonder on the west Fife seafront is finally earning due recognition as one Scotland’s most spellbinding villages."

Pointing out that the village was the place that Geillis was sentenced to burn for being a witch and Tammas, a thief, had his ear pinned to the post in the hit fantasy historical drama Outlander, it added that in real life, action centres on an excellent community-funded children’s play park on the Culross waterfront, and the Red Lion pub, which was saved by well-organised locals.

"Culross can thank local and national history and preservation societies for ensuring the village survives so splendidly. These include the National Trust for Scotland (proprietors of the ochre-coloured Culross Palace), the Culross Development Trust (slowly restoring the harbour pier) and Historic Environment Scotland (custodians of the crumbled remains of Culross Abbey, founded in 1217 high up on the hillside above the village).

"From the waterfront you can pick up the Fife Coastal Path, a popular walking route skirting the entire 117-mile fringe of the ancient kingdom."

Other highlights include the "cheery weekend market" which it says is a "fab wee gathering of local suppliers on the green below the palace, featuring, among others, a florist and baker, a yarn-maker, and an ice-cream van from Lynne Nelson’s farm one mile down the road."

Rankin’s café – where you get great coffee, cake and sandwiches – also gets a mention as does the Culross Pottery & Gallery and the adjoining Biscuit Café.

The best address, according to the report, is the cobbled causeways for the "full Culross experience" along with the "handful of larger homes as you climb up out of the village on Tanhouse Brae and Kirk Street, many with fine views over the Forth."

The list says the average house price for the village has risen by three per cent in the last year to £177,000.