Date : Thursday 22nd February 2018
Dunfermline must have known the Strollers were
coming as the sun came out for them to do a walk round the town centre, the
Abbey and Pittencrieff Park. 46 Strollers met at the Bus Station to be led round
the town by our tour guides Karen and Helen.
Starting at the High Street, taking in the grand town hall and walking along Bridge Street, with no sign of the stream underneath, to the gates of Pittencrieff Park where we heard how the original owner had diverted the main road into Dunfermline to avoid it going past his house. The estate was then bought by Andrew Carnegie who donated it to the town as a park. His wife Louise erected the splendid gates at the entrance to the park dedicated to his mother, daughter and granddaughter.
We then entered the park to hear about the many trees that were planted and the introduction of the grey squirrel there, as well as the many libraries and other foundations that Carnegie set up around the world. Going back further, the park was also the site of the original castle of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland, with Dunfermline as his capital. His second wife Margaret became Saint Margaret after her death. It was under her guidance that Dunfermline Abbey was started as a church and built by Benedictine Monks from England. The Palace was built by James VI for his wife Anne of Denmark and it’s where his sons were born.
It was then down to the Andrew Carnegie Museum, which our guides had arranged to be open for us, to learn more about the background and history of a man who went from being the son of a weaver to the richest man in the world. There were also connections with SL by way of a donation to the family of an SL employee killed while stopping a runaway horse in Edinburgh and also that Carnegie’s estate in Skibo had been bought from SL, presumably as trustees of the estate after the previous owner went bankrupt.
Finally back up to the Abbey to hear a ghost story, or as it turned out how someone came back to life after being buried and how she went on to live a long life and have children. The graveyard is also the resting place of William Wallace’s mother and an elder tree stands above her grave. The Abbey also had a rule for a long time that the gravestones could be no more than 12 inches high so as not to be unsightly or be in danger of falling over.
Our thanks again to our Guides Karen and Helen for making the day a very interesting one and we’ll see them again next year.
Starting at the High Street, taking in the grand town hall and walking along Bridge Street, with no sign of the stream underneath, to the gates of Pittencrieff Park where we heard how the original owner had diverted the main road into Dunfermline to avoid it going past his house. The estate was then bought by Andrew Carnegie who donated it to the town as a park. His wife Louise erected the splendid gates at the entrance to the park dedicated to his mother, daughter and granddaughter.
We then entered the park to hear about the many trees that were planted and the introduction of the grey squirrel there, as well as the many libraries and other foundations that Carnegie set up around the world. Going back further, the park was also the site of the original castle of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland, with Dunfermline as his capital. His second wife Margaret became Saint Margaret after her death. It was under her guidance that Dunfermline Abbey was started as a church and built by Benedictine Monks from England. The Palace was built by James VI for his wife Anne of Denmark and it’s where his sons were born.
It was then down to the Andrew Carnegie Museum, which our guides had arranged to be open for us, to learn more about the background and history of a man who went from being the son of a weaver to the richest man in the world. There were also connections with SL by way of a donation to the family of an SL employee killed while stopping a runaway horse in Edinburgh and also that Carnegie’s estate in Skibo had been bought from SL, presumably as trustees of the estate after the previous owner went bankrupt.
Finally back up to the Abbey to hear a ghost story, or as it turned out how someone came back to life after being buried and how she went on to live a long life and have children. The graveyard is also the resting place of William Wallace’s mother and an elder tree stands above her grave. The Abbey also had a rule for a long time that the gravestones could be no more than 12 inches high so as not to be unsightly or be in danger of falling over.
Our thanks again to our Guides Karen and Helen for making the day a very interesting one and we’ll see them again next year.
