Inverkeithing railway station is a main stop for trains running over the nearby Forth Rail Bridge, and the town is home to the Ferrytoll Park & Ride.

Because the first written references to St Erat come from the 16th century, they do not provide hard evidence for Inverkeithing's early history, or even for the existence of the saint.

[33] The settlement was an obvious choice to be created a burgh, as its location at the narrowest crossing point of the Firth of Forth and its sheltered bay were both strategically important.

[34] The incident was used by influential archaeologist and folklorist Margaret Murray in her 1931 book The God of the Witches as support for her (now mostly discredited) hypothesis of the survival of British paganism into the Middle Ages.

[39] The group lost its way near Kinghorn and got separated from the King, who was found dead at the bottom of a steep embankment on the next day, having presumably fallen from his horse.

[7] Roger de Mowbray, baron of Inverkeithing, sealed the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 and was later sentenced to death for treason against King Robert I.

[6] In November 1504 there was a plague scare at Dunfermline Palace, and four African women including Ellen More, with John Mosman, the court apothecary, came to stay in Inverkeithing before crossing to South Queensferry.

It was an attempt by the English Parliamentarian forces to outflank the army of Scottish Covenanters loyal to Charles II at Stirling and get access to the north of Scotland.

[52] Defoe's sentiments about Inverkeithing were echoed by Sir William Burrell when he toured Scotland in 1758, who found it a "mean, miserable, paultry town, teaching us what to expect from its neighbouring villages".

By 1925, quarrying remained a major operation and, whilst the saltworks, iron foundry and sawmill had closed, a papermaking industry had developed at the harbour.

The tower is crowned by a lead-covered spire from 1835 designed by Thomas Bonnar, whose elaborate gabled dormers saw clock faces being added in 1883.

On the High Street lies one of the best surviving examples of a friary building in Scotland, the category-A listed Hospitium of the Grey Friars (also known as the Franciscan order).

[32] There are no further mentions of the friary until 1384, but at the time, it would have been a thriving hub for pilgrims to Dunfermline and St Andrews, comprising accommodations, cloisters, storage cellars, and a chapel.

The hospitium visible today once formed the west end of the friary, and it was the only building preserved during the 16th-century alterations, while the rest of the complex was used as a quarry.

[71][77] The cross, a category-A listed historic monument,[78] is believed to have been built as a memorial of the marriage between the Duke of Rothesay and the daughter of the Earl of Douglas.

[71][79][80] As of 2021, there are plans to move it to a more prominent position in the Market Square, as part of a £3.6 million, five-year programme of improvements to the town centre.

[85] The Keithing Burn enters the head of harbour through square bull-faced rubble sluice installed in 1840, over which runs a 20th century metal footbridge.

[88] Information from local sources and a commemorative plaque indicate that Livingstone occasionally stayed at the cottage, including after his first return to Britain during 1856/57; he also may have built the summerhouse.

Located on the shore of the Inner Bay next to Inverkeithing harbour, the park features a public athletics track, children's playpark and skatepark.

The park is home to Inverkeithing Hillend Swifts football club,[93] and hosts the Ballast Bank Community Centre run by Fife Council.

[12] The town is demographically very mixed, with an especially wide range of residents with professional and nonprofessional jobs, part-time and self-employment, and high and low educational attainment.

[107] Inverkeithing town centre provides the local area with a variety of services including a Post Office,[108] a Scotmid supermarket,[109] pharmacies, bakeries, pubs, restaurants, and hairdressers.

[110] A mile away from Inverkeithing town centre but within its administrative boundary is Belleknowes Industrial Estate, which as of 2024 houses 27 companies including several autocare and DIY stores.

Cycling commuters travelling south to Edinburgh cross the Forth Road Bridge, which is open exclusively to cyclists, walking and public transport.

The Ballast Bank grounds play host to Inverkeithing's annual highland games, which have been staged here since at least 1914, and in the town since 1646,[118] and which draw crowds of up to 5000 spectators.

The fair was described in the Inverkeithing Burgh records of 1648 as "a great day for fun, frolic, fit races, ale and drunken folks, gentle and simple".

[120] Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts, founded in 1996, entered their senior team into the pyramid in 2018 and currently compete in the East of Scotland League First Division.

[124]Ballast Bank Community Centre offers activities for all age groups, and individuals, clubs and organisations can hire the facilities for birthday parties and some indoor sports.

[136] In 2014, the Inverkeithing Highland Games were featured in season 7, episode 1 of the US television show Duck Dynasty, in which cast members participated in some of the events.

The high school's catchment area includes most of the surrounding towns of Dalgety Bay, Hillend village, Rosyth, and North Queensferry.