Falkland was the first conservation village in Scotland, a former royal burgh of cobbled streets beneath the Lomond Hills. Its centrepiece is Falkland Palace, the Renaissance hunting seat that James IV and James V built up between 1497 and 1541 as a country retreat for the Stuart kings. In the grounds is a real (royal) tennis court dating from 1541 — reckoned the oldest still in use anywhere in the world. The palace is run by the National Trust for Scotland, and The Covenanter Hotel faces it across the square.
