Growing up in Lochgelly, it was a fairly short drive to Kinross in the next county. My parents took us regularly to the huge and varied indoor Sunday market held in the Kinross motor auction halls. Later on, I played a lot of snooker in the town. A place I had been to many times but hadn't properly explored on foot - until today. Nicole was meeting a friend at RSPB Loch Leven and I took the opportunity to devise a circular walk around the old burgh.
Parking on the edge of town, adjacent to the Loch Leven Heritage Trail, I walked towards the High Street but swung left to pick up the course of the old railway that connected Kinross to Edinburgh and Perth. Some kind of long-distance running event was in progress and the competitors were finishing up at the public footpath where the railway once ran. A bank of portaloos has been installed so it must have been a significant race. I bypassed the crowd - content to amble at a much slower pace - and followed the walkway that skirts the edge of town, roughly parallel to the motorway. The demise of the Kinross line is inextricably linked with the development of the M90 - which opened in stages from 1964 and reached Kinross and Milnathort at the turn of the 70s. The infamous Beeching Report had seen many miles of railway close across the UK but Kinross not only escaped the axeman's blade, but found itself recommended as a route worthy of expansion. Trains left today's Fife Circle line at Lumphinnans and ran north to Perth via Kelty, Kinross and Glenfarg. Kelty lost its station in 1930 due to local competition from trams but the impressive junction station at Kinross had a line splitting off towards Dollar in Clackmannanshire and also a route back into Fife that rejoined the East Coast Main Line at Ladybank. Those two rural routes were torn up by Beeching but the Perth connection remained in place. Why wouldn't it? Two major Scottish settlements sitting almost on a north/south axis. The conflict between road and rail intensified when plans to push the motorway further north involved snaffling land occupied by the trackbed - particularly the tricky passage through the narrow winding Glen Farg. The road lobby won the battle and closure of a strategic rail link was announced - a decision that still rankles within the local community today. I've walked various abandoned parts of the route over the years and bumped into older guys who held the opinion the whole affair was scandalous. Railways were out of favour at the time and the Labour Party made no real attempt to reverse a trend kick-started by the Conservatives when power changed hands in 1964.
I passed the remains of a platform in a small public park and followed the railway path to its end at Gallowhill Road. I took the pavement back towards the middle of town and joined a path that led through a quiet stretch of woodland before skirting the perimeter of the golf course. To my left were fields and I spotted a black shape among the long grass. Clearly a game bird and my initial guess was a grouse - not that I'd ever heard of them being in this area. I zoomed in with my camera and was confronted with the rather more familiar face of a pheasant. I hadn't encountered the black variety before - officially known as the melanistic mutant - and I suppose this counts as a new sighting. The golf course path eventually merged with the 13-mile Loch Leven Heritage Trail - a circular route I walked in its entirety with my sister a few years back. After ten years of planning, the trail opened fully in 2014 and the barrier-free loop is accessible to mobility scooters - which can be hired free of charge at Kinross Pier. The large shallow loch -average depth 12 feet - dominates the flat plain of Kinross-shire and is an environmentally sensitive area. The RSPB manage the wetlands on the southern shore. The fact an agreement has been reached with the various landowners to provide an official circular route is a highly positive development that will raise awareness of nature and bring benefits to physical and mental health. The path doesn't always track the shoreline but the viewpoints provide a stunning outlook across the water and towards the islands. The scene is nicely framed by two hills - Bishop and Benarty. Refreshments are available en route at Loch Leven Larder and the cafés at the RSPB reserve and Findatie lodges, as well as the town of Kinross itself.
The loch is highly regarded for its natural brown trout fishing opportunities. All angling activities must take place on a boat and it is prohibited to cast from the bank. Grand curling matches - known as bonspiels - were often held during the winter. Sadly, changing temperature patterns - have ensured the curlers haven't been able to set foot on the ice since 1959. Those who deny global warming can chew on that! The most famous attraction today is the bird life. Loch Leven hosts the largest inland concentration of breeding ducks in Europe and thousands of pink-footed geese spend the winter in the area. Whooper swans are also annual visitors. I have long meant to head over at the crack of dawn to witness the huge flocks (circa 15,000) of geese taking off. It must be a spectacular (and noisy) sight. Back on the trail, I skirted a corner of the 100-acre Kinross House estate. Available to hire for corporate and private events, a total of 24 double en suite bedrooms are split between the mansion and coach house. The home page of the official website https://www.kinrosshouse.com has drone footage of the grounds and you can clearly see the planned central axis running from the twin gate houses, up the tree-lined approach to bisect the main house, continuing through the lush gardens and across a stretch of water to the 11-century Lochleven Castle - also included within the estate boundaries. Regarded as one of the most famous designed landscapes in Scottish architectural history, construction of Kinross House began in 1685 under the watchful eye of architect Sir William Bruce, who planned the project as his own home. The property passed through the generations until it was purchased and restored in 2011 by current owner Donald Fothergill.
Kinross House was the first - and most important - neoclassical Palladian mansion ever built in Scotland. Lauded in Country Life Magazine as ‘the complete expression in stone of the Renaissance in Scotland’ - the property was Bruce’s undoubted masterpiece. The coach house actually predates the mansion by five years and offers ten double rooms along with dining space for 50 guests. It contains its own library, walled garden and boutique spa - which offers day packages to the public. The latter option is probably more within my price range! The grounds can be booked for outdoor-only events and the website reveals the hidden gem that is the Kitchen Dining Room - suitable for up to twelve guests where a master chef captivates guests with an intimate repast. The vaults offer relaxation in the "whisky library" - the perfect retreat after a day's work in the formal conference rooms. The on-site activities include archery, croquet, falconry displays and clay pigeon shooting. The estate is promoted of being within easy reach of Edinburgh, Dundee and St Andrews - although, as we've established, nobody rolls in by train these days. Yorkshire man Donald Fothergill launched a complete renovation programme when he bought the property from the Montgomery family. He aimed to restore Bruce's original vision for the estate, which was to introduce a level of geometric order to the landscape while allowing the drama of space, sky, and horizon to make an impact. Bruce is regarded as the founding father of Scottish classical architecture and was chief designer for King Charles II. A major commission was the reconstruction of Holyrood Palace. The downside of all this exclusivity is the estate has closed its doors to the general public. No more summer fetes held in the formal gardens.
I observed how the boundary wall dropped to a low level on one little section of the path. Chancing my luck, I swung my legs over, ignoring the sign informing passers-by of the 24-hour video surveillance within the grounds. I only planned to scale a small grassy mound in front of me and grab a sneaky photo. Job done, I was soon back on the path. This handily elevated corner of the estate had provided me with a nice angle from which to shoot the mansion. Out on the water, Lochleven Castle was clearly visible from the trail. Bruce purchased Castle Island in 1675 as a launch pad for his Kinross House vision and the island has remained within the policies of the estate ever since. It is the one part of the grounds where Joe Public can roam freely. Boat trips run during the summer months and I've been over a couple of times. Once as a primary school pupil and again with Nicole, not long after she moved to Scotland. The castle of course played a famous role in Scottish history. Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned here in 1567 until her escape the following year. She had been incarcerated by her noblemen, who vehemently opposed her marriage to the Earl of Bothwell. Only two years previously, she had spent a leisurely week at the castle, recuperating from injuries sustained after falling from her horse at Falkland Palace. Arriving this time in chains, Mary swiftly became ill, reckoned by some to be the result of a poisoning attempt. She also miscarried twins conceived with Bothwell. A few days later, she was forced into abdicating in favour of her infant son James. Following a couple of failed escapes, she finally succeeded while dressed as a servant. Her accomplices rowed her across the loch and she was whisked away by waiting horsemen to Niddry Castle, West Lothian. We all know it didn't end well for our famous queen and Lochleven Castle is said to be haunted by her spirit - apparently waiting for the twins to return to her so they would know their loss of life was not her fault.
I wandered by the Kirkgate Cemetery where Sir William Bruce is buried, fittingly in a location adjoining his old estate. The path then ran through Kirkgate Park - a popular leisure spot among locals and there was the opportunity for an extended walk along the edge of the loch. I was surprised to find the Boathouse Restaurant permanently closed as it had always been highly rated in the past. Perhaps a victim of lockdown? On a brighter note, the car-park had been completely resurfaced and marked by new white lines, thus creating a more welcoming impression than the pot-holed facility of old. I reached the brand new Phoenix bird hide - appropriately named as the previous facility was destroyed in an arson attack and a crowdfunding appeal raised £30,000 for a rebuild. The new hide follows a similar design to the old but the back has been left open to discourage further anti-social behaviour and security cameras have been installed. It's sad that these measures have to be taken in a fairly rural environment. The 14-year-old culprit apparently turned himself into the police. At least he had the gumption to do that and surely he will be horrified of his actions in later life. More than 300,000 people visit Loch Leven each year and birdwatching is a powerful draw. As I returned to the car, I noticed the car auction halls seemed to be derelict and an online search confirmed the business had migrated to online platforms during the pandemic. The auction had been running since the 70s and I sometimes used to accompany my dad to watch the vehicles being sold. The things we did for entertainment in the days of three TV channels!
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