A mythical creature best associated with the skies of Westeros and the Lonely Mountain lair of Smaug has become the centre of attention in a Fife village.
The 8ft dragon which has appeared in the Limekilns back garden of Fiona Philp has been turning heads ever since making a home for itself on the remains of a bygone sycamore tree.
Kyran Thomas (left) and his father Rory Thomas (right) of Iron Design by Rory.The dragon in Limekilns.Dubbed “Fiona’s Dragon”, the winged beast is made up of scrap metal that forms some 1,000 individually-crafted scales and has eyes of fused glass to give it a piercing stare.
The sculpture was commissioned by Mrs Philp, a former hairdressing lecturer, in January after problems with the tree affecting nearby telephone wires led to it being brought down.
Fiona Philp with the dragon in the background.It was designed by self-styled “blacksmith-artists” Rory and Kyran Thomas of the Leslie-based father-and-son business Iron Design by Rory.
The pair used the ferocious Game of Thrones dragon Drogon as their inspiration for the design.
Despite this, Fiona’s Dragon has a far more pleasant demeanour and has proved a huge hit with Fifers – who have been turning up to visit the artwork in their droves.
Mrs Philp said: “It seems to have put Limekilns on the map. The kids in the village are all coming to see it. They have been knocking on my door.
Fiona Philp in the centre with Kyran Thomas (left) and his father Rory Thomas (right) of Iron Design by Rory.”I have had strangers come to my door, and come from the top of Fife. Everybody that’s coming to my door has said it is beautiful. I think everybody likes dragons.
“It is really quite big. It literally just looks like it’s flown in. I was just blown away by it.
“I didn’t want to bring the tree down, it is sacrilege, but the sycamore tree just had to come down; it was bringing down telephone wires.
“There is 20ft of the tree left. I thought it would be nice to have something eye-catching that would sit at the tree.
“I asked Rory if he could create a feature on the tree and asked if he could create a dragon. Dragon’s are mythical and magical, I thought it would be a nice thing for the gran-kids and they said ‘ granny, get the dragon’.”
She added: “I just wanted it happy-looking, so it is smiling and not fierce.
“It will have to get a name. For now it’s Fiona’s Dragon.”
Metalworker Rory, 58 said: “About six weeks worth of work was involved, it is just the two of us and it is all made of recycled metal – which includes normal steel, copper, etc.
“I came down and thought, ‘A dragon on a tree? That’s a challenge. I’ll have a go’.
“She left it with us. I am quite pleased with the outcome. She let us get on with it. We wanted to do something different.”
Visiting Mrs Philp’s garden on Thursday, Rory said he was delighted to see “non-stop” interest in his work from passersby.
