Glenrothes is one of the towns in the Kingdom of Fife that is considered to be a new town. It was only created since 1948 as an amalgamation of the small farming communities of Leslie, Markinch, Cadham and Woodside. The economy of the area used to be dependent on the paper-making and coal mining industries and was largely populated by mining families moving from other areas in Scotland, especially Glasgow. The town was developed to provide homes for the miners working at the Rothes Mine, but when the mine closed down in 1961, many people from Glasgow moved here to live in a rural community. The result is that today the population of Glenrothes is close to 50,000.
To get a glimpse of some of the history in Glenrothes, visit Pitcairn House, which are the ruins of a castle-like house. Although this house must have been more than one story high, the rooms inside would have been extremely small. In the time period in which it was built it would have been located on top of a hill. From there you can walk across the bridge that will take you into the Cadham area of Glenrothes. The great variety in the architectural styles of the buildings of Glenrothes is very eye-catching. Along with the beautiful scenery of the area, it presents many photo opportunities. It is part of the Fife Millennium Cycleway and the community is close to the centre of two of the main routes. From here you can cycle your way to Kirkcaldy, Leven or Falkland as part of the shorter routes.
Tee off at the Glenrothes Golf Course, which is a challenging course even for the best of golfers, which also makes it more attractive. The scenic views from the course, though, will help ease the pain of not getting a high score. There is not a lot of places to go for leisure activity in Glenrothes, but it does have Rothes Hall, which features six pubs, a nightclub, a concert hall and two bingo halls. For a night out, there are many pubs scattered throughout the town and in the surrounding villages. The Glenrothes Gala is an annual event that takes place in August with such events as a Highland Dancing Competition, Scottish pipe bands and dog shows. This event draws crowds from all over the country. One thing that you will notice is that Glenrothes is not like other Scottish towns in that it doesn’t have a High Street with rows of shops on each side. Rather, it is a modern town with a shopping district and has a wide range of hotels for your accommodations. The restaurants here serve a combination of traditional Scottish and international cuisine, so you are sure to find your favourite foods on the menus.
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All photographs © Richard Fisher
