There are two famous long distance walking trails through the Kingdom of Fife. The Coastal Path winds for 117 miles around the peninsula and was opened around 20 years ago. It is an immensely popular route and I have done every stage in a planned sequence, plus innumerable bits and pieces whenever I happened to be in the vicinity. It really does cover the complete county coastline, from Culross on the Firth of Forth to Newburgh on the Tay. A new inland trail - The Fife Pilgrim Way - formally came on stream in the summer of 2019. It approximates the journey of medieval pilgrims across the Kingdom to the shrine of Saint Andrew after sailing over the Forth. At 64 miles, it is considerably shorter than the coastal walk. It also has two starting points - the ports of Culross and North Queensferry. These legs converge at Dunfermline Abbey and both my sister and I have reached this point at the time of writing. We are planning to complete the rest of the path together.
In my corner of the county, the circular West Fife Woodlands Way is a recent addition to the Kingdom's formal walking routes. At a length of 10 miles, it stitches together a mixture of paths, pavements and farm tracks and is fully signed throughout. I had already done all these legs in smaller chunks over the years with the exception of a mile between Shiresmill and Devilla Forest. But of course I couldn't resist the challenge of doing the whole loop in one go, particularly as it was on my patch. I chose a pleasant day during my Easter break to tackle the trail and selected the entrance to the old Valleyfield Estate at Newmills as my starting point. The Woodlands Way notionally begins in Culross but you can of course break into the circle at any point and keep going. I have written extensively about the Valleyfield Estate in another post and will provide just basic information here. Sir Robert Preston (1740-1834) unexpectedly inherited the baronetcy in 1800 and spent a significant amount of money improving the grand mansion and commissioning renowned landscape gardener Sir Humphry Repton to design a new layout for the grounds - the only example of a Repton garden in the whole of Scotland. Preston had amassed a large fortune as a shipping magnate in the far east and had also served as a Member of Parliament for over 20 years. Nicknamed Floating Bob due to his maritime exploits, Preston was almost literally a larger than life character. His great friend Sir Walter Scott once said "Sir Robert is as big as two men....and eats like three"
Floating Bob couldn't resist taking on a new venture and he established an artificial island (named after himself) within his inter-tidal lands on the Firth of Forth. Preston Island was something of an industrial marvel, combining coal mining and salt production on an integrated coastal site. As is often the case with pioneering projects, it wasn't a long-term success and coal extraction ceased following a major explosion. The salt pans continued operating until increased taxes rendered them non-viable. The Woodlands Way passes right through the former estate and a local group - led by the irrepressible Ronnie Collins - has done much to increase public awareness of local history via information boards and annual snowdrop walks. The members also perform a lot of maintenance on local pathways to keep them navigable for the likes of you and me. Hat duly tipped to them! Valleyfield House fell into decay and was demolished in 1941. Only a few chunks of foundation remain in the undergrowth. The walled flower garden survived and can be viewed from the trail as you walk alongside the Bluther Burn. Pieces of pillar from the mansion's entrance porch remain in the water to this day, most likely rolled down the hill by youngsters back in the 40s. You can also spot an ice house and the sluice gates that diverted the river around an ornamental island. The estate is now council-owned and managed as a woodland park. Full marks to local historians for unearthing traces of the opulent past.
As I entered Valleyfield Estate, I spotted this circular memorial to a local lady accused of witchcraft in 1704. I have written screeds about the fate of Lilias Adie in other blog articles and I was at the unveiling ceremony for the plaque placed on the village green at Culross. Three stones in total were laid as a mark of respect to the Scottish women who suffered this terrible fate. Lilias is unique in this whole grisly affair as she died in custody before her "trial" could be held. Therefore she has a known burial site. It's not a grand resting place, far from it. Lilias was unceremoniously dumped in a hastily-dug hole upon the foreshore and a large oblong stone was placed on top of her coffin - lest she return from the dead following reanimation by Old Nick himself. The tomb was raided during Victorian times and several bones removed. Two walking sticks were fashioned from parts of the coffin. Lilias's skull has mysteriously disappeared after last being on display at the Empire Exhibition in 1938. Local archaeologist Douglas Spiers - who pinpointed the grave recently - has attempted to track down the scattered remains but has so far drawn a blank. He has conducted many talks and interviews on the subject in both regional and national circles. The sad case of Lilias Adie aroused great interest and scientists at Dundee University even constructed a model of her projected face. The matter of falsely accused witches is now a widely debated topic and - while we can't change the course of events from previous centuries - it's satisfying that this injustice is now given long overdue recognition. I exited the Valleyfield Estate and the path took me in the direction of the former mining village of Blairhall, swinging towards the old pit bing before I reached the actual settlement. West Fife was once dominated by the coal industry but the closure of Comrie Colliery in 1986 following the bitter national strike left just one pit standing in this end of the county. When Longannet was flooded beyond repair at the turn of the century, it was all over and the pick-axes fell silent. Blairhall Colliery ceased operations in 1969 and the surrounding landscape has now been reclaimed as a nature reserve. The old slag heap is a fantastic vantage point and the Stirlingshire peak of Dumyat dominates the horizon. The official route goes up and over the bing but there is also the option to skirt the bottom. I tried to imagine an industrial scene from the past. Wagonloads of coal connecting with the nearby Dunfermline to Stirling Railway. The pit winding engine raising the black diamonds from the earth and transporting the army of men up and down the shaft. Was a pit a smoky environment on the surface? I'll have to ask my folks. I would imagine coal dust would have been the main irritant.
The path took me through the reclaimed land and into Balgownie Wood. Nicole and I once saw a crossbill here. Our only sighting of this bird. Now managed by the Forestry Commission, Balgownie was once the woodland for Culross Abbey and is reckoned to have been planted in medieval times. Some ancient oak is concealed within the mixed selection of trees. Thankfully the signed route quickly veered away from the stony forest road and followed a more secluded path to the far end of the woods. From a clearing, I had a lovely view of Brankstone Grange - a 19th century country house - nestled on a hillside in the distance. Now back in private hands, it was previously owned by the Barnardo's charity and run as a children's home. Many old mansions were converted to educational or care facilities in the post-war years. A healthy supply of these properties on the market would have kept buying or rental prices reasonable and a lot of space (both indoors and out) was on offer to interested parties. Whether that meant the building was actually the ideal solution is a different matter entirely. There aren't many examples of children's homes (or indeed schools) still operating in this type of environment. I crossed a minor road then passed through a gate to walk a gravelled link path between Balgownie Wood and Devilla Forest. Established by the West Fife group, it's a pleasant stroll with the Ochil Hills as a prominent backdrop. I emerged at business premises that traded previously as the Walled Garden. A tea-room, restaurant and farm shop were situated within the compound but it now seems to have transformed into a wedding venue. Nicole and I had stopped by for a coffee a few years ago and had to scrape together our small change as a sign on the entrance door informed us only cash was accepted. Quite unusual at the time, pretty much unthinkable in the post-pandemic age. A family of four behind us had to turn around and leave as they had only plastic currency. Back on the trail, I completed the only section that could be potentially described as boring - almost a mile alongside an industrial access road that met the A985. I then slipped back into the forest and passed the plague grave. Three child siblings in the Balds family from Culross passed away on the same day in 1645 and were buried in the woods. Even today, locals still maintain the plot and leave little toys and trinkets as a mark of respect. I then walked through the grounds of Culross Old Kirk, a ruined pre-reformation place of worship which gravestones dating from 1620. The location has been used in the Outlander TV series and the mausoleum in the corner of the churchyard has recently been cleaned up by the woodlands group. I followed the trail into Culross village where it runs alongside the railway line on the seafront. Passengers haven't travelled on this route since 1930 and coal traffic finally ceased a few years ago with the closure of Longannet Power Station. Now used for occasional steam charters, stock movements and a diversionary line, the campaign for full reopening continues and weight was added by confirmation that train builders Taglo have purchased the power station site for the location of a new factory. It will connect to the existing single-track line and passenger services are slated to return from the Alloa direction as far as Clackmannan. Such a move would surely strengthen the case for through running to Dunfermline, although an onward Edinburgh link would require trains to reverse across the tracks (or the construction of a triangular junction). Let's hope politicians don't use Covid as an excuse to shelve these schemes late in the day. Toe the green line guys!
I followed the tracks past a man-made peninsula that has swallowed up the original Preston Island. Ash from the power station was used to reclaim land from the intertidal zone and it now forms part of a popular walking loop. The remains of the old saltworks and coal mine can be viewed from behind a wire fence. Floating Bob's stately home is long gone but it's entirely right that some of his legacy remains upon the Lands of Valleyfield. An uphill climb alongside the Culross to Newmills road brought me back to my starting point. Ten miles of local paths with a huge amount of history thrown in. The West Fife Woodlands Way makes a great day wander and I can heartily recommend this new addition to the Kingdom's walking trails. The car was in sight, parked beside the old estate entrance. I had performed a good deed at the start of my expedition, re-uniting an iPhone with its teenage owner. Finding it on the ground and unable to identify to whom it might belong, I thought I'd post a message on local groups when I returned home to see if anyone claimed the device. As I was trying to photograph the screensaver image, the phone emitted a noise telling me someone was attempting to track it remotely. I guessed it could be the two people I'd passed on my way in. Turning round, I headed back and soon saw a woman and girl heading towards me. I held the phone aloft and a smile spread across the youngster's face. The camaraderie of walkers in action!
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