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| Kirkcaldy Galleries behind wildflower planting |
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Museum
The museum tells of Kirkcaldy's history - mining, lino, pottery...
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Gallery
The gallery's permanent collection is only four or five rooms but has really top quality works. One room is devoted to the Scottish Colourists, including beautiful small Peploe studies of town and of sea, and a number of his Iona beaches. Another room is for Fife artworks, names I didn't know but am pleased to have discovered. The last room is McTaggart, who I've never managed to never get on with, but there was one of his - The Wave - that had none of his cherubic figures and really did grab me.
The collection is online here - www.artuk.org - many more paintings than are on display in the gallery at any more time. I've been browsing it just now and there it's seriously exciting. One of my favourite paintings for example, Frances Walker's Leaving St Kilda, and companion piece Passing St Kilda. I first saw these two at the opening of her Place Observed in Solitude exhibition in Aberdeen Art Gallery in 2010. One of my favourite exhibitions of all I've seen. Read about it here - www.northings.com.
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| Scottish Colourists room. plus mum's leg |
Temporary exhibitions also take place here, lots of different things. Currently it's a celebration of The Singing Kettle... My brother liked them but I always preferred Mr Boom, Singing Kettle were just so loud.
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Cafe
The cafe does coffee and scones, date slices and very nice carrot cake.
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Oh, and the men's toilet downstairs is all nice and aged with a big wooden seat and a pull flush, as in my mum's childhood home. The word 'Modern' is stamped inside the bowl...
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Gardens
Kirkcaldy Galleries is set within Kirkcaldy War Memorial Gardens, a small area of parkland which at the time of this visit was brought absolutely alive by a wildflower bed, primarily poppies. Hundreds of hoverflies and bumblebees and other pollinators were buzzing in the come-and-go sunshine.
Incidentally, why not do your own bit by planting an area of wildflowers in your garden, or even just leaving a patch of lawn to grow long. Easy and quick. Even half a square metre helps to Give Nature a Home - www.rspb.org.uk
How to get there
Trains to Kirkcaldy take 35-45 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley, usually running every half hour during the day, or hourly on Sundays. The views are pretty great.
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| from the train, between Kirkcaldy and Kinghorn |
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| from the train, Kinghorn |
From Dundee it takes about the same length of time but trains are less frequent.
Timetables are all here.
(Recently there have been lots of cancellations on the Fife line so do check the ScotRail app or website before leaving.)
Many thanks to ScotRail for their support of my Scotland by Rail work.
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