The Kinkell Team
Find out a little bit about our dedicated team.
Claire Grant
Claire is our Byre Manager. She has lots of experience in retail and hospitality management and loves to travel, spending 3 years in Australia & New Zealand
Along with the daily admin and organising of all events at Kinkell Byre and managing the bookings for Kinkell Cabins, Claire also assists in the running of the business and working on future plans
After always having a creative streak, then graduating with a degree in Textile Design and starting her own business after university, Claire is always happy to help style areas of the Byre or give advice on how décor pieces could be put together
Claire’s number one priority is making sure our customers, team and suppliers are happy
Sophie Simpson
Sophie is our Byre Co-ordinator who started at Kinkell in 2019 after graduating with a degree in Events Management.
Sophie works lots of events at Kinkell and ensures everything runs smoothly. Working alongside the team, she does a lot of the admin & marketing side of the business, managing bookings for Kinkell Cabins and is responsible for Kinkell’s social media.
There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make sure each event is planned to perfection and Sophie is amazing at juggling lots of jobs to make sure this happens!
When she’s got some days off, Sophie loves a trip abroad to get some sunshine or for a wee city break!
Brian Scott
Brian has worked at Kinkell for over 25 years, initially as the leading member of the team that ran the pheasant farm, then helping out with all kinds of corporate activities from highland games to clay pigeon shooting, quad biking and off-road driving.
In 2012, Brian started up a new bar business, Event Bars St Andrews and is now helping to run Kinkell Bars
Brian continues to work at Kinkell as the Farm Manager and helps look after the venue with his vast knowledge of the building and grounds
At the beginning and end of the summer months, Brian also collects and drops off boxes for Kinkell Storage.
Rory Fyfe
Rory moved to Kinkell with his parents at the age of 14 and now lives with his family in Kinkell Farm House
He used to work on the pheasant farm and remembers Kinkell Byre when it was full of calving cows
Rory has helped launch new projects at Kinkell, such as the 10 self catering cosy Cabins which opened in 2022, the Rewilding Project and lots of new exciting things to come in the future!
Sandy Fyfe
Sandy grew up at Kinkell and moved back there to live with his family when it was still a working farm back in 1993.
In 2003, after trying his hand at everything from cattle and pheasant farming to off-road driving and highland games, Sandy settled on the idea of converting one of the largest old farm steadings in Fife into a wedding and events venue.
The first step was putting a dance floor into the old Byre (cattle shed) and since then, Sandy gradually developed the venue; adding a toilet block, repairing the shed roofs and installing glass doors to create one of the most impressive and versatile barn venues in Scotland.
Since 2005, Sandy grew the corporate, weddings and student events business for nearly 20 years. Sadly Sandy passed away in July 2024 but leaves a great legacy with Kinkell thriving as a venue and events business.
Tegan Hancock
Tegan is one of our Byre Assistants. She usually works during the evening of your wedding, but she is currently off on maternity leave after having a beautiful baby girl – new sister to her son Jensen!
Tegan ensures everything runs smoothly, packs up any décor at the end of the night, maintains the cleanliness of the Byre and the bathrooms and is on hand if you or any guests need anything until the very end of the night.
Jenny Paterson
Jenny looks after our Highland Cow Experiences, where you can meet and learn all about our herd of Highland Cows and their conservation grazing!
She also helped with the rewilding project from 2022-24, helping to plant thousands of trees, shrubs and wildflower meadows, including one at the Cabin site and on the field as you come into Kinkell.
Coco
Coco came to Kinkell in 2021 as Head of Conservation Grazing.
Coco is responsible for looking after the land in a way that it will encourage ancient natural processes to take hold again, supporting our rewilding project and encouraging greater biodiversity.
Ginger
Ginger came to Kinkell in 2021 as Assistant Conservation Grazer.
Ginger (the clue is in the coat) reports to Coco and works on breaking up the grass to encourage growth of more diverse plant life and carefully placing dung to encourage bugs, beetles and all sorts of wildlife.
