When I decided to bring a business to Burntisland I had no idea how special the small business scene here is. Look beyond the stunning scenery and elegant stone buildings and you’ll find a quality of enterprise here that really is incredible.

You start to get some clues when you search for the town online: everyone from beauticians to butchers seem unusually good at social media, for example (not least thanks to resident digital media guru Jo King).

The high street is small – you can walk down it in 5 minutes – but it’s packed with incredibly high quality independent shops and cafes. The retailers weathered the worst of lockdown the old fashioned way – by being decent, staying in touch and helping one another out (they’ve certainly made me feel welcome, too).

Justifiably, Burntisland is starting to get a bit famous for this, as you can see in this film. Our bakers, butchers and fishmongers have all been featured on different TV shows recently, and STV News visited last week to make this item about how the town has managed to defy retail doom & gloom. Wishing a very successful run-up to Christmas to this hard-working street!

All change! You can still find the first reviews below, but we’ve also moved them over to their own special reviews page. From now on, this page will be home to actual news – stories about updates to the studio, interesting day trip ideas, weird and wonderful information about the local area, and things you generally shouldn’t miss. Some of this info will be cross-posted to (and from) our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Here’s a quick video bringing you up to date on some of the latest news. I do these on Fridays – not every Friday – but keep an eye out! Briefly, I talk about:

• Social media strategy
• Why we’re not on airbnb
• This website
• The newsletter
• Updates to the decor in the studio
• Merchandise!

A fine review from Mr Allan, who checked out yesterday. They had great luck with the weather and obviously packed in some trips around Fife – as well as spending quality time in the immediate area, going by these stunning photos of Burntisland.

We had a great 3-day holiday in Burntisland. The flat was awesome in terms of location and amenities. All you need is provided by the owner/host.

This is a compact studio suitable for a couple. The kitchen was stocked with everything (tea, coffee, etc). The bathroom has a powerful electric shower which was absolutely fabulous! The studio has a very fast internet which was a bonus for us. The main room is decorated well and the bed is really comfortable.

I didn’t meet Leila personally, however, she has been great, communicating with us promptly by email. The flat is within a few feet away from the train station and it is facing the harbour/port of Burntisland. The town centre and beach front is a few minutes away from the studio and is packed full of shops, cafes and restaurants. Edinburgh was only 30 mins away from Burntisland and small towns like Kinghorn, Aberdour, Kirkaldy were very accessible via train, bus and car from the studio. We even went further to Leven and Falkland and climbed Lomond Hills, fantastic views from the top.

Overall, I highly recommend this studio flat. It is great value for your money. Another bonus is having a very welcoming neighbour who chatted with us as soon as we arrived and on the day we left.

Thank you Leila for accommodating us. It has been a pleasure staying in your studio flat.

Mr Allan

Amanda and Tony visited the Studio all the way from Dorset last week, and had a fab time exploring the coastal villages, St Andrews, Edinburgh, North Queensferry and more. So lovely to see what they got up to.

Cute little ground floor studio flat, right by the train station (although surprisingly, you can’t hear the train – or anything actually – when you are inside.)

There is plenty to explore within an hour’s drive and you could easily entertain yourself for a week. If you are there without a car, the train is every 30mins and takes you into Edinburgh or up the coast through the little fishing villages. The rail link is really handy if you want to take a walk along the coastal path, as you can then catch the train back.

No holiday is complete for us without a game of crazy golf, and there is a indoor and outdoor course just 20 minutes away and we will definitely be back for a rematch.

Amanda & Tony