Falkland 05
Out for drive with chum and his hounds at the weekend, and after a good walk with the dogs through some forested hills in Fife, we ended up driving to Falkland, an old, tiny village in Fife. There's barely over a thousand folks in this wee place, but it is very beautiful, nestling in the foothills of the Lomond Hills. Many of the old houses have the distinctive red pantile roof slates, which you see on a lot of older buildings around this part of the coast, a legacy of trade with the Low Countries centuries ago (those very European style roof tiles came back as ballast on trading ships)
The village is also home to Falkland Palace, begun by King James IV in 1500, on the site of a former hunting lodge and castle, and the Renaissance palace was a popular spot for the king and nobles to stay in while indulging in hunting deer, boar, falconry and other pursuits, and it still boasts the original real tennis court from 1539 (still sometimes in use!)
Falkland 05
Out for drive with chum and his hounds at the weekend, and after a good walk with the dogs through some forested hills in Fife, we ended up driving to Falkland, an old, tiny village in Fife. There's barely over a thousand folks in this wee place, but it is very beautiful, nestling in the foothills of the Lomond Hills. Many of the old houses have the distinctive red pantile roof slates, which you see on a lot of older buildings around this part of the coast, a legacy of trade with the Low Countries centuries ago (those very European style roof tiles came back as ballast on trading ships)
The village is also home to Falkland Palace, begun by King James IV in 1500, on the site of a former hunting lodge and castle, and the Renaissance palace was a popular spot for the king and nobles to stay in while indulging in hunting deer, boar, falconry and other pursuits, and it still boasts the original real tennis court from 1539 (still sometimes in use!)