IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
GLENROTHES, KY7 6NE

18th century Georgian mansion, now a luxury hotel, at Markinch.

Now an upmarket hotel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balbirnie_House

The present category A listed house was completed in 1817 as a rebuild of an 18th-century building, itself a replacement for a 17th-century dwelling. The home of the Balfour family from 1640, the house was sold in 1969 and opened as a hotel in 1990. The grounds now comprise a large public park and a golf course.

In the gardens of this hotel near Markinch several gazebos have been erected as part of the hotels' compliance with social distancing rules. Other tables in the gardens are well separated and all ordering of food and drink is done by app and payment is by card only to avoid unnecessary contact with staff or other customers.

In the gardens of this hotel near Markinch several gazebos have been erected as part of the hotels' compliance with social distancing rules. Other tables in the gardens are well separated and all ordering of food and drink is done by app and payment is by card only to avoid unnecessary contact with staff or other customers.

In Balbirnie Park, Markinch, beside a path on a slight rise opposite the main entrance to Balbirnie House Hotel, is this short fence. It was placed there by the hotel for the use of newly-married couples who wish to place these Lovelock Padlocks on show as a love token https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_lock Balbirnie House Hotel has won many awards for its excellence in organising and hosting weddings.

This road leads to the golf course club house with the hotel car parking on the right hand side.

Balbirnie Park comprises 416 acres of attractive parkland and woodland garden. Up until 1969 the estate was owned by the Balfour Family having been in their family for 300 years, the park was then purchased by Glenrothes Development Company. The Balfour family had lived at Balbirnie since the mid-17th century, but planned development of the landscape was not carried out until John Balfour began to rebuild the family home in 1777. Robert Robinson the landscape designer visited Balbirnie in 1779 and prepared a plan for the park in the style of Capability Brown. (Brown's method entailed the use of flowing hillock lines and tree grouping on a grand scale to create vistas with contrasting enclosure, presenting a "natural" landscape effect). Though John Balfour did not follow every detail of Robinson's plan he developed the estate within its broad outlines and provided the basis of a fine landscaped park which was to be improved upon in later years. The 1794 Statistical Account described the park as a "delightfully romantick" place with "a pretty extensive lawn ... planted with different kinds of trees" and "surrounding eminences ... covered with fine thriving plantations." In 1815, when major extensions were being made to the house, new proposals for improving the park were prepared by the younger Thomas White. White's improvements resulted in a delightful landscape of which the 1845 Statistical Account was able to say, "These heights, clothed with some of the finest trees in the country are rendered accessible on all sites by means of walks and alleys so contrived as to command at every turn varied and picturesque views of the surrounding country." The woodland garden surrounding Balbirnie features fine groups of medium and large size rhododendrons, whilst other groups are to be found opposite the house and on the East Drive with the smaller varieties adjacent to the Craft Centre. for more info about the Rhododendron collection go to http://www.fifedirect.org.uk/atoz/index.cfm?fuseaction=publications.List&subjectid=xxx&facid=D23E0CF5-1ACE-11D6-8DD600508BBD18A1