Christmas in Falkland
12/31/2008 09:12:00 AM Edit This 1 Comment »
The Town of Falkland (Click photos to enlarge)We spent Christmas in the wee town of Falkland, which is about a half hour's drive from St. Andrews, and still in Fife. Our friends, Tara and Nick were away for the holidays and asked us to mind their two lovely cats, Misha and Sylvan, whilst staying at their beautiful old farmhouse in the middle of Falkland Estate. Learn more about the history of the town and Estate here.
Falkland Palace is an impressive Renaissance building set in the heart of the town at the foot of the Lomond Hills. Built by James IV and James V between 1450 and 1541 the Palace was a country residence of the Stuart monarchs of Scotland for over 200 years. A Stuart, Ninian, is still in posession of the property, and is very friendly. He's very involved in the day to day running of the estate and is very supportive of the organic farming on the property.
Debi's office is also on the Estate, in the old stables. A far cry from NYC and cubicles, eh?
Just outside her door is a wee hill, atop which is an old church. Beyond that, is the majestic Falkland Mountain.
Chancefield
Chancefield, Tara and Nick's farmhouse, is a mile or two beyond the gate. It's a great walk through the fields and woods.
Chancefield, Tara and Nick's farmhouse, is a mile or two beyond the gate. It's a great walk through the fields and woods.
Most of the farms are organic, and there's a great one called the Pillars of Hercules. They have a restaurant and store, where you can buy fresh organic produce from their farm and other natural supplies. We had some tea and amazing soup on their outdoor patio. Quite wonderful. More on the Pillars, and the great projects undertaken on the property are here.
The Pillars of Hercules
The cats are loving and playful, and we enjoyed their company very much. They're quite masterful mousers, and we received many fruits of their daily hunts. We'd reward them with a bowl of milk and dispose of the poor murdered creatures whilst the furry huntresses were lapping up their bounty. We got in a good deal of play time and relaxing with them by the fire. The fireplaces were a great comfort, and I enjoyed gathering and cutting wood as much as I liked sitting before a fire with my tea and my sweetiepie, twa wee cats a-purrin'.
We took a nice long walk together, and set off through the fields towards the mountain. We came to the House of Falkland, which is now a school, set in the middle of some enchanting (enchanted) woods. The architectural details are wondrous.
The chimneys reminded me a bit of the Apprentice Pillar at the Rosslyn Chapel. There's more about the House of Falkland (and some nice interior shots) here.
House of Falkland Chimneys
The Apprentice Pillar
There's a little burn (stream) that runs past the house, and we sat by it for a while, listening to the water on the rocks.
The mist started to come in by the time we got to the stables, and the auld kirk was quite spooky. The road home seemed to lead off into the mists...
This is the Tyndall Bruce Monument that Mrs. Margaret Tyndall Bruce had...em...erected for her late husband, Onesiphorus.
Thought highly of him, she did.
We had tea with our Gaelic teacher, Morag, and her husband, Ron. Ron's hilarious. It was great to listen to more of Morag's stories , and to hear of their travels to the States and Greece. Ron also took us on a drive up the mountain, which we hope to explore in the Spring.
It was a lovely way to spend Christmas, and we feel very lucky to have had time to be together in the country. We won't soon forget it.
We have many more posts to catch up on that we've been hoping to write since our arrival. Check back soon!
1 comments:
Wow, that's amazing! I don't know what to comment on first! The opportunity to stay in a farmhouse like that in such a perfect location? Debi's amazing office? The cat perched on top of the door? The awesome hikes? Tea and kitties by a fire (with wood you chopped)? Gorgeous castles and misty walks? Seriously, are you guys making all of this up? It sounds like a magnificent Christmas. I'm starting to sense a trend since you moved out there...
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