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Burleigh Castle welcomes visitors again after Kinross keep passes safety inspection

Burleigh Castle near Milnathort.
Burleigh Castle near Milnathort. Pic: HES.

500-year-old Burleigh Castle near Milnathort has passed a safety inspection to allow visitors back to the Historic Environment Scotland property.

The ancient building was closed off last year while specialists carried out high-level masonry inspections.

But HES did keep the popular path leading to the 16th century entrance open.

The heritage agency has now confirmed the castle is re-opening to visitors.

Only the first floor of the north tower is still to be inspected so the upper areas of the castle will remain out of bounds for now.

Balfour family seat

The castle was the historic seat of the Balfours of Burleigh for more than 250 years.

The original buildings date from the late 1400’s or early 1500’s and comprise a tall tower house and the remains of a west courtyard range.

It’s thought there may have been residence at the site near Kinross from the mid-1400’s.

Burleigh was adapted and expanded in the late 1500’s before the Balfours lost the land and castle in 1716.

It is the latest HES site to reopen and increase access following a prioritised programme of inspections.

Doune Castle, Dundonald Castle, St Andrews Castle and St Andrews Cathedral have all re-opened.

Arbroath Abbey concerns

But Arbroath Abbey remains a major Courier country location still to fully re-open.

A new scriptorium has recently been completed there.

And HES has made improvements to the visitor centre which tells the story of the Abbey and the 1320 signing of the Declaration of Arbroath.

Arbroath Abbey
A new scriptorium has opened but Arbroath Abbey remains fenced off.

But the body has been urged to speed up the re-opening of the landmark.

HES operations director Craig Mearns said: “We are committed to reopening and increasing access at as many of our sites as soon as possible as we work through our prioritised programme of high-level masonry inspections, which are progressing well.

“Our teams will work through the winter months as far as possible to expedite this work, and where we are able, continue to increase access to more much-loved heritage sites.”