Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Pittencrieff Park, flower beds and lawns below the tower of Dunfermline Abbey.
Fife

Pittencrieff Park

An 80-acre park in the centre of Dunfermline, known as the Glen, given to the town by Andrew Carnegie in 1903, with gardens, woods and a burn.

Welcome

Andrew Carnegie grew up in Dunfermline, and he never forgot it.

When he had become a great industrialist and philanthropist, he bought the Pittencrieff estate beside the abbey and, in 1903, gave it to the people of the town. He called it the most soul-satisfying gift he ever made.

Known to everyone as the Glen, the park covers about 80 acres in the very heart of Dunfermline. A wooded ravine runs through it, with a burn tumbling over waterfalls below the scant remains of Malcolm's Tower. Around it spread lawns, flower gardens and glasshouses, with the tower of the abbey rising over the trees.

Families come for the playgrounds, the old steam engine and the squirrels, and there is a grand entrance through the ornate Louise Carnegie Gates at the top of the High Street. It was voted the best park in Scotland in 2019.

Close bySt Margaret's CaveThe queen's cave below the town.1 min by roadSee itStone entrance building with wooden bench, lettering reads "Saint Margaret's Cave
Before you go

A public park, open at any time.

Where
Dunfermline town centre.
Size
About 80 acres.
Given
1903, by Andrew Carnegie.
Where it is

In the centre of Dunfermline, beside Dunfermline Abbey and Palace, KY12.

Close byDunfermline.
  1. Dunfermline Abbey and PalaceDunfermline Abbey and PalaceThe royal abbey beside the park.1 mile5 min by road
  2. Abbot HouseAbbot HouseThe abbots' pink house.1 mile5 min by road
  3. Aproned woman and dog stand outside Coorie by the Coast caféCoorie by the Coast4 miles9 min by road
  4. The grave of Lilias Adie, a flat sandstone slab on the sands of Torryburn Bay at low tide.Grave of Lilias AdieA great sandstone slab on the shore of Torryburn Bay in Fife, marking the grave of Lilias Adie, a woman named as a witch in 1704.5 miles11 min by road
  5. Forth BridgeForth BridgeThe great red cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth at Queensferry, opened in 1890 and a World Heritage Site since 2015.7 miles15 min by road
Directions
Stone entrance building with wooden bench, lettering reads "Saint Margaret's CaveAttractionsSt Margaret's Cave0.3 miles
Blackness Castle stands on the Firth of Forth shoreline at low tideAttractionsBlackness Castle4.7 miles over the water
Turreted castle with rows of tall windows behind a mown grass pathAttractionsHouse of the Binns5.8 miles over the water
Cochrane's bust with the Scottish and Chilean flags behind.AttractionsAdmiral Thomas Cochrane Statue Culross7.3 miles
The alabaster monument to Sir George Bruce with his children kneeling before it, Culross Abbey.AttractionsThe Bruce Vault, Culross Abbey7.3 miles
Ruined stone walls and arches beside a church tower with a Saltire flagAttractionsCulross Abbey7.3 miles
Haggs Wynd climbing past the palace wall.AttractionsHaggs Wynd Culross7.3 miles
Parleyhill House's curved gable with its two oval attic windows, Culross.AttractionsThe House with the Evil Eyes7.3 miles
Pink, white and ochre cottages line a narrow cobbled street in the rainAttractionsTanhouse Brae7.5 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the park, and when each is next free.

West End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Fife
  • 13 miles from Pittencrieff Park
Check datesA man walks past Bucken Booths entrance flanked by black lamp postsOld Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Fife
  • 13 miles from Pittencrieff Park
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Fife
  • 14 miles from Pittencrieff Park
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Fife
  • 15 miles from Pittencrieff Park
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in FifeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.