Portmoak

Portmoak is a parish in Kinross-shire, Scotland. It consists of a group of settlements running north to south they are Glenlomond, Wester Balgedie, Easter Balgedie, Kinnesswood, Kilmagadwood and Scotlandwell.

A view from across Loch Leven of Bishop Hill with Portmoak in the foreground

Geography

The parish is on the east side of Kinross-shire lying between Loch Leven and Fife. It is bounded by the parishes of Cleish, Kinross, Orwell, Strathmiglo, Falkland, Leslie, Kinglassie, Auchterderran and Ballingray.

The area is a rich landscape of braes, crags, fine meadows, fertile fields and plantations.

Bishop Hill

The entire area of Portmoak is dominated by Bishop Hill, 500 ft (460 mtrs) high,[1] one of the Lomond Hills, known locally as "the bishop", on its lower reaches are oak, rowan and Scots pine.

It's best approached by walkers from Scotlandwell. As you climb to the top of Bishop Hill passing the top of Muduff Hill as you go, you may see good views of Loch Leven, the Firth of Forth, Bass Rock , North Berwick Law, Mossmorran, the rain radar tower at the top of Munduff hill, the Ochils, the Forth rail bridge, Schiehallion, the distant Cairngorms, West Lomond, East Lomond and Largo Law.

Carlin Maggie in 2005

The site of Carlin Maggie is on the western slope of Bishop Hill, overlooking Loch Leven.

Good views of Bishop hill and Munduff Hill can be had from nearby Benarty Hill in Fife.

History

The main villages are Kinnesswood where the Post Office is situated and Scotlandwell.

As the name implies Scotlandwell is home to a well where King Robert the Bruce is reputed to have been cured of leprosy by drinking the waters. At one time it was an important monastic centre, the monks ran a hospital here from which patients took the spring water as part of their treatment. Pilgrims journeyed from St. Andrews[2] The monks would have been linked to the nearby Portmoak Priory.

The area has always relied on farming area, and till the late 19th century limestone quarried down from the hills.

The Scottish Gliding Union at Portmoak Airfield, Scotlandwell is the largest gliding club in Scotland.

Bishop Hill

Now a commuter village Wester Balgedie or Meikle Balgedie lies 4 miles east of Kinross overlooking Loch Leven. At a fork in the road stands the Balgedie Toll Tavern, a building dating from the 19th Century.[3] A tavern has stood here from around 1534.

Two woods, Kilmagad Wood and Portmoak Moss are situated adjacent to the villages of and Kinnesswood and Scotlandwell.

Kilmagadwood is known to the locals as The Cuckoo Wood.

Portmoak has an amateur football team competing in the Perthshire 3rd division.

Parish Church

The local Parish Church of the Church of Scotland is Orwell and Portmoak Parish Church. The present Portmoak Parish Church building, built in 1832, is the third on the site. The bell is dated 1642 and the Celtic crosses are of the 10th or 11th centuries. A Memorial stone in the graveyard is for Michael Bruce, 1746 to 1767, poet and author of several scripture paraphrases used in Church of Scotland worship. On 29 October 2013 the Rev Dr Angus Morrison, minister at Orwell and Portmoak Parish Church since 2011, was nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2014-15, but in March 2014 he had to withdraw his nomination on grounds of ill health.[4]

Famous Residents

References and notes

  1. ↑ Bishop Hill
  2. ↑ Scotlandwell
  3. ↑ The Balgedie Toll Tavern
  4. ↑ Dr Angus Morrison
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Coordinates: 56°13′N 3°19′W / 56.21°N 3.31°W / 56.21; -3.31

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.