Pittencrieff Park

Fife | Dunfermline | Park | ★★★

[Squirrel in The Glen, Pittencrieff Park]

We love squirrelling away a few hours in Pittencrieff Park. Dunfermline's greatest natural asset was gifted to the town by Andrew Carnegie (who else?) in 1903, providing what was then an industrial settlement with much-needed green space. The east side of the park backs onto the town's Heritage Quarter, with the unexpectedly deep glen of the Tower Burn restricting access from this side to a couple of spots. The rest of the place is mostly open grassland through which peacocks freely roam, with several excellent playgrounds, a warm glasshouse and a few more formal gardens. The bright orange building in the middle is Pittencrieff House. Dating to 1610, the house is the centrepiece of this former estate; a museum inside was closed on our 2019 visit (following the opening of a new museum in the Carnegie Library & Galleries in the town centre) but there are plans to bring it back into use.

[Glasshouse]

📌 Pittencrieff Park ★★★
10-min walk west of Dunfermline town centre, G.R.: NT 087873 ///press.tree.swung
Park: always open; Glasshouse: weekdays at time of update | Free

[Pittencrieff Park]

[Pittencrieff House]

[Walled garden next to Pittencrieff House]

[Andrew Carnegie statue, Dunfermline beyond]

[Northeast access avenue]

[Folly]

[Glasshouse]

[Gardens next to the glasshouse]

[Glasshouse]

[Pineapple growing in the glasshouse]

[The Glen]

[Grey squirrel in The Glen]

[Waterfall in The Glen]

[Dunfermline Abbey seen from The Glen]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk: Dalmahoy Hill - it's the pits!

Image
City of Edinburgh | Kirknewton | Short walk | ★★

If there's a less loved pair of summits in Scotland, we're yet to come across them. These steep-sided, volcanic sills are surrounded by undesirable neighbours - quarries, a waste transfer station, railway line and airfield - and the beginning of this route is uncomfortably close to Ravelrig Tarmac Quarry's entrance. Nevertheless, Dalmahoy Hill sports a trig pillar and wonderful views of the capital and Pentland Hills beyond the noisy pit, while Kaimes Hill boasts an extensive western panorama. The latter summit is a rather dramatic sliver of its former self, its southern slopes having been gouged by quarrying before being re-purposed as a landfill site and finally covered over with suspiciously immaculate grass: an odd place to walk. A high bealach makes combining the two hills straightforward, and the unusual surroundings mean you're fairly likely to get them all to yourself.


📌 Walk: Dalmahoy Hill - it's the pits! …
Read more

Coldstream

Image
Scottish Borders | Town | ★

Coldstream is one of the quieter of the Scottish Border towns, sitting pretty above a meander on the River Tweed with wide views across to the English side. We spent a good hour or so watching a couple of otters fishing in full sight of the riverside path here in 2019. A lack of properly old buildings in the town can be attributed to centuries of marauding armies, and the Battle of Flodden took place just a few miles away at Branxton, ending in a major Scottish defeat. Coldstream is however most frequently associated with the Coldstream Guards - the British Army's oldest continually serving regiment - ensuring that military connections continue to this day. Learn about this and more in the local museum; there's also a nearby country park ideal for a low key stroll.


📌 Coldstream ★
Scottish Borders, G.R.: NT 842398 ///dash.feel.reinvest


Within walking distance

>> Coldstream Museum★★


Nearby

>> The Hirsel★★ (1 mile away)
>> Flodden Battl…
Read more

The Hirsel

Image
Scottish Borders | Coldstream | Park | ★★

The Hirsel is a large country park based around a private Georgian stately home to the west of Coldstream, and makes a rewarding spot for a stroll at any time of year. Hirsel Lake is the highlight, with various species of ducks, geese and swans visible from hides on the south bank and breaks in vegetation on the east side, especially over winter. The main car park is at The Homestead: an attractive courtyard surrounded by arts and craft shops, a tea room and the interesting estate museum.


📌 The Hirsel★★
Off the A698 a mile west of Coldstream. Homestead "hub" is at G.R.: NT 828402 ///sand.hazelnuts.hillside
Open daily | Free (charge for main car park)







Read more