Old postcards reveal a holiday hotspot
The Old Manor Hotel at London Links recently uncovered around 160 years of history in an old album, and they have now discovered a collection of old postcards showing the Leven area as a holiday hotspot over the years.
Operations Manager Steven Carleschi said: “It’s another fascinating glimpse of the past for local historians, or indeed anyone of a certain age who may remember some of the scenes depicted on the cards.
“Most of the cards are from the 60s and 70s, but some are clearly much, much earlier.
“We have a real variety, a mix of sepia, black &-white, and colour. We’ve scanned them all, to preserve them for our guests to look at if they wish.
“Some show our Hotel when it was called The Beach Hotel in the Sixties – the sub heading on the card is Festival Gardens as the hotel was very much known for its beautiful gardens at that time.
“We also have some cards showing the beach, the caravan site, the children’s paddling pool, the famous Leven Shellhouse, which was a big attraction in its day, the beach pavilion, the putting green, Letham Glen, the Buckie Bus, and the Scoonie Burn,” he said. “Happy Days at Leven” is the headline for one of them.”
Steven highlighted one card which shows Leven beach looking west with Methil Docks in the distance. One of his particular favourites is a black and white one depicting golfers in plus fours.
He said: “It looks pretty early, due to the clothing they are wearing. It would be great to know in what year the photograph was taken.
“Lundin Links and Leven were, of course, very sought after destinations, and still have a lot to offer today’s holidaymakers.
“The cards depicting the old caravan site show just how much this sector has modernised and changed to offer much more sophisticated holiday parks.”
The owners of the Old Manor Hotel, the Wallace family of Pettycur Bay Holiday Park, also own and operate the Leven Beach Caravan Park.
