On this cold and cloudy day, Marty and I found ourselves in this very same town, where the locals consider this man to be quite the hero. The town boasts The Carnegie Center, Carnegie Clinic and College of Hygiene as well as Carnegie Hall and the very first Carnegie library in the world.
Because it is winter, many of the historic sites are closed, but we were able to see the house where Carnegie was born as well as walk through the donated library in his name.
But this town is steeped in history that goes well back in time before the birth of this famous man.
In the year 800, Christianity was introduced into Dunfermline. In the early 1000's, Malcolm III married his wife, Margaret in this church and they welcomed the Benedictines to set up a priory here. Margaret was paramount to introducing Catholicism in this town. She was canonized as St. Margaret in 1093 and there is a memorial to her outside the abbey for easy access to those making a pilgrimage here.
The monastery ruins still stand, along with the ruins of the Royal Palace. Robert the Bruce was buried in the Dunfermline Abbey, and when renovations were being done in the early 1800's, his remains were found. In tribute to him, his name adorns the bell tower.
The four sides say: King Robert The Bruce.
On the same grounds stands The Abbot house which dates from the early 1400's. Marty and I ate a scrumptious lunch inside while enjoying the view of the gardens from the inside.
There was a lovely park that we walked through, the paths winding through a wooded area that featured glimpses of the ancient abbey and the adjacent ruins. A stream ran through the park, surprising us with occasional small waterfalls as we walked along one of the trails.
After several hours walking around this historic and quaint village, we decided to head to Culross, another village that came highly recommended by the tourist center. We certainly were not disappointed when we drove into this town and found ourselves being transported back in time with cobblestone streets and restored 16th and 17th century houses.
But first, we couldn't help but admire the view from the car park across the Firth of Forth.
We walked along the coastal path for awhile, and then decided to explore the village.
Most of the historical sites have closed for the winter, but were were able to stroll through the gardens of the 1575 palace that still stands in this town. The garden was built in grades up the hill behind the palace.
We climbed up one terrace after another. The view from the top was breathtaking.
The skies get dark quite early at this time of year, so Marty and I headed down the hill to the Red Lion Inn where we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner among the locals. The entire atmosphere was quite entertaining.
After strolling to our car while admiring the night view across the firth, we began the trip home. I'll admit that I was a bit nervous with Marty behind the wheel, but he had set up his phone as a GPS and I felt confident that we would get back to our hotel without issue.
Well, there were a few tense moments on my part when the GPS suggested that we should travel up a dirt road (which we ignored) and it appeared to be taking us a very strange, out of the way back. We did finally arrive, safe and sound, at the hotel, but driving those roads in the pitch black, on the opposite side of the highway seemed quite harrowing at times.
When we got back to our room, and were planning tomorrow's adventure, Marty realized that he had his phone GPS set for pedestrian mode. That explained why it was attempting to lead us onto walking trails.
Believe me, we won't be making that mistake again!
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