Exploring the Royal Burgh of Culross, Fife

Hey guys,

Finally got round to posting this one, as I’ve spent all week in Glasgow for Fresher’s Week.

Last Sunday Mum and I headed to Culross for the week’s wander. A fairly short walk, this leisurely walk was still packed full of sights to see and was wonderfully completed by quite possibly the largest meal I have ever eaten in the Red Lion Inn.

The beginning of our walk was interesting, because the sat-nav led us astray, and so finding the car park that marked the start of our route took a little bit of work. Once found, the start of our walk was pretty easy, as the path was flat and paved. We were treated to views out over the Firth of Forth, and a glimpse of Dunimarle Castle through the trees.

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Our route then took us up the driveway of Blair Castle Memorial Home for Miners, a sheltered walk surrounded by Rhododendrons. A fairly steep climb, this was a bit of a shock to the system after our easy, flat path. We passed a field of unusual looking cattle who didn’t seem too impressed by our walking past their field. At the top of the hill, Blair Castle came into view. Now, this is not the same Blair Castle which featured in the previous post, and I admit I have no idea why there are two castles in Scotland with exactly the same name. This Blair Castle reminded me more of Merchiston castle where we spend the NYCoS residential course.

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After snapping a few photos we headed through the trees along a farm track up towards Blair Mains Farm. Our directions told us that after the farm we would reach a metal gate which would mark the point at which we would turn off the farm track and cut through the woods. It later transpired that we passed about 6 metal gates before we found the correct one with a signpost directing us along our way. The directions we were following were quite old so I guess the farm has just undergone some renovations since then.

Our route left the farm track and headed along a rough woodland path that bordered farmland. A short way along this woodland path we came across a stile on the fence we were following and realised this was the way to a hidden plague grave we had been told about in the village. The grave was the resting place of three siblings who all lost their lives on the same day when Culross was decimated by the Plague. Much as this was fascinating and I was curious, we decided to move on without further investigation, as this kind of thing creeps me out like nothing on earth.

The path opened out onto a flatter grass path which was easier to follow than the rough woodland path. We came across the ruin of Culross West Church, which had been the main place of worship for the people of Culross until this duty was taken over by Culross Abbey. We spent some time nosing around the ruin and the surrounding graveyard and mausoleum. Graves here mainly range from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, with some from the 20th century, and one very modern grave from 2014 in the top corner. It was interesting to see the evolutions in gravestones, with the older ones being sunk and more macabre in design. There were also a number of famous people and War Graves in the graveyard. The church itself is now a complete ruin, with no roof and collapsing walls.

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After our investigation of the Church, we continued along the path, eventually ending up on the road we had originally driven into the village on. I have to admit I was glad our walk was nearly over, as my stomach was making more noise than I do when I’m singing on stage. However, I did have to stop and photograph Culross Abbey and read the tourist plaque outside to learn a little about the history of the building. Most of the once enormous building is now gone, but what little remains is still truly lovely.

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Our walk was ended with a lovely visit to The Red Lion Inn, which I would seriously recommend. I wolfed down as much as I possibly could, but there was still enough left to feed another person. Below is halfway through my meal just to put it into perspective.

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All in all, our trip to Culross was highly educational, and I would love to do more walks full of history like this one.

If you want to check where else I’ve been in Scotland so far you could check out:-

Longines FEI European Eventing Championship 2015 Blair Castle

Family in Forfar

A Wee Wander Down To The Boathouse