It looked as if I would be confined to barracks for a wet February weekend but the weather brightened up around lunchtime on Saturday. The first snowdrop walk of the year was due to take place in Valleyfield Woods and I'd been meaning to attend since undertaking my own exploration of the old estate in 2019. I had of course seen the flowers before but it would be nice to experience a guided tour of Robert Preston's old stomping ground and hear someone else's take on the history of the place. The walks are advertised as including a heritage aspect and are organised by the West Fife Woodlands charity.
I pulled up at Shiresmill car park where two other people were waiting. Our guide Frank led us into the woodland and pointed out the old deer park (now used as pasture) and the beech ha-ha. This is a type of sunken fence commonly used in landscaped gardens in the 18th century. A dry ditch was dug and the inner side faced with a stone wall. Meanwhile, the outer side was designed to slope steeply upwards before levelling out again. The point of the ha-ha was to give the viewers the illusion of an unbroken, continuous rolling lawn, whilst providing boundaries for grazing livestock. I had known it had something to do with marking perimeters and it was interesting to see an actual example. I had gained knowledge right at the start of the walk! A trio of visitors wasn't too bad considering the weather had been awful all week and it's still early days for the snowdrops. I know a lot about the history of Valleyfield Estate from my own research and decided it would be poor form to interject when Frank was explaining these matters. The other couple were in the dark other than what they had gleaned from the information hoarding at the entrance. We headed through the intact entrance arch into the walled flower garden. The top level is easily accessible but the slope down to the ornamental canal is heavily overgrown. Frank explained how the heated brickwork enabled all manner of unusual plants to be grown in lean-to enclosures. It was good to poke around the rear of the back wall, which I hadn't done before. Apparently a TV crew visited the garden to film part of an episode of the long-running celebrity genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? Popular BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth seemingly had an ancestor involved in pineapple growing and there was a connection to Valleyfield. As I type, I've just reserved a copy of the DVD with my rental club Cinema Paradiso.
Even in the streaming age, I continue to rent DVDs as the choice is far greater than what's available on platforms such as Netflix. I enjoy watching independent movies, German cinema and music documentaries as well as more mainstream fare. Cinemaparadiso offer an excellent service and almost everything released in the UK is obtainable. One day the bottom will drop out of the DVD rental market but that may take a good few years. We haven't even reached the point where they've stopped making them. Frank pointed out the crumbling flight of steps leading to nowhere on the overgrown terrace and how the TV presenter had bounced up and down on them with scant regard to health and safety. I must confess I had done the same thing. The tour progressed down to the lower levels of the old estate between the ornamental canal and Bluther Burn. Frank identified the ice house built into the slope on the opposite bank. We paid a visit to the community orchard, formerly the kitchen garden and viewed the remains of the gardener's cottage. There was an impressive amount of snowdrops in various locations and my pictures proved very popular on Instagram, despite the less than perfect lighting conditions. Apparently bluebells appear in the far corner of the woods later in the year. I must pop along to see them in full bloom.
We didn't climb up to the site of the mansion. Not that there's much to see unless you delve into the thicket looking for scraps of old foundation. Frank did point out a couple of pillar sections now resting in the river. The theory is local kids rolled them down following demolition of the house. Frank's statement about them being the only remains of the grand residence wasn't quite true. There is evidence of a boundary wall and an old well as well as several stones scattered around (I have one in my garden). But that type of exploration was beyond the scope of a gentle stroll and I wasn't about to quibble. As we approached the extremities of the grounds I enquired whether we were now standing on the boundary. One of the other walkers made a good point by saying people in days gone by would have been far more aware of local borders as almost everyone spent their lives in the same general area, whereas today there is a tendency to move around. That's definitely a factor behind the current confusion regarding traditional county lines. In summary, it was a very informative afternoon and Frank did a grand job of mixing historical tales with details of recent woodland projects. Afterwards we headed into the adjacent riding centre for complimentary tea and coffee. A couple of folders had been laid out, containing images of the estate dating from the 19th century. I had seen most of them before online but it was obviously an excellent source of reference for visitors. Frustratingly, I have never found a picture of Valleyfield House in its final phase as the headquarters of the Fife Coal Company. Nor have I seen any photos of the property in a state of disrepair prior to demolition. Maybe one day I'll get lucky.
I had pencilled a play into my diary for the same evening. A comedy about Robert Burns coming back as a ghost. As a long time fan of our national bard, the advert for the show caught my eye. I've enjoyed Rabbie's work ever since learning Tam o' Shanter in primary school (my teacher Charlie Kennedy was a major Burns freak). I even won 3rd prize in a recital competition at Lochgelly Centre. I had recently attended a night of Burns song with my mum and there had been a plethora of programmes about the man on Scottish TV this year. Therefore I felt rather "Burnsed out" and had mentally shelved plans to see the play. My plans changed when Nicole announced she had booked a place at a drumming workshop, leaving me at a loose end for the evening. I decided to head along to the Carnegie Hall and buy a ticket on the door. I took the bus as I fancied nipping into Wetherspoons for a pint beforehand. I walked into the pub around 6.20pm, expecting to catch the lull between the High Street shops closing down and the time for people going out on the town. I hadn't reckoned on the rugby and the place was bustling with eager fans watching the match on the big screen. Scotland were slightly behind with 10 minutes left but they couldn't close the gap. I'm not too bothered about the game and have only a rudimentary grasp of the rules. However I do enjoy Scottish success in any sphere. It didn't work out tonight but a narrow defeat away to a strong Irish side was no disgrace. I necked a pint of IPA from Broughton - based in the Borders and one of Scotland's first modern independent breweries.
On to the theatre. I was informed at the box office that the play had been switched to the studio auditorium. This room has fixed seating for 50 but a couple of rows of extra chairs had been set out at the front. As I arrived, a large party was making its way along from the bar. Perhaps a Burns club or theatre meetup group. The smaller venue was more or less filled to capacity which made for an intimate atmosphere. The two-person performance was based around the scenario of a woman seeking post-breakup solace on Burns Night in an Ayrshire cottage once inhabited by the man himself. The bard's ghost returns for a visit and the banter flows. Burns is clearly bemused by modern dating methods but the script suggests the fundamentals of male/female interaction haven't really altered over time. Burns broke the fourth wall at times and there were laughs aplenty. Perhaps they did over-egg the pudding regarding the Lothario nature of the poet but it was a great night's entertainment for 15 quid. I hope the production managed to break even on the night. It is touring the whole country. I even managed to beat Nicole home.
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