Rudy visited Dunfermline on a rather odd weather day, there were patches of blue sky but the dreich, damp mist still hung around in places. Poor pup got fed up halfway through his walk when we left the sunshine!
Dunfermline only gained it’s modern city status as part of the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 but it had an important place in Scottish history before that with the royal court being in residence here as a de facto capital from the 11th to 15th Centuries.
Dunfermline Pubic Park
Situated right next to the train station this is a large formal park, Rudy’s choice was to visit the bandstand for a selfie and picnic lunch before exploring the other town attractions.
Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey today is actually a parish church. The Abbey was founded in 1128 from an existing priory but it fell to sack & ruin during the 16th Century Scottish Reformation. The current building is mostly an early 19th Century rebuild.
The mist hung around the graveyard surrounding Dunfermline Abbey on our visit. There are seven Scottish kings buried here most now in unmarked locations.
Queen Margaret was among the first royals buried here – during her life she established a ferry for pilgrims across the Firth of Forth, hence Queensferry. Rudy finds this interconnecting of our walks via thousand year old history to be unnecessary.
Pittencrieff Park
On a nice day this park would be a beautiful walk but the mist hung heavy over it during our visit and we left it rather damp and mostly unexplored.
The park was given to the people of Dunfermline in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist who was born in the town.
