THE recent investment in Lochore Meadows Country Park has helped it to achieve a new four star visitor attraction rating from Visit Scotland.

The Park Centre was officially opened in April by former Benarty councillor Willie Clarke, who it was named after, and it has been widely used already this spring season.

The new Centre was opened to the public in December and the Golf Clubhouse and football pavilion followed soon after and both are seen as major boosts to attracting more visitors to a facility which brings 600,000 people a year to the area.

Speaking on a visit to the park, convener of the Cowdenbeath Area Committee, Councillor Linda Erskine, said: “I’m thrilled that the improvements to the Meedies have been recognised with an upgrade to the park’s attraction rating.

“The team at Lochore Meadows work hard to offer us a top quality experience all year round and I know that they have more ideas and improvements planned.

"Next on the cards is the introduction of a weekly 5km Parkrun event which is thanks to the very active local community who care so much about our Meedies too.”

Convener of the Community and Housing Services Committee, Councillor Judy Hamilton, added: “What a fantastic accolade.

"Having access to good quality public greenspace is important for people and the associated health and wellbeing benefits are vast.

"With more people using these types of spaces for physical activity, it’s great to see Lochore Meadows continue to make improvements for the thousands of people who enjoy it each week.”

Park manager Ian Laing has a number of new events on his calendar for 2018 and now knows that he and his team have the accommodation to match the beauty of the landscape.

Visit www.lochoremeadows.org or follow ‘Lochore Meadows Country Park’ on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest park news.