From Winter Gatherings to Summer Plans

Wellbeing

From Winter Gatherings to Summer Plans

We wanted to share a short update from Largo Communities Together as we are well into this year’s Warm Welcome programme and to say a genuine thank you.

Week after week, people show up, sometimes weekly, sometimes every few weeks, but together they form a steady, reliable community. Volunteers come from Upper Largo and from further afield, giving their time generously. The chat often drifts from what’s happening locally to memories, shared history of place, ideas, and lived experience.

If you’ve not been yet, come along! They run until March 24th every Tuesday 11-1pm at The Simpson Institute, Upper Largo. There’s also a longstanding coffee morning at the Simpson Institute on a Thursday morning with some amazing homebaking!

Here are a few other things coming up and worth sharing:


Largo & Upper Largo Horticultural Society

On behalf of the Horticultural Society, we’d like to pass on that they’re looking for more help as they prepare for another year of activity around the plant sale in May and the Flower Show at the end of summer. This is a group with around 150 years of history, now looking towards a new era. If you fancy getting involved and supporting this much-loved group, please get in touch with Colin Orr at: [email protected]

Greenways Group

Formerly Assets and Access, the newly renamed Greenways Group is focusing specifically on pathways and routeways, linking in with Active Travel strategies in the pipeline and thinking about access for all users. The group has also been out mapping routes and exploring opportunities.

If you have ideas, concerns, or local knowledge about paths or connections, please email [email protected] and share away! We’re also hoping to hold a public meeting later this year to look at our current networks and options together.

Kirkton of Largo Primary School Consultation

Sharing on behalf of Fife Council: there is an ongoing consultation on the proposed closure of Kirkton of Largo Primary School.

There are several ways to take part, including a public meeting next week on Monday 9 February, 6-7pm at Durham Hall, Lower Largo, and drop-in sessions at Lundin Mill Primary School.

You can also share your ideas here: https://haveyoursay.fife.gov.uk/education/closer-of-kirkton-of-largo-primary-school/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPwS3FleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFiQmV0aVJFOUtjcXJoTjUxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjhyJkhekpHkgsRwsRZIjLFVTntChpikputmd32R7C8mKsrStLNP5GEuYf0m_aem_fIlr3vOWE-t7f0YqCIWn5g

All feedback must be submitted by Tuesday 10 March 2026.


Heritage: Selkirk, Crusoe, and the year ahead

Our Heritage group has been busy planning for a programme of events around Alexander Selkirk and the Crusoe story, including an exhibition planned for August and a series of pop-up events across the year. More on that soon.

There’s also our ongoing twinning with Juan Fernández Island in Chile, where Selkirk lived. It’s a living connection that continues to open interesting conversations.

This year marks 350 years since Selkirk’s birth, a figure who remains fascinating and controversial.

We’re keen to hear from community groups or individuals who’d like to get involved, whether through Largo Heritage or by running their own Selkirk or Crusoe-themed activity.

Email Gail Green at [email protected] to find out more.


Save the date: The Big Picnic, 21 June

This year’s Big Picnic will take place on Sunday 21 June. If you’re part of a community group, or have an idea for something that could happen that day, we’ll be holding an open meeting in the coming weeks. For now, please keep the date free if you can.

Resilience and wellbeing

The Resilience Group continues its steady work on local emergency responses, including developing plans for walkie-talkie use. We’re also looking at restarting dementia-friendly training for local businesses and groups. If either of these areas interest you, do get in touch.

Finally, the Changing Places toilet at the Temple is looking fantastic. We’ll share more about involvement around this in due course.

There’s a lot happening this year, some of it visible, some of it quieter, but all of it rooted in people showing up, sharing responsibility, and caring about the place they live!

If you’d like to know more about any of the above, or if you have ideas of your own, or just want to say hello please contact us.

And do visit our events page for more detail on what’s coming up: https://www.largoct.org.uk/events/ (there’s a lot more than I can mention here!)

Email [email protected] to add any listings.

Final Warm Welcome of 2025 – A Seasonal Celebration

We’re delighted to invite you to our final Warm Welcome Day of the year on Tuesday 23rd December at Upper Largo. Next week’s gathering will be extra special as we celebrate the season together with music, warmth, and good company.

We’re thrilled that Sheila, one of our wonderful regulars, will be sharing some seasonal music with us, along with other talented friends. It promises to be a joyful morning and afternoon of song, soup, and celebration. Come along between 11-1pm

The Warm Welcome Days have become such a cherished part of our community rhythm, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who has made them possible throughout the year. Whether you’ve been a regular face, helped with preparations, brought along a friend, or simply shared in the warmth of being together, thank you.

These sessions continue to be multi-generational, low-pressure spaces where connection happens naturally over good soup and genuine conversation.

As we’ve shared before, there’s no charge for attending, and donations are welcome but never required. The heart of these gatherings is simply being together.

After the 23rd, the Warm Welcome days take a short break and resume on Tuesday 6th January. We hope you can join us for this seasonal celebration, and we wish you all a peaceful and joyful festive season.

A Few More Dates for Your Calendar:

The church community is also hosting some beautiful services this season,

Sunday 21st December – 4th Sunday of Advent in the Church at 10.30am

Lessons and Carols with Largo Church Choir, followed by seasonal refreshments in the Stables

Wednesday 24th December – Christmas Eve in the Church11.15pm Carol Singing 11.30pm Watchnight Service

Thursday 25th December – Christmas Day Family Worship Service in the Church at 10.30am (Children are invited to bring along and show one of their toy gifts from ‘Santa’)

Sunday 28th December – Morning Worship in the Durham Hall at 10.30amWith music by the Largo Sound Music Group, followed by refreshments

All are welcome to these Advent and Christmas Season services.

And as a reminder, Lily’s Larder will be open on Christmas Day from 11:00 to 14:00 for anyone who wants or needs company. There’s no charge, but if you plan to attend, please get in touch with them at [email protected] so they can organise numbers.

Fife Council are still gathering your views regarding the future of Kirkton of Largo, here is the link to share your views.

Engagement Session to Discuss the Future of Kirkton of Largo Primary School

We will be going a bit quieter for a few weeks and hope you have a good restful break. We will have some very exciting things coming up in 2026 and don’t hesitate to get in touch and remember to keep abreast of local things to do here:

Events – Largo Communities Together Largo Communities Together

Wishing you warmth, joy, and good company this festive season.

Community Resilience

Largo Area Resilience Group – Update & Call Out

The Largo Area Resilience Group recently held a planning meeting to strengthen how our community prepares for and responds to emergencies.

Here’s a summary of what’s been happening – and how you can get involved.

What We’ve Been Up To

We also discussed the three levels of resilience:
🔹 Individual – personal planning
🔹 Community – coordinated local response
🔹 Systemic – support from councils, utilities, and emergency services

Our focus is on strengthening community resilience – the vital link between households and the larger systems that support us.

Key Actions & Priorities

How You Can Help

We’re keen to:

Whether you’re a local resident, volunteer, business owner, or simply curious, this is a great time to get involved.

Let’s work together to build a more resilient, connected, and prepared community.


To find out more or offer support, please get in touch – just email [email protected]

End of Year Words

Hello everyone,

As another year winds down and the festive season sparkles around us, we wanted to take a moment to send out a HUGE, heart-felt thank you to each and every one of you!

Your support throughout this year has been absolutely amazing, and we truly couldn’t have done it without the many people who help and join in countless ways. It all matters!

We’ve had a fantastic year packed with activity, and it’s been so rewarding to see our community come together with lots of commitment and energy.

Our subgroups have been buzzing!

A special shout out to the Friends of Largo Bay – they’ve been working tirelessly to make our beautiful bay even better though biodiversity, art projects litter picks and more.  If you want to stay in the loop on everything they’re up to, be sure to sign up for their direct emails at [email protected] and join their facebook group  to keep up with their many inspiring projects if you are on there here.

You won’t want to miss a beat!

And our Resilience group? Wow! From raising dementia-friendly awareness alongside Alzheimers Scotland, The Paxton Centre and Peacehaven, to the Big Picnic and    organising our regular Warm Welcomes in Upper Largo (with a team of amazing volunteers and the occasional community musician), they’ve been helping making a real difference and spreading cheer in the lives of so many and there is more to come !

Speaking of inspiring things, we have some dates for your diaries to be announced in January: we will be gathering more memories of Kirkton of Largo in February at our Upper Largo Warm Welcome for a start, with a new history/heritage group that is unfolding  – we also have the seeds of a youth filmmaking project and our regular big picnic to announce.

And we are always looking for helping hands to make it all happen. If you’re keen to get involved and see something amazing unfold before your eyes, we’d love to have you join our volunteer team!

We need help with everything from assisting with our upcoming beach wheelchairs to supporting our resilience and emergency volunteer initiatives, and so much more.  If you’re interested, you can sign up to be a volunteer right here.

We’re so excited about what the new year will bring, and we’ll be sharing more news soon. In the meantime, we hope you all have a wonderful, restful, and joy-filled holiday season.

Christmas With Friends

We also wish the Aurrie much joy as they open their doors for Christmas Day!

They’ll offer food, drinks, company and even music – the perfect way to break up a long day, celebrate and spend the day with new friends.

And Don’t Miss Out

We’re always happy to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch! [email protected]

December News

Hi everyone,

We hope this email finds you well and full of winter cheer!

This is just a quick reminder that Friends of Largo Bay will be at the Aurrie Mor Christmas Fair tomorrow, along with a huge range of others – tomorrow Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December, from 10am to 4pm in Lower Largo.  They will  be selling a range of eco-friendly products and have a chat about what they have all been up to lately ( hint: it’s quite a lot !) All profits will go directly towards our conservation efforts to keep Largo Bay beautiful.

Go Along And Say Hello! 👋

It’s been fantastic to see so much happening across our community lately! We can’t keep up. From fairs and festivals to workshops and get-togethers, there’s something for everyone.

Homelands at the Paxton Centre has many fantastic regular activities, plus a café open on Mondays and Tuesdays. Have a look here for full details: Activities and Classes at The Paxton Centre. They currently have a raffle open. Details on the Poster below. Do pop in to support their incredible range of offerings.

The Largo Area Warm Welcome on Tuesdays at the Simpson Institute, Upper Largo has been a great success so far (we’ve even had a little music going on!), we encourage people to come along and join us, spread the word ! For another mid-week pick-me-up pop along to the coffee morning at the Simpson Institute on Thursday mornings for some unparalleled baking.

The Aurrie is also opening its doors for Christmas again this year!

(Check out the flyer below for details!). Email [email protected] with bookings or questions.

They’ll offer food, drinks, company and even music – the perfect way to break up a long day, celebrate and spend the day with new friends.

Please help spread the word to those who may not have Facebook and don’t see all the usual announcements.

Speaking of music… don’t miss “Magical Moments in Song” at Largo Parish Church on Saturday 14th December at 2pm (doors open 1.30pm).  This special performance features the wonderful voices of Margaret Chisholm, Yvonne Stephenson, and Órla Jones, accompanied by Alan Gibson.  Cash donations will be gratefully received for Largo Parish Church and the Canmore Trust.  It’s sure to be a truly magical afternoon! 🎼✨

A huge thank you to everyone who attended our recent AGM. It was wonderful to see so many of you there and share updates on the exciting national Beach of Dreams project.

The website will soon have a year-in-review and our board meeting dates for next year !

Pop us a line if you want us to share anything !

Some Things Coming Up

Hello Community,

We’re thrilled to share some  news and opportunities to get involved ( if you have something you want me to share on here in the future – just drop me a line).

Biodiversity Boost!

Thanks to ecologist and ranger Tony Wilson, The Friends of Largo Bay biodiversity monitoring group learned so much about Largo Bay’s unique environment. This knowledge fuels their exciting plans for long-term biodiversity monitoring.

Calling All Seaweed Sleuths!

Join  the biodiversity team on April 24th for the Great Seaweed Search! Whether you’re an expert or just curious, this is a wonderful experience with amazing people. We’re also working to improve water quality, a top priority for our community.

Search for Seaweed.  The teams latest project is on Wednesday 24th April at 08.30.

Be a Citizen Scientist and join to help data collection across the Uk

All volunteers welcome. Wrap up well and help understanding of the environment.

Meet at Temple Car Park.

Should take about 60-90 minutes then join the group for a coffee and breakfast at The Aurrie

Want to help? You are more than welcome.

Email the group at [email protected]  or just come along next week !

Leven Welcomes the Train!

The train line reopens on June 2nd, bringing exciting events to Leven!  Businesses and groups, get your events listed by emailing [email protected]. We will have our first simple discovery trail mapped out by then too – thanks for all your help on that !

Big Picnic Returns Soon !

Don’t miss the big community picnic on June 9th – email us to get involved! It will be a fun collaborative day so we want you there and fingers crossed the sun will shine.

Largo Library & Community Hub Update

The Hub’s AGM is coming soon! Members, mark your calendars for May 9th at 5:30 pm in the Library. Want to learn more? Email them directly. Largo Library & Community Hub (largolibraryfife.org.uk)

Community Plans in Action!

We’re pushing forward on our Community Action Plan and Local Place Plan proposals – stay tuned for updates!

Dementia Information Day

Join the Resilience Team’s Dementia Information Day on May 23rd, 11 am – 12:30 pm at the Paxton Centre. No booking needed!

Official Twinning Ceremony:  Celebrate the special bond between our communities with this ceremony organised by the Largo Area Community Council, local residents, and organisations between the 17th and 19th of May stay tuned for more…

Calling all writers! The Largo Links newsletter wants your stories, articles, and photographs for their next edition. Submit your work by the 1st of May!

Want to know more or ask questions – just drop me a line…

Happy 2025

Happy New Year from Largo Communities Together! 🎉

We hope you have had a restful time. As the nights remain long and the days chilly, we’re excited to announce the return of our Warm Welcome events!

☕ Come for a cosy cuppa, delicious soup, and heartwarming company.

Our first Warm Welcome of 2025 event kicks off tomorrow on January 7th at the Simpson Institute and thereafter on Tuesdays. We can’t wait to see you there! 😊

  • Simpson Institute: Tuesdays 11am-1pm (soup, tea & coffee)

Also Largo Library are still serving their Hot drinks & biscuits (all open hours)

And Durham Hall: Last Sunday of the month – Souper Sunday!

Plus In February, we’ll be collecting more memories of Kirkton of Largo School at the Simpson Institute at the Warm Welcome days on the 4th and 18th of February for our ongoing peoples history/heritage project.

🥳 If you have something to share come along !

A Great Inspiring Event: After Burns

We need you

As we step into 2025 with a renewed focus we are looking for help across a range of projects – if you have something to offer and want to get involved do sign up and we will get in touch shortly !

We are also recruiting for volunteers all sorts of things including emergency response and helping out with beach wheelchairs when they come along (and if there is something you would like to offer that is not listed just fill in the other category.)

We’re always happy to hear from you at any point, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have a question or comment! [email protected]

With the warmest of wishes,