Meet the member:
Craighall Steading

Craighall Steading really started as a long-standing dream to build a modern, energy-efficient home that still fitted naturally into the old steading site. Right from the design stage, we planned the house so that some of the bedrooms could eventually welcome guests — big windows for the views, private outdoor spaces, and a layout that felt relaxed and homely.

We opened in 2021 with just two rooms, sharing our smallholding produce and the peace of the countryside with our first visitors. As word spread and demand grew, we added a third double room, keeping everything small-scale and personal, just as we’d intended from the start. It’s been a natural, steady journey from building the house to opening the doors, and we’re proud of how the place has evolved into the B&B we’d imagined.

Craighall Steading sits alongside Craighall Den, a beautiful wooded valley that’s also a designated SSSI due to its rich wildlife, geology, and ancient woodland. It gives the whole area a special, secluded feel. Just a short walk from the house, you’ll find the listed limekiln and the site of the old Hope of Craighall castle — small reminders of the landscape’s long history.

We’re on the quiet edge of Ceres, surrounded by fields, trees and big skies, so guests wake to birdsong and the sound of the burn in the den. Yet St Andrews is only ten minutes away. It’s a setting where you can step straight onto walking routes, explore local heritage, or simply enjoy the peace. Many guests say it feels like discovering a hidden corner of Fife that’s close to everything but wonderfully calm.

Our “smallholding” is really a large garden with a polytunnel, but it plays a big part in what we offer guests. We grow apples, potatoes, soft fruits, and of course, our hens provide fresh eggs every morning. Whatever fruit is in season is either served fresh at breakfast or made into homemade jams and compotes.

We also grow cut flowers, so the blooms you see in the guest rooms and breakfast room are often straight from the garden. Guests love seeing the hens pottering around and spotting what’s growing as they walk past — it brings a gentle, seasonal feel to their stay and adds a nice connection between the place and the food on their plate.

We want Craighall Steading to feel warm, relaxed and completely unhurried — the kind of place where you can take a breath the moment you arrive. Our aim is to create a laid-back, friendly atmosphere that still feels thoughtful and well cared for.

A big part of that comes from the personal touches. Each room has furnishings and artwork made by local craftspeople and artists, which really helps root the space in the character of Fife. Guests often say it feels like staying with friends who’ve created a calm, comfortable home and are happy to share it with you.

Nothing is formal or fussy — just good food, cosy spaces and an easy, welcoming vibe.

We try to weave our environmental values into the everyday running of Craighall Steading. We generate a reasonable portion of our own renewable energy and utilise battery storage to maximise the benefits of what we produce. In the kitchen and garden, we compost, avoid single-use plastics where possible, use eco-friendly cleaning products and refillable toiletries, and cook everything to order to minimise waste.

We’re also involved in local environmental charities such as the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust and Fife Heritage Railway, which help us give something back to the landscape and community we’re part of.

We gently encourage guests to consider how they can help reduce our combined impact too — simple choices like switching lights off, reducing waste, or exploring on foot make a real difference. Visitors help play an important role in helping us conserve our natural assets and support Fife as a more sustainable destination.

These aren’t add-ons — they’re simply how we live and run the business.

Being awarded Green Tourism Gold has meant a lot to us. It recognised the effort we put into running the B&B responsibly and showed that small, rural businesses can achieve high standards in sustainability. Guests really appreciate it too — for many, it’s a sign that we genuinely live by the values we talk about.

It’s also helped us stand out a little, as we’re currently the only B&B in Fife with a Gold award. But more than anything, it encourages the kind of visitors who value the same things we do: thoughtful choices, local food, and caring for the landscape around us.

We love working with local producers, and over the years, we’ve sought out small businesses that care about quality just as much as we do. We regularly use local butchers in Cupar, nearby farm shops and local suppliers. Our eggs, soft fruit, apples and potatoes come from our own garden, and everything else is sourced as close to home as possible.

What draws us to these producers is simple: freshness, flavour and a shared commitment to keeping things local. It also means guests get a real taste of Fife on their plate — food that hasn’t travelled far and supports the people who make this region so special.

Breakfast at Craighall Steading is cooked to order and focuses on good-quality, local ingredients. Our guests often rave about the homemade pancakes served with poached eggs and bacon — they’ve become a bit of a signature dish. We also offer a full Scottish breakfast, with a vegetarian version available for those who prefer it.

Fresh fruit from the garden appears on the table when it’s in season, and our homemade jams are always popular. We’re happy to cater for dietary needs, and we keep the menu simple, hearty and full of flavour so guests can enjoy a relaxed start to the day that reflects the best of what Fife has to offer.

Dogs are welcome in our Garden Room, which has direct access to a fully enclosed private garden — ideal for an early-morning wander or a relaxed potter after a day out. We provide dog towels, bowls, waste bags and a few treats to help furry guests settle in.

One of the best parts for dog owners is how close we are to Craighall Den. You can head straight from the garden onto lovely woodland and countryside walks, so there’s plenty of fresh air and space for dogs to explore. It makes for an easy, enjoyable stay for both pets and their people.

We’re very lucky in Ceres to have some lovely places to eat just a short walk from the Steading. The Coffee Shop at the Fife Folk Museum is our go-to spot — full of charm, great baking and friendly faces. It’s perfect for a relaxed lunch or an afternoon treat. For an easy evening meal, The Meldrums is always a popular choice with guests.

A little further afield, St Andrews has a brilliant mix of places to eat. We often recommend The Bothy for modern Scottish dishes and a warm atmosphere, while The Peat Inn remains a favourite for special occasions. And of course, The Tailend is unbeatable for classic Fife fish and chips, whether you sit in or grab a takeaway to enjoy by the harbour.

What stands out most is how strong Fife’s food scene is overall — full of local produce, passionate makers and great hospitality. We always tailor our suggestions to what guests enjoy, so they can make the most of the region’s flavours.

People choose to stay at Craighall Steading for all sorts of reasons, and that’s something we really enjoy. Many come for the walking — with Craighall Den right beside us and the Fife Pilgrim Way running straight through Ceres village, it’s a fantastic base for anyone who loves being outdoors.

We also welcome cyclists, golfers and guests exploring the villages, coastline and historic sites across Fife, as well as those using us as a peaceful alternative to St Andrews. Plenty of people stay with us as part of ‘round Scotland’ trips of a lifetime, enjoying a comfortable stop in the countryside.

Local weddings bring lots of visitors too, and we often host guests who are here to see family or friends. And of course, some people simply want a restful rural escape where they can switch off for a couple of days.

Whatever the reason, guests often tell us the same thing: Craighall Steading feels like a calm and welcoming place to come back to at the end of the day.

The experience of staying at Craighall Steading changes beautifully with the seasons, and our guests often tell us it’s one of the highlights of being here. In spring, the countryside feels fresh and full of life — the woodland greens up, the birds return in full voice, and the fields seem to shift almost daily.

Summer brings long, bright days and those incredible big Fife skies. We often get sweeping sunsets that light up the whole horizon, and evenings where you can just sit outside and watch the colours slowly change. Autumn is full of warmth and richness, with golden woodland, ripening apples and a lovely, mellow feel to the days.

In winter, the landscape becomes quieter and more atmospheric. The skies can be wonderfully dramatic — from crisp, frosty mornings to deep grey clouds rolling over the fields — and there’s a real sense of calm and space.

The farming calendar adds its own rhythm too, from ploughing and planting to harvest time. No matter when you visit, there’s always something different to see, and the views from the Steading change with the light, the weather and the seasons.

At Craighall Steading, we want to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible. We understand that it can sometimes be difficult to know whether a place will meet your needs, so we’ve tried to make everything as clear and reassuring as we can. Most of our guest areas have step-free access, with level parking, wide doorways and spacious rooms that make moving around easy.

We’ve also worked closely with AccessAble, so guests can explore detailed accessibility information before they book. We aim to give everyone the confidence to know exactly what to expect — no surprises, no barriers and no feeling of having to “make do”.

We’re always happy to chat through specific requirements, and we encourage guests to reach out if they’re unsure about anything. More than anything, we want everyone to feel that Craighall Steading is a place where they can relax, feel at ease, and enjoy their stay without restrictions.

Running a rural hospitality business has taught us a lot. One of the biggest challenges has been the dominance of the online travel agencies — they’re useful for visibility, but it can be hard to ensure guests book directly with us. We’ve had to work quite intentionally on our website, our communication and our relationships with guests to encourage more direct bookings, which makes a real difference for a small business like ours.

The other big learning has been confidence in what we offer. When you work in a quiet rural area, you sometimes wonder whether your standard matches what guests expect. Becoming members of Scotland’s Best B&Bs and being regional finalists in the Scottish Thistle Awards in both 2024 and 2025 has really reassured us that we’re delivering at a high level. It’s helped us feel proud of what we’ve created and trust that our guests genuinely value the experience.

Overall, the journey has been a blend of constant learning, adapting and celebrating the small wins along the way. But the rewards – meeting guests from around the world and sharing our home and location – make it incredibly worthwhile

Being part of Food from Fife and our local tourism associations has been a huge help to us. Food from Fife has opened doors to producers we might never have discovered on our own and helped us build genuine relationships with the people behind the food we serve. It keeps us connected to what’s happening locally and constantly inspires us to showcase more Fife produce on our breakfast menu.

We’re also lucky that Fife has a proactive Welcome to Fife team and a strong network of local tourism associations. They share opportunities, promote the region brilliantly and make it easy for small businesses like ours to feel part of something bigger. Through them, we’ve gained visibility, made useful connections and collaborated with other local businesses to offer a more joined-up visitor experience.

Overall, being involved in these groups has strengthened our commitment to local sourcing and helped us feel firmly rooted within Fife’s tourism community.

Fife has an incredible food story to tell, but there’s still room to make it even more joined-up and accessible for visitors. One of the challenges we’ve noticed is connecting small tourism businesses like ours with small producers at the right volumes. Many brilliant makers and growers operate on a scale that doesn’t always match what accommodation providers need — and the reverse is also true.

When we haven’t been able to source the quality we want in small enough quantities, we’ve chosen to make more things ourselves. That’s why you’ll now find homemade shortbread in the guest rooms and dishes like pancakes and tattie scones on the breakfast menu — it allows us to keep quality high while staying true to the local, handcrafted spirit of Fife food.

There’s a big opportunity for the region to strengthen these links and make it easier for small producers and small tourism businesses to work together. If Fife continues to champion its food culture in a more coordinated way — through trails, stories, and simple ways for visitors to meet makers — it could become one of Scotland’s standout destinations for food-led travel.