Cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them or accept our recommended settings. Using this tool will set a cookie on your device to remember your preferences.

Options
Necessary cookies enable core functionality on our website. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
We use marketing cookies to personalise your visit to our website and show you tailored advertising based on your likes and interests.
We use analytics cookies to monitor visitor behaviour patterns and improve our website performance.

Your preferences have been set. If you wish to change your preferences, you may do so on our cookies page.

Search My Trust
Join now
Join
Close

Looking for places? Use our place search to find them by name, town or postcode.

Accessibility

Falkland Palace & Garden accessibility guide

This fine Renaissance palace has an extensive formal garden and one of Britain’s oldest tennis courts.

Welcome

Contact for accessibility enquiries: Keith Gilchrist, Visitor Services Manager

Email: falklandpalace@nts.org.uk

Telephone number: 01337 857397

Web page: Falkland Palace & Garden

Please note we have a complimentary ticket policy for carers.

Our Visitor Services team wear name badges and navy Trust fleeces/softshell jackets. They will be happy to answer any questions you have about your visit.

At a glance

  • There is level access to the garden from reception.
  • The palace, tennis court, gift shop and plant sales are accessed via a steep turnpike staircase or steps, which are not accessible for wheelchairs.

Visual

  • Some parts of the visitor experience have low lighting.
  • The standard information booklet for visitors is small print. A Braille guide of the palace is available upon request at reception, as well as large print information and information in 10 languages.

Sensory

  • The reception and shop tills have induction loops.
  • Noise-cancelling headphones are available.

Dogs

  • All dogs are allowed in the garden (except the walled garden).
  • Assistance dogs are welcome throughout the property.
  • Water and treats can be provided.
A view of Falkland Palace from the gardens on a sunny summer's day. A stretch of green lawn ends in a collection of different trees and shrubs. Behind those the stone walls of the palace are visible, with the tower stretching up into the blue sky.

Getting here

Falkland Palace
Falkland
Cupar
Fife
KY15 7BY

Falkland Palace is in the village of Falkland, 11 miles north of Kirkcaldy and 11 miles south-west of Cupar.

Parking and public transport

  • There is no parking available on site but there is free parking in the village at Back Wynd, which is a 5-minute walk from Falkland Palace.
  • The nearest railway stations are Ladybank (4.9 miles away) and Markinch (6.7 miles away).
  • Local bus services stop close to the palace.
The tall Renaissance gatehouse that forms the entrance to Falkland Palace. A large leafy tree stands to the right of the small door.
The gatehouse marks the entrance to Falkland Palace.

Getting around the palace

Upon arrival, you will be given a map of the grounds and offered a verbal introduction to the property, covering some basic housekeeping rules and a suggested route through the palace. The suggested route is to start at the top (on the second floor) and work down. However, the tour is self-guided so can be adapted to suit visitor preference.

During self-guided visiting hours, you can go at your own pace and spend as much or as little time as you’d like in each room. The visitor experience is usually busiest first thing in the morning and last thing in the afternoon due to large tour groups.

There is no wheelchair, rollator or buggy access to the palace due to spiral staircases.

  • Entry to the palace is accessed from the gatehouse main entrance via reception. There is a ramp to enter the gatehouse. There are 2 steps up into reception. The front door has a width of 82cm and is propped open for visitors.
  • The ticket desk counter height is 61cm.
  • There is an induction loop at reception.
  • Rooms in Falkland Palace are split across 2 floors with 3 steep but level spiral staircases. The staircases have fixed handrails; however, please note that the first 22 steps from reception to the Drawing Room have a rope handrail.
  • The suggested visitor route is to start at the top (second floor) which is 47 steps from the ground floor. The upper floors are accessible only via a steep turnpike (spiral) staircase (90cm width at its narrowest).
  • Having entered the rooms, there are further steps transitioning into other rooms.
  • There are low doorways throughout the property, specifically between the King’s and Queen’s room.
  • There are two exits from the first floor: either down the stairs from the Tapestry Gallery, or down the same external stairs that you entered by.
  • There is a cushioned seat in every room. Foldable and portable seats are also available upon request at reception.
  • Lighting may be low in certain rooms due to controlled light levels for the collection, but our volunteers do have torches.
  • Some rooms have sound playing from speakers. These can be switched off on request – please speak to a member of staff upon your arrival.

Sensory experience

  • The tills have induction loops.
  • There is background music playing.
  • QR codes are available to provide information on the history of the palace.
  • There are spices on display in the apothecary to represent medicines used to treat disease.
  • There are costumes on display to try on.
  • Noise-cancelling headphones are available on request.
A small, arched gateway leads into Falkland Palace, surrounded by tall, ancient stone walls. A wide gravel path leads up to the gatehouse. Painted stone heraldic panels run along a course of the palace wall. Shallow stone steps form a spiral staircase inside a historic building. A deep window sill has set into the exterior wall halfway up. A rope handrail can be seen on the outside wall. A view looking down the central aisle in a chapel. Rows of chairs are neatly arranged instead of pews. Behind the altar hangs a large gold crucifix above a red and gold cloth.

Accessibility Room

  • This room is accessed from the gatehouse main entrance.
  • There is a ramp in place to access to the room.
  • The door width is 82cm.
  • Inside is a touch screen display, which provides a video of the property, grounds and royal tennis court.
  • Collections are also on display in the room.
A small, low wooden door is set into a thick stone wall of an old building. There is a brass knocker on the door, and a black rubber mat just before the door sill. A tall, lit screen is mounted on a metal easel and stands in front of a wall. The screen is showing a photograph of a tapestry. An old barrel-vaulted room inside Falkland Palace, with a Jacobean dress displayed on a mannequin beside a grandfather clock and a pair of antlers mounted on the wall. Low tables with large blocks of stone are displayed against the far wall.

Getting around the garden

Most of the garden has relatively level paths and can be accessed without steps from the gatehouse main entrance. The path surfaces differ throughout the garden and include grass, gravel and stone slabs.

  • There are wooden picnic benches placed around the garden – some are undercover, giving shade and shelter. Please ask a member of staff for directions to your nearest one.
  • There is no set route around the garden.
  • The orchard is accessed via a small bridge, 30 metres from the reception. The lawn of the orchard has relatively flat grass paths cut between the trees, so visitors can wander between the various tree varieties.
  • Access to the royal tennis court is via stone steps and then one more step once undercover. There is low-level lighting as you enter the court.
  • The lily pond is surrounded by uneven paving stones that can be slippery during the winter months.
  • When walking along the embankment there are uneven paving stones that lead you down 10 steps to the Percy Cane garden. This area of the garden can be accessed via an alternative route past the keeper lawn and towards the glasshouse.
A very wide gravel path leads round a square of manicured grassy lawn. Tall trees overhang the path to the left, which has wooden benches placed along it. An ornate metal gate, with a bird carved into it, leads through a stone garden wall into an orchard area. The path leading through the gate is a narrow wooden boardwalk. A view of the royal tennis court at Falkland Palace, with people in costume playing on it. It resembles an open-air squash court, with tall walls surrounding the court. A rectangular sunken pond in a garden is surrounded by stone paving slabs. Reeds grow out of the pond, making it tricky to see the water's surface. Blue irises grow halfway along.

Facilities

Gift shop and plant centre

The gift shop and plant centre is accessed from East Port Street and is a short walk from the gatehouse main entrance.

The gift shop is a single-storey building, with some seating. It is spacious with smooth, hard surface floors. There’s normally low-level music playing in the background.

  • There is a small lip from the street into the shop. The front door is propped open for visitors, followed by an internal double door and four steps down onto the shop floor.
  • The front door width is 117cm.
  • There are 4 steps to enter the shop and another 16 steps to enter the garden from the shop.
  • The counter height is 95cm; the access table is 75cm high.
  • There is an induction loop located at the till point.
  • Access to the plant centre is via the back door of the shop.
The gift shop at Falkland Palace, with shelving around the sides of the room and low tables in the centre, all filled with stock. Two chairs stand at the edge of the room as well. A set of four shallow, wooden stairs lead up the shop area in Falkland Palace. There is a wooden handrail against the far wall. A steep and narrow set of around 12 external stone steps lead down into a patio area. There is a metal bannister on the exposed side of the steps, and a rubber mat at the bottom.

Toilets

The toilets are located in the garden and split into two blocks – women’s and men’s.

  • At the toilet blocks, there is 1 step on entry.
  • The floors are tiled.
  • The doors are propped open for visitors and are 82cm wide.
  • An accessible toilet can be found in the women’s block.
  • The women’s block also has baby-changing facilities. There is a wall-mounted baby changing unit in the accessible toilet. Please note we do not provide nappy sacks or baby wipes.
  • The door opens outwards and is not automatic.
  • There are no toilet facilities or baby-changing facilities at other parts of the site.

When the palace and garden are closed, the nearest public toilet facilities can be found in the Back Wynd car park in the village (0.2 miles away). Please note that opening times vary and charges apply. Alternatively, there are many cafés nearby with toilet facilities.

An open narrow doorway leads into the men's toilet block. There is one small step from the paving slab outside to the tiled floor inside.

Guide last updated: January 2025

Back to top