Explore with Amie

Falkland is a quaint, historic town in Fife neighbouring the Lomond Hills regional park. Recently, whilst staying in Stirling for my masters graduation, we headed out for the day to explore the region.

How to get to Falkland

Falkland is 57 minutes away from Stirling by car and is a similar distance from Edinburgh, taking just over an hour to get there. We opted to park at Back Wynd Car Park which is located handily near the public toilets as well as the Community Centre and Library. This car park was free as well which is always a great bonus. Unfortunately, public transport options are more limited with two buses required from Edinburgh, the first to Glenrothes and then onto Falkland. Options are even worse from Stirling which requires a train to Edinburgh in the first place. It is possible but arguably, this is one for the car.

Things to do/see in Falkland

This town is now perhaps most famous for appearing in the popular TV show, Outlander. At the time of our visit, I hadn’t seen any of the show but, now that I have, Falkland is easily recognisable as Inverness. Claire and Frank arrive there in the very first episode of season one for their second honeymoon.

However, this town also has an interesting history. Falkland became Scotland’s first conservation town in 1970 due to the well preserved architecture in the area. Falkland Palace was built in the 1500 and is said to be best example of French-Renaissance architecture in the whole of Scotland. The site was initially a hunting cabin, and was a popular retreat for the Stewart monarchs. Later, it became a hiding place for Mary Queen of Scots who took refuge there from the political turmoil of the time. Nowadays, the palace and its gardens are maintained by National Trust for Scotland and are open to the public between March and October. As we visited in November it was shut although, (despite the website suggesting otherwise), the shop was open and we picked up a lovely Christmas decoration for the tree.

Falkland is home to many little independent shops and cafes. I was particularly a fond of Fayre Earth which was a quaint gift shop. Here, we bought a gorgeous print featuring Falkland and some highland cows which is now up on the wall in our home. There are also antique shops, vintage clothing stores and even a music shop! You don’t need too long in the town as it is incredibly small but still well worth stopping by if you’re in Fife or adding to a walk in the Lomond Hills.

A Walk in the Lomond Hills

Lomond Hills became the first regional park in Scotland in 1986 because of its importance for conservation. It is just a stones throw away from Falkland and is a great compliment to your day out in the town. The Lomond Hills are also home to West Lomond which is the tallest peak in Fife at 522m. That is small by Scottish Munro standards but is nevertheless a great walk in the area.

The best place to park is the Craigmead Car Park & Picnic Area which is another free car park. From here it is only 2km to the peak of West Lomond. However, you should also include Tyndall Bruce Monument which stands on Black Hill and has incredible views over the Howe of Fife. The Tyndall Bruce family were the owners of the Falkland Estate and the monument was built by Margaret, wife of Onesiphorus Tyndall Bruce to honour her husband.

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Start Point: Craigmead Car Park & Picnic Area

1. Head out the top right-hand corner of the car park, following the path into the woodland area.
2. Pass through the gate and take the path on the right, heading diagonally down the field.
3. Go through the gate to join the track and turn left uphill.
4. Once you pass through another gate, when the woodland ends, take the path on the right shortly after the fallen stone wall. This path takes you downhill into the woodland via a stile.
5. Use the logs and makeshift footbridges to pass over the boggy parts of the path and small streams.
6. Take the second path on the right to circle around to the Temple of Decision.
7. Once past the Temple of Decision, the path becomes more of a gravel track. Follow this, keeping right at the fork.

8. Take the next right to the Tyndall Bruce Monument.
9. Follow the path on the opposite side of the monument for a steep descent through the trees.
10. At the junction, turn left until the path meets a gravel track. At the track, turn left.
11. After just under 1km, there will be a steep path up the left. Look out for the second small stream crossing as the path is after this.
12. Climb steeply uphill. Once you reach the top, turn right and then follow the path to the left to the summit of West Lomond.
13. Once you reach the summit, turn left and follow the path down from the peak.
14. Soon the path becomes a gravel track. Continue down the gravel track which is the same one that you left at the beginning of the walk.
15. Retrace your steps to the car park.

End Point: Craigmead Car Park & Picnic Area

This was a great day out and I highly recommend visit both Falkland and trying this route out for yourselves.

Amie x