Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland (pronounced Glen-roaths) was the first New Town in Scotland to be designated under the New Towns Act 1946. It was initially intennded to provide better housing conditions for miners in the Fife coalfield, but following the precipitous decline of that industry, its role was changed to one of a light industrial centre and a location for overspill housing for the city of Glasgow. Glenrothes is served by a railway station at Markinch. Its hotels and facilities are popular with visitors to nearby St Andrews.
The name Glenrothes means 'glen of the rothes' or 'valley of the rothes', rothes being a Scots term for bog cotton, which formerly grew widely on the swampy valley floor.