Culross Palace

Isn't it strange how we travel far and wide to visit famous tourist attractions, but often neglect treasures on our own doorstep? I am certainly guilty as charged. For the past 20 years, I have lived a short drive from Culross Palace without ever going inside the A-listed merchant's house in the heart of the historic royal burgh. The small coastal town has gained international recognition in recent years as a filming location for the globally successful TV series Outlander - a fantasy time-travelling drama set mainly in Scotland. Seven seasons have been produced. Culross Palace was completed in the early 17th century and is now managed by the National Trust. It was never a royal residence, but King James VI paid a visit in 1617. It was finally time for Nicole and I to explore this famous yellow-painted property.

Self-guided tours commence every half hour. Ticket holders are grouped together at the start and shown a video presentation outlining the basic history of the palace and surrounding burgh. The house was built as a dwelling for local industrial pioneer and international trader George Bruce. He developed new mining techniques and was lauded for the construction of the Culross Moat Pit - the first known example of coal extraction below the sea bed. It used an Egyptian wheel (powered by horses) to drain excess water from the shaft. A continuous chain of 36 buckets scooped the water away. Good quality coal could be loaded on to waiting boats for export, while the less premium material was suitable for fuelling salt pans - a major industry on the inner Forth Estuary. Launched around 1590, the moat pit ran successfully for over three decades until a severe storm flooded the complex in 1625, leading to its abandonment. Bruce passed away just five weeks later. We climbed the stairs to the withdrawing room, an informal lounge where guests would gather after dinner. Outlander scenes were created here. The panelled walls were added in the 18th century, while the painted ceilings are original. These colourful images must have appeared ghostly in the days of flickering firelight. The High Hall had a grand fireplace and a dry privy was situated within an alcove. The contents of chamber pots were tossed down here. Bruce's house was close to the harbour, allowing him to monitor vessels coming and going. Culross is regarded as one of Scotland's first industrial communities and Royal Burgh status was granted in 1588. This permitted international trade and the right to stage a regular schedule of markets and fairs, further cementing the prosperity. A monopoly was achieved on the manufacture of girdles - flat iron plates used for baking over an open fire. The practice ended in 1760 with the opening of the Carron Iron Foundry across the water. A less progressive aspect of the town's history is the trial and execution of around 50 women for witchcraft in the first half of the 17th century. The plague arrived in the 1640s, brought by rats aboard ships. By Victorian times, the town's fortunes had declined and Culross missed out on the railway boom. A line did belatedly appear in 1906 but it was never profitable and passenger services ceased as early as 1930. Freight lingered on and the construction of Longannet Power Station in 1962 secured a future for the single-track corridor. Coal trains rumbled by my house (in Cairneyhill) until 2008, when delivery runs were switched to the western end of the route via Alloa. Longannet closed in 2016 and the trademark towers were demolished five years later. The Culross railway remains open but is lightly used, seeing occasional steam charters and diversionary stock movements. The campaign to establish a Fife to Glasgow passenger link along the Forth has gone quiet lately. By the 1930s, Culross was a quiet backwater and had largely escaped modern redevelopment. The National Trust stepped in to preserve many of the historic properties and the medieval street plan. The project strongly featured a desire to retain "little houses" - ordinary homes that were part of the community fabric. By safeguarding the future of these buildings and releasing them for private ownership, Culross could be presented as a living museum. A major European prize for architectural heritage was awarded in 1976. A framed letter of congratulation from the late Queen Elizabeth II hangs on a wall within the palace.

A dress worn by the character Geillis Duncan in the first series of Outlander is prominently displayed. Her costumes were deliberately designed to reflect 1960s life, creating a sense of disorientation among the audience and strongly hinting she was out of place in the 18th century, before the time hopping angle was revealed. We wandered into the apothecary and kitchen. Herbal remedies were commonly used to treat all manner of ailments back in the day. We then explored the extensive terraced and walled garden to the rear of the building. It has an impressive range of fruit, vegetables and flowers. I spotted pear trees and mulberry bushes. A small section of the period compound was roped off due to the presence of a wasp's nest. The Palace was opened to the public by the National Trust in 1994 and its future is now secure. The building is A-listed and has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Visitors flock to the old burgh all year round, fuelled in no small part by the Outlander connection. Filming in Culross stretches back to 1971, when Michael Caine starred in Kidnapped, an adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson adventure novel. More recent productions include A Dying Breed (2007) and The 39 Steps (2008). After our tour, we enjoyed a coffee outdoors at Bessie's Café, part of the Palace operation but accessible to all members of the public. I wonder why it took us so long to explore this internationally known attraction just a few miles from out home?