Falkland Palace Gardens, Fife, Scotland

On the 18th of May we made a quick viisit to nearby Falkland Palace, I had wanted to see what the orchard looked like as the apple blossom in my garden was looking pretty, I thought the palace orchard would look fab, but their apple trees bloom far earlier than the ones in my garden. After realising that I vaguely remebered that I had discovered that the last time I tried to see the blossom! I must remember to visit earlier next year! Anyway, I enjoyed mooching around the other parts of the gardens, taking these photos.

Falkland Palace ,garden, shrubs

Falkland Palace gardens, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace Trees, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace Wall + Plants, Fife, Scotland

In the distance below you can see one of the Lomond hills, I’m never sure whether it’s the east or west Lomond.

Falkland, Orchard Lawn + Palace

Falkland Palace Lawn + Greenhouses

Back at the orchard there’s a huge sculpted wicker woman, she’s wearing well as she has been there for a number of years now.

Falkland Palace, Wicker Woman + Palace

I think possibly she’s meant to be Mary, Queen of Scots as she was very fond of Falkland Palace, she did a lot of hunting around the area and would have flown birds of prey.

Wicker Woman, Falkland Palace, gardens, Fife, Scotland

But the birds that I was interested in were the swallows, or maybe they’re swifts, I’m never quite sure. I wanted to see if there were many nesting in their usual place at the palace Real/Royal Tennis court. There were just a few to be seen, usually all of the nests are occupied. There are none to be seen around where we live, so that’s two bad years in a row they’ve had here. If you look carefully at the photo below you should just be able to see a teeny wee bird perched on the left of the roof support.

Swallow, Falkland Palace, Fife

Falkland Palace, Tree + Steps

The lilacs were looking particularly pretty and fresh.

Flowers , Lilacs, Falkland Palace garden, Fife, Scotland

As you can see it was a lovely sunny day. The garden was very busy and at the beginning we were having a hard time dodging other people, we’re still being very cautious which I think is sensible given that the Covid numbers are rising again in Scotland. That’s surprising given that it’s summer (supposedly) and people are outside more. It seems to be coming in three monthly waves now and just about everybody I know has had it.

Anyway, I hope to have photos on here of our Orkney trip soonish, amazingly we had great weather again, well great for Scotland, it wasn’t exactly warm but at least it wasn’t wet.

Falkland Palace Garden, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace , Fife, Scotland

Although we’re members of the Scottish National Trust we haven’t been able to visit any of their properties this year as they’ve obviously all been closed due to Covid. Some of the bigger castles have opened up again, such as Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, but last week we decided as it was a beautiful day we’d visit nearby Falkland Palace, just to walk in the garden, the palace wasn’t open. You can just walk in and there’s a box for donations.

Falkland Palace, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace was the hunting lodge of the Stuart kings and queens. Built in the 16th century by King James IV and his son James V and modelled in the French style it was also a favourite with Mary, Queen of Scots as it reminded her of the French chateaux of her childhood.

Falkland Palace , Fife, Scotland

Much of the palace is a romantic ruin, but in the 19th century the third Marquess of Bute had it partly rebuilt.

Falkland Palace, Fife, Scotland

We quite often just go for a wander around the gardens, there’s a pleasant orchard, although a lot of the trees have been fairly recently planted. In normal times you can have a nice wee sit down on a bench and admire the views, but I believe they’ve been removed due to Covid 19.

Falkland Palace Gardens, Fife, Scotland

Anyway, here are some of the photos I took while we wandered around.

Falkland Palace Gardens , Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace Gardens, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace Gardens, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace Gardens, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace Gardens, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace Steps, Fife, Scotland

The gate below is obviously modern, it leads through to the orchard some of which you can just see in the background. The apple crop was not nearly as good as usual due to the weather.

Falkland Palace Gate, Fife, Scotland

Although Falkland has always been popular with tourists it has become even more so in recent years as the village and palace have been used as a location for Outlander. Click on the photos if you want to see them enlarged.

Falkland Palace autumn gardens

Falkland Palace, gardens, Fife, Scotland

A couple of weeks ago I decided that we should visit the nearby Falkland Palace, before they shut the place for the winter. I specifically wanted to see what the gardens looked like as autumn crept up on us. In the photo above you can see the palace and ruins as viewed from the back. The palace was built as a pleasure palace, mainly used as the ‘hunting palace’ of the Stuarts. It was a favourite place of Mary Queen of Scots as it reminded her of the French palaces she had grown up in.

Falkland Palace, gardens, Fife, Scotland
It was even a wee bit misty – as befits the season.
Falkland Palace, gardens, Fife, Scotland

I think I zoomed in on the one below too closely as it looks a bit pixelated, but it gives you an idea of the autumnal shades.

Falkland Palace gardens, Fife, Scotland

The stone building in the photo below houses the real or royal tennis court. One time we went there people were actually playing real tennis, I think it calls for more skill than the modern version. The court is the oldest surviving one in the country, I think there are only a couple more of them.

Falkland Palace gardens, Fife, Scotland

I took the photo below just by turning around after taking the photo above it, so we’re looking back in the direction of the palace again.

Falkland Palace gardens, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace gardens, Fife, Scotland

Falkland Palace gardens, Fife, Scotland

The church in the photo below is next door to the palace, but it’s a lot more modern than the palace which dates from 1501, but there was a hunting lodge belonging to the Macduff Thanes of Fife, as long ago as the 12th century.
Falkland Palace gardens, Fife, Scotland

Click here if you want to see more photos and read a bit more about Falkland Palace which is now run by the Scottish National Trust.

You can see images of the real tennis court here. It’s a complicated game as you get points for hitting the ball through the windows in the back wall so the scoring system must be very different. You serve by hitting the ball onto the small sloping roof at the side.

We did go inside the palace but they don’t allow you to take photos which is a shame. The chapel is still used as the Roman Catholic church for the area. However as lots of people are very happy to dodge the rules there are images online of the interior of the chapel which you can see here.

Like so many places in Scotland, Falkland has been used as a location for filming Outlander.