Valleyfield Woods

Overview

It was once part of the Valleyfield House estate, owned by Sir Robert Preston, who was a Baronet.

He commissioned Humphrey Repton, the celebrated English gardener of the time, to improve the house and estate, it being the only commission in Scotland for Repton.

Another name associated with the wood was David Douglas, who spent some time as an apprentice to the head gardener, Alex Stuart, before becoming under-gardener at Glasgow Botanic Garden.

He then started on his North American travels to collect new varieties of trees and shrubs (the Douglas Fir is named after him).

Douglas, born in 1799, is actually credited with introducing more than 240 new plant species to Britain.

The stone cottage he once lived in at Valleyfield stands as a ruin at the edge of the wood, while an area of open ground in front was the kitchen garden, serving the mansion house.

Remains of the ornamental flower garden designed by Repton are still in evidence.

West Fife Villages
updated 03/2012 by Action for Change Scotland