Glenrothes in Fife, Scotland
Glenrothes
Riverside Park
photos with mobile phone!
Formonthills Community Woodland
The Woodland Trust
Glenrothes is one of a clutch of New Towns set up to house overspill from Glasgow and Edinburgh in the 1960s, along with Livingstone, Cumbernauld, East Kilbride and Irvine. They were built at a time when roundabouts were all the rage for traffic management, and it shows! But they also benefit from plenty of landscape planting of woodland, and the provision of cycleways and footpaths away from the roads.
I've been to various meetings in modern office buildings in Glenrothes, but never ventured anywhere on foot before. Today I was at another meeting there this morning, and didn't have to hurry back afterwards and felt like clearing my head after a meeting full of technical and organisational details! I'd already seen a parking area at the Riverside Park as I drove to the meeting.
It was a grey morning after overnight rain, but this had stopped, and so I parked in the small car park overlooking an ornamental lake. I didn't know anything about Riverside Park, but I thought I'd stretch my legs, and walked around to the left (east) side of the lake, away from the entrance and a snack bar van parked nearby.
This took me onto a good wide track through the woodland, then down to the bank of the river. Already I could feel myself relaxing and breathing in the fresh air. I didn't know how far the path went, but often these riverside tracks go on for miles. When I met an older couple coming towards me I asked if there was anywhere to cross over, and they said there was, just beyond the "motorway" bridge.
The path continued alongside the river, around a wide bend, with an open grassy area within it, before it reached the spectacular road bridge. This stands out for people driving through the town on the B969, as a contrast to the series of roundabouts. It's suspended from a single point - actually two tall steel tubular towers coming together at the top. You can see it clearly from the top of East Lomond Hill a few miles to the north-west. Today it was still impressive, despite the grey weather.
I hadn't brought my camera, but realised I could try taking a few photos with the mobile phone. They're not very good (rather like the quality of shots I used to take 40 years ago with a Kodak Instamatic!), but give some impression of the surroundings. Really these phone cameras need plenty of light to produce reasonable snaps.
Just beyond the road bridge I reached the junction with another path and followed it to the right, over the footbridge, then right again on a tarmac path on the other side. There were banks of bright yellow flowers here - the camera didn't do them justice. However it did a better job with the purple rhododendrons, which were in full bloom.
And so I continued, past a play area to the weir holding back the lower end of the lake, and finally back to the car. There was a sign for an arboretum, which sounded interesting, so I went through the car park and up some steps to the highest part of the park. There was a weird-looking statue but I couldn't find the arboretum. Another path led down the other side, and I followed this hoping to find some exotic trees, but it just led to another smaller road bridge. I found another track leading through trees back to the play area, and went on from there back to the car.
All that had taken under an hour at quite a leisurely pace - just fine for a lunch break!
Turning right onto the B969, I noticed a Fetykill Fox pub at the roundabout that would be handy for some refreshment after a walk - maybe next time.
Formonthills Community Woodland
I'd hardly driven half a mile back towards Dundee when I got to the next roundabout and saw a sign for the Formonthills Community Woodland. I was in the mood for investigating now, and even though there was no indication of distance I turned left to follow the sign. The road passed a turning for the Balgeddie House Hotel, then through another junction onto a narrower section through some housing, and then it became a dirt track! I wasn't sure if I'd lost my way, but after some speed humps (or was it just an uneven track?) I saw a couple of Woodland Trust signs for the Community woods. It was about a mile from the main road.
I found a space to pull in, and walked further up the track, out of the trees. Up ahead beyond an area of marshy ground was a farmhouse, and then I saw the car park next to it. That's where I should have parked, but I walked up and checked out the information board. Apparently there was a choice of walks, one up to Rhind Hill (233m) with good views over Glenrothes; another leading round the east side of Rhind Hill to join the path up East Lomond Hill (a 5 mile round trip); a third linking with a route around Coul Den Nature Reserve; and 3 miles (5km) of surfaced paths within the woodland itself.
According to the information panel:
"From Pitcairn to the lower slopes of Rhind Hill is a young native woodland, with lots of open space, fresh air and fantastic long-distance views. The 80,000 oak, ash, birch, cherry and Scots pine were planted in the mid-1990s, on what was once open farmland.
"Mature woodland links the communities of Balgeddie, Collydean, Pitcairn and Coul. Enjoy the contrast of light and shade as you pass through broadleaves, Scots pine and other conifers.
"Many areas have been seeded with wildflowers. In spring and summer they provide nectar for insects and a blanket of colour".
Sure enough, there were plenty of flowers in bloom, in particular lots of red campion which brightened up the grassland beneath the young trees. I had a wander up one of the mown grass paths, but after the recent rain it wasn't really suitable for "town shoes". There was another path specifically for exercising dogs after leaving the car park. Beyond the trees I could see the open slope of Rhind Hill, and then I headed back towards the farmhouse and the adjacent car park.
Although the information board had a map showing the paths, it could be a bit confusing to work out which ones led where, without a map to carry. There didn't seem to be any waymarkers or signposts around the wood itself.
Perhaps I should have taken the gravel track leading over towards Pitcairn, but I decided it was time to head back to Dundee. Another place to come back to on a fine day!
"The Woodland Trust is the UK's leading woodland conservation charity. On average, we plant about half a million native trees every year. We are restoring over one hundred degraded ancient woodland sites across the UK including 5,000 hectares in Scotland." That's what it says in the leaflet that I picked up from the dispenser at the car park.
Clearly the Woodland Trust is doing good work in Scotland - I have another walk waiting to be added to the site, at Backmuir Wood near Dundee, where the Trust has planted another new area of woodland to expand the existing long-established community woodland. At both places there is good provision for walkers, with parking and information. Those who enjoy relaxing woodland walks will benefit from their efforts, and may want to make a contribution. The Woodland Trust website is well worth a visit.
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