Hill of Tarvit Mansion House

Beautiful day today and as this might be all we're going to get of summer, we had to get out and about! Drove to Cupar in Fife to visit this lovely Edwardian house and gardens managed by the National Trust for Scotland.

The house is grand but on a small scale, so feels very friendly and the guides are so knowledgeable. It was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, a famous Scottish architect and designer, for Frederick Sharp who had made his fortunes in jute, railways and high finance. However, money doesn't guarantee a happy ending and the Sharps weren't able to enjoy the house for as long as Frederick might have hoped. His only son was killed in a rail accident and his daughter died of cancer, neither leaving any heirs.

The house and contents were gifted to the NTS, who have restored many of the rooms to a very high standard. It was the essence of modernity when it was built in 1905/6 and included features such as electricity, an internal telephone system and central heating!

The gardens are beautiful, especially the rose garden beside the house and seen in the photo and it even has a 9-hole golf course, where you can play a round using the original hickory clubs. It also has an excellent café where we had lunch, so it was a most enjoyable day out.