Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival

3 – 19 September 2021, throughout Fife 

Programme Summary with more detail below:

  • Festival Exhibition: Our main Exhibition in Stocks former Linen Works. Kirkcaldy
  • Flax Fields: ‘Wee plots of flax’ planted to bloom and harvest in time for our Festival
  • Linen Routes: New walks co-designed with local experts and enthusiasts, county-wide
  • Open Doors: Ceres and Burntisland Artists Studios, Silverburn Flax Mill and Auchtertool House
  • International Roundtable: ‘Think Global, Grow Local’, exploring shared flax cultures
  • Twilight Talk: ‘Making Well with Heritage’, expert panel engaging on well-being and culture
  • Festival Encounters: informal conversations with visiting experts and enthusiasts

Our individual Festival Programme events were booked via Journeys in Design Eventbrite channel.

Events at this location

Inside the Flax Mill, Silverburn Park: a Flax and Linen Festival Open Door

Welcome to Silverburn Park and a special insider’s tour of the emblematic Flax Mill, with a stroll via walled gardens to the ‘retting pond’.

About this event

This tour includes a walk around the perimeter of the building guided by lead of the Silverburn Flax Mill Project, Brian Robertson.

Please register via Journeys in Design Eventbrite link  for the individual tour of your choice (max  2 tickets per booking).

Welcome to Silverburn Park, a jewel on the coast of Fife, easily accessed by foot and bicycle from Leven and just off the Largo Road. Gifted to the people of Leven in the 1970s by the Russell family, it includes a currently derelict B-listed former Flax Mill.

The Flax Mill will be brought back to life as the emblematic centre piece of this wonderful parkland as part of an ambitious regeneration project. This handsome brick building is a rather rare piece of industrial architecture and will be open for a guided tour and talk about its past and future, with a short walk via the walled garden to the Mill’s beautiful but bogus ’retting pond’.

The ever popular Cottage Window Café is open Tuesday to Sunday and the park also offers woodland walks, dedicated campsite and campervan facilities and direct access to the Fife Coastal Path.

The Flax Mill tour is a centrepiece of Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival, from Journeys in Design, with an allied Exhibition in Kirkcaldy and satellite events throughout Fife.

https://www.silverburnpark.co.uk/

*Participation is free of charge

Linen routes through Markinch: a Flax and Linen Festival Walk

Explore vanished linen landscapes and more recent design by river, rail, and path as we walk.

About this event

Welcome to Markinch, under-sung gem in Scotland’s heritage crown. It’s a noted ancient capital and also played its part in Fife’s Industrial development. We loop out from an informative display at the 252 Memorial Hall on a walk that has linen heritage at heart. Landscapes of ‘lint pond ’and ‘bleaching green’ have been replaced with different urban designs. The River Leven had several flax mills along its course, and we nod to her railway and road brides en route. Share your thoughts and stories as we stroll.

This walk is part of the inaugural Flax and Linen Festivals Scotland from Journeys in Design. Our Festival Hub in 2021 is in Kirkcaldy with events taking place throughout Fife.

*Participation is free of charge

Auchtertool House Linen and Laundry: a Flax and Linen Festival Open Door

Proprietors Michael and Jonathan air their linens, joining a display of damask and laundry kit from enthusiasts Margaret and John.

About this event

Welcome to Auchtertool House, a Category B-listed Georgian house built around 1830 with 3 acres of garden, shrubs and mature trees. In their possession for 5 years, your hosts Michael and Jonathan air the contents of their Linen Press together with finds from co-curators Margaret and John, in a display of linen damask and laundry kit from yesteryear. Join us for tea and chats on the lawn.

Auchtertool House Doors Open is part of Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival from Journeys in Design, with an allied Exhibition in Kirkcaldy and satellite events throughout Fife.

*Participation is free of charge

 

Making Well with Heritage: A Flax and Linen Festival Twilight Talk

Join an expert panel to explore the power of engagement with heritage for individual and community well-being

About this event

With an expert panel bringing contrasting experience and perspective to the discussion, join us to discuss the power of engagement with heritage for individual and community well-being.

Leading tonight’s discussion are three masters of collaboration in their respective fields: Ruthanne Baxter has championed the role of heritage across Scotland and beyond and tonight will focus on her Prescribe Culture initiative with the University Edinburgh; Lynsey Gillespie from the Public Records Office of N.Ireland discusses community engagement with archives; and Hannah Ayre, participatory artist with over twenty years experience of creating socially engaged projects throughout the UK, includes reflections on her ‘Lantern Project’ at Silverburn Park in Fife.

Our Talk commences at 6.30pm and is preceded by soft drinks served from 6pm. Our Talks are recorded and we ask you please to let us know if you prefer not to be included in this archive.

This talk is part of Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival, September 2021, in Fife. We are delighted to collaborate with Kirkcaldy Old Kirk Trust for tonight’s event. The Festival Hub and Exhibition is also in Kirkcaldy, and events run over each weekend throughout Fife.

Image Courtesy of FEAT Silverburn, Lantern Project by Hannah Ayre

Inside the Flax Mill, Silverburn Park: a Flax and Linen Festival Open Door

Welcome to Silverburn Park and a special insider’s tour of the emblematic Flax Mill, with a stroll via walled gardens to the ‘retting pond’.

About this event

This tour includes a walk around the perimeter of the building guided by lead of the Silverburn Flax Mill Project, Brian Robertson.

Please register via Journeys in Design Eventbrite link  for the individual tour of your choice (max  2 tickets per booking).

Welcome to Silverburn Park, a jewel on the coast of Fife, easily accessed by foot and bicycle from Leven and just off the Largo Road. Gifted to the people of Leven in the 1970s by the Russell family, it includes a currently derelict B-listed former Flax Mill.

The Flax Mill will be brought back to life as the emblematic centre piece of this wonderful parkland as part of an ambitious regeneration project. This handsome brick building is a rather rare piece of industrial architecture and will be open for a guided tour and talk about its past and future, with a short walk via the walled garden to the Mill’s beautiful but bogus ’retting pond’.

The ever popular Cottage Window Café is open Tuesday to Sunday and the park also offers woodland walks, dedicated campsite and campervan facilities and direct access to the Fife Coastal Path.

The Flax Mill tour is a centrepiece of Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival, from Journeys in Design, with an allied Exhibition in Kirkcaldy and satellite events throughout Fife.

https://www.silverburnpark.co.uk/

*Participation is free of charge

Susie Redman Weaver at Platform Studio: a Flax and Linen Festival Open Door

Join weaver researcher Susie Redman at her studio in Burntisland, together with guest poet Sheena Barry for this special open door event.

About this event

Welcome to the design studio of weaver and researcher Susie Redman at Platform Studios Burntisland, a building converted from derelict station waiting rooms in 2012 by Fife Historic Buildings Trust. Susie has explored the the nature of flax first hand over several growing seasons with a small plot in nearby Kinghorn. With her linen yarn and textiles on display, Susie discusses wider linen cultures while demonstrating a weave on her loom. For this special doors open, poet Sheena Barry reads some of her work, resonant of today’s event.

Susie’s Platform Studio Doors Open is part of Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival from Journeys in Design, with an allied Exhibition in Kirkcaldy and satellite events throughout Fife.

*Participation is free of charge

Linen routes through Dunfermline: a Flax and Linen Festival Walk

Join us on a stroll through streets full of linen stories, exploring heritage and contemporary design as we walk and talk.

About this event

Welcome to Dunfermline, along with Cupar and Kirkcaldy, one of Fife’s three premiere Linen Towns. Taking her linen heritage and urban design as themes, this walk includes Dunfermline’s oldest dwelling, once a weavers cottage, and its newest culture hub, where industrial linen weaving is celebrated. Our route focuses on linen factory sites and family stories, including Dunfermline’s famous damask heritage, which continues to inspire her urban regeneration. We begin in the carpark of the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, this migrant son of a local linen weaver. Share your thoughts as we walk and talk.

This walk is part of the inaugural Flax and Linen Festivals Scotland from Journeys in Design. Our Festival Hub in 2021 is in Kirkcaldy with events taking place throughout Fife.

*Participation is free of charge

Flax Circles: Think Global, Grow Local: A Flax and Linen Festival Roundtable

Join us for a Zoom Roundtable, an opportunity to reflect on shared flax and linen cultures from farming to tourism

About this event

We warmly invite you to join us for a Zoom Roundtable, an opportunity to reflect on our shared flax and linen cultures.

Key Themes: Farming, Education, Tourism, Community, and Bioregional Sustainability.

Our Roundtable includes keynotes, short presentations, Q&A sessions and Roundup. With contributions from partners in Scotland and beyond, you can sign up and contribute yourself, from wherever you are in the world.

Register today: full details and schedule will be sent to you before the event.

Flax Circles is a key event within Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival, September 2021, Fife, from Journeys in Design.

Linen routes through Falkland: a Flax and Linen Festival Walk

Join us to weave a linen route through this royal burgh, exploring heritage and contemporary design as we walk and talk.

About this event

Falkland has a Royal Palace, telling tales of monarchy, but did you know it also has an important Industrial heritage of linen sites and stories? This walk loops out from the town’s centre, starting at Fayre Earth opposite the Mercat Cross. We weave a route that mirrors how the working of linen cloth itself has moved from cottage to factory and on to craft and artist’s studio. Share your thoughts as we walk and talk. We finish our stroll with refreshments in the beautiful garden of Millfield House.

This walk is part of the inaugural Flax and Linen Festivals Scotland from Journeys in Design. Our Festival Hub in 2021 is in Kirkcaldy with events taking place throughout Fife.

*Participation is free of charge

Linen routes through Strathmiglo: a Flax and Linen Festival Walk

Join us to plot a route through Strathmiglo, one of Fife’s premiere ‘linen villages’. Explore heritage and contemporary design as we walk and talk.

About this event

Welcome to Strathmiglo, one of Fife’s premiere ‘linen villages’, and a new heritage and design Walk taking flax and linen as its theme. We assemble at GH Cook & Son, now a Joiner’s Yard, formerly the Skene Street Linen Factory, built in the 1850s.

We walk past cottages once inhabited by hand-loom weavers, and flats converted from the linen factory. We pass over the River Eden and the slope of former bleach fields. Today, all these sites have been redesigned with new purpose in mind. Join us for this walk and talk, to hear more, and to share your thoughts. We complete our walk at The Strath Tavern for refreshments.

This walk is part of the inaugural Flax and Linen Festivals Scotland from Journeys in Design. Our Festival Hub in 2021 is in Kirkcaldy with events taking place throughout Fife.

*Participation is free of charge

Birch Tree Studio and Garden: a Flax and Linen Festival Open Door

Artist Kate Downie and designer/photographer Michael Wolchover, open doors to their creative environment at Birchtree Studios and garden.

About this event

Welcome to Birchtree Studios, home and work place of artist Kate Downie and designer/photographer Michael Wolchover. The Studio was completed in 2018 to designs by Fife architect David Dow. Their beautiful creative spaces and engaging practices envisage collaboration and an intimate relationship with the land. Today, the pair talk about their work with particular reference to flax and linen in Fife, including engagement with the Kingdom’s industrial heritage and the circle of flax growing in their garden for the Festival.

Birchtree Studio Doors Open is part of Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival from Journeys in Design, with an allied Exhibition in Kirkcaldy and satellite events throughout Fife.

*Participation is free of charge

Inside the Flax Mill, Silverburn Park: a Flax and Linen Festival Open Door

Welcome to Silverburn Park and a special insider’s tour of the emblematic Flax Mill, with a stroll via walled gardens to the ‘retting pond’.

About this event

This tour includes a walk around the perimeter of the building guided by lead of the Silverburn Flax Mill Project, Brian Robertson.

Please register via Journeys in Design Eventbrite link  for the individual tour of your choice (max  2 tickets per booking).

Welcome to Silverburn Park, a jewel on the coast of Fife, easily accessed by foot and bicycle from Leven and just off the Largo Road. Gifted to the people of Leven in the 1970s by the Russell family, it includes a currently derelict B-listed former Flax Mill.

The Flax Mill will be brought back to life as the emblematic centre piece of this wonderful parkland as part of an ambitious regeneration project. This handsome brick building is a rather rare piece of industrial architecture and will be open for a guided tour and talk about its past and future, with a short walk via the walled garden to the Mill’s beautiful but bogus ’retting pond’.

The ever popular Cottage Window Café is open Tuesday to Sunday and the park also offers woodland walks, dedicated campsite and campervan facilities and direct access to the Fife Coastal Path.

The Flax Mill tour is a centrepiece of Scotland’s first Flax and Linen Festival, from Journeys in Design, with an allied Exhibition in Kirkcaldy and satellite events throughout Fife.

https://www.silverburnpark.co.uk/

*Participation is free of charge