Kirkcaldy is preparing to welcome volunteer judges from the Beautiful Scotland competition as the Lang Toun seeks to retain the high standards that have won it national acclaim in recent years. The visit will take place on Friday 31 July and will tour a number of the town’s most important green spaces and community projects.
Route of the visit and community partners
The assessment team will begin at the War Memorial Gardens and finish at Beveridge Park, calling at key locations including Wemyssfield, the Merchant’s House and the Esplanade en route. The tour is being led by volunteers from Growing Kirkcaldy and will include representatives from Fife Council and other local organisations involved in the town-centre horticultural work.
- Start: War Memorial Gardens
- Key stops: Wemyssfield, Merchant’s House, Esplanade
- Finish: Beveridge Park
- Date: Friday 31 July
Recent honours and local effort
The visit comes after a run of notable successes for Kirkcaldy. The town won gold in the Beautiful Scotland competition in 2024, its second gold in three years, and has also performed strongly in wider UK events, having secured gold in the Britain in Bloom awards last year. Fife Council was recognised as runners-up in the 2025 Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society Award for excellence in horticulture in public open spaces, underlining the partnership between local government and volunteer groups.
Organisers say the judges’ tour will showcase the improvements made in the town centre and the wider public realm. The work of Growing Kirkcaldy’s volunteers has been singled out as a key factor in this progress, with the group collaborating closely with council teams to maintain planters, bedding schemes and public green areas.
What the judges are looking for
Beautiful Scotland’s judges assess entries on the quality of horticulture, environmental practices, community involvement and the lasting impact on the local area. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Beautiful Scotland, which coordinates a network of almost 250 groups across the country. Volunteer judges will be visiting groups across Scotland over the coming two weeks, with winners to be announced later in the year.
“It’s one of the most exciting dates in our calendar as we send our amazing volunteer judges out across the country to assess our Beautiful Scotland groups,” said Juliette Camburn, senior community initiatives officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful. “I know our volunteer judges look forward to visiting our groups every year, witnessing their enthusiasm and learning more about their efforts to make their part of Scotland a better place for all through the power of community gardening. Best of luck to Kirkcaldy for their judges visit – we hope you have a great day, have fun, and feel proud.”
Local significance and next steps
For Kirkcaldy, the judges’ visit is more than a single day event: it is a public recognition of sustained community effort. Maintaining and improving public green spaces has implications for local wellbeing, biodiversity and the town’s attractiveness to visitors. The opportunity to demonstrate these gains to a national panel will also help to secure the civic pride that accompanies awards success and may encourage further collaboration between volunteers and the council.
As volunteers and council staff put finishing touches to displays and maintenance schedules ahead of the visit, residents can expect to see extra activity in the town centre and around the parks named on the route. The winners of Beautiful Scotland will be revealed at an awards ceremony later in the year, offering Kirkcaldy another moment to measure itself against peers across Scotland.
