Diversions and delays as Orange Walk set for weekend march through Kirkcaldy

It is one of several scheduled for Saturday in towns across the Kingdom, with marches also taking place in Benarty, Kelty and Cowdenbeath.

The Lang Toun walk, organised by the County Grand Orange Lodge of the East of Scotland, is expected to attract around 3500 people, and will impact on the town centre with disruption to traffic on streets in and around the area, and roads will be closed - but businesses will be open as usual. Anyone who parks in the town centre before 12 noon may not be able to move their car again until after the parade is finished. Some bus service routes will also be affected.

Fife Council was notified of the walk recently - it is limited on what actions it can legitimately take to prohibit or impose conditions on such events - and put in place rolling road closures to facilitate it.

It will begin around 1:00pm in Beveridge Park and follow a circular route through the centre of the town before returning to the park at around 4:00pm. All activities in the park have been cancelled, and the car park will be closed from 6:00am.

The walk follows a route from Abbotshall Road, Pratt Street, Links Street, High Street, Kirk Wynd, Hill Street, Whytescauseway, Park Place, Whytehouse Avenue, West Fergus Place, and There will be no access to and from Boglily Road at the roundabout with Abbotshall Road for the duration of the parade.

Roads will be closed from 12 noon and will re-open as soon as it is safe to do so as the parade moves around the town centre.

Traffic that would normally travel via Auchtertool/Boglily Road can divert either via A909 to Bernard Smiddy Junction then along the B9157 to the Esplanade, Kirkcaldy or via the A909 onto the A92 to Kirkcaldy. Any HGV traffic should divert via the A92.

There will be a shuttle bus in operation running between Auchtertool and Cowdenbeath where passengers can pick up connecting services to Kirkcaldy and Kelty.

Kirkcaldy High Street is pedestrianised so will be unaffected.

There are also Orange Walks being held in Benarty starting at 9:45am, Kelty and Cowdenbeath - the latter taking place in the evening. They have been organised by Loyal Orange Lodge District 45.