There is something magical about bridges and they just don’t come any more magical than the iconic Forth Bridge. We’re eking across its epic triple cantilever iron span now en route to Scotland’s newest city of Dunfermline. Our team of adventurers is my wife Jenny, teen Tara and newly 12-year-old Emma. We’re on a mission, a mission to see how Dunfermline and West Fife stacks up for a family break.
The Forth Bridge provides a dramatic entry to Fife, this deeply scenic region’s brooding hills and beach-fringed coastline blinking in the morning sunshine in welcome. “Is this Dunfermline?” asks Emma. I answer “almost” as we’re hopping off at North Queensferry to check out the new Forth Bridges Trail, just the latest walking route in a corner of Scotland alive with them. We learn about the village’s links to the iconic bridge before pushing on the last 15 minutes by train into Scotland’s newest city.
It’s seriously easy to get to Dunfermline and West Fife by train, bus or car; Edinburgh Airport is only a half hour drive away too.
My girls are already prepped and excited and Jenny has already had a good look too. I’m talking about the ace free eBook on Dunfermline that weaves in West Fife too. It really sets the scene about the ‘Ancient Capital of Scotland’ and means when you get here you can hit the ground running as you already have an idea of what you want to see and do too. It’s also ideal for wee ones as it’s very pictorial so you can get them excited with the photos beforehand.
Soon we are immersed in the attraction-packed Heritage Quarter. Emma pipes up, “this looks just like Harry Potter”. I’d never thought of it before, but I see what she means as this oasis is awash with cobbled streets, the grand abbey and palace, mysterious medieval houses and even its own graveyard. It is like a Harry Potter book and echoes the charms of Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage listed Old Town too. We’ve heard the local rallying call ‘Our story, yours to explore’ and we’re all keen to dive in.
Our first stop is the Dunfermline Abbey and Palace. We enter this hallowed gothic netherworld. I find the vaulting nave that chimes with the interior of Durham Cathedral, while my girls engage in their first activity as part of the HQ Explorers Past-Port as we “Celebrate the City”. It’s a great idea to engage kids as it makes them want to visit the four attractions to do the activities and get their wee stamps in the passport that will ultimately win them a certificate at the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum.
Next stop is the activity next door at the Abbey Church. Church custodian Willie Donaldson is on hand with a smile and instructions. The girls get stuck into matching the stickers and then drawing crests. They are joined by another wee girl and the three of them chat their way along through the centuries they are exploring through the activities. I take the opportunity to ease over and marvel at the site of Robert the Bruce’s tomb. His heart may be buried in Melrose, but for me this remains the most dramatic of the two locations.
I also share with my daughters the burial place of Scotland’s only royal saint – St Margaret. People have been coming to Dunfermline and West Fife on pilgrimage for over 700 years and recently the 64-mile Fife Pilgrim Way has been set up to honour and re-create those pilgrimages. Handily it runs right by Dunfermline Abbey with an information board explaining more about it.
I take my hungry historians now across the graveyard where legend has it William Wallace’s mother was buried. Emma is intrigued and asks, “was Braveheart here too?” I’ll answer that later. We push on just a few metres away to the Abbot House, Dunfermline’s oldest dwelling. There are plans to open up a museum room upstairs, but for now it’s a brilliant place for lunch in the café and has both a lovely bookshop and gift shop. The latter features the work of Fife artists, and some of the work of the creatives who rent space in the floors above. We feast on paninis and traybakes; there is proper coffee too.
At school and at home my girls learn a lot about issues swirling around sustainability, so I’m delighted to see the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries leading the way. Their new “Our Plastic Ocean” exhibition includes a family-friendly activity room to explore. Christine McLean, Head of Cultural Heritage & Wellbeing, explains the thinking behind it: “We think this is an essential exhibition and not just for children. People feel a real range of emotions here, from sadness through to anger. I’d like to think they take thoughts away about many of the issues to consider more and work into their own lives.”
The plastic exhibition certainly sets the synapses popping with my wee girls and they are still talking about it when we do their third activity quest. We also make time to explore the superb museum section, which explores the history of Dunfermline and how it became the growing city that it has blossomed into today.
It’s impossible to visit Dunfermline and not come across the giant figure of Andrew Carnegie. In the past my daughters have only shown a passing interest, but they become more intrigued when I tell them the Carnegie Library was the first of over 2,500 around the world! And that the man who became the world’s richest human started off life in a wee cottage in Dunfermline with a dad who was a weaver.
My girls get even more engaged when I tell them that the cottage is still standing. And we’re just about to visit! We skip downhill, where the ever-enthusiastic and informative museum manager at the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Mark Macleod, welcomes us. “We love having families here, we want everyone to get involved in the Carnegie story, a story with so many strands to explore and learn about,” he smiles. My girls fire straight into the activity in their quests to complete the HQExplorer Past-Port and receive their certificate.
My girls think they are finished with Carnegie, but we’re not. They’ve vague memories of the ace playparks at Pittencrieff Park , but know nothing of its William Wallace and Scottish king connections. And how it came to be gifted to the city. It was indeed that man again. After being kicked off the private estate here as a wee boy, Carnegie returned as the world’s richest man and philanthropist to buy Pittencrieff and then open it up for everyone to enjoy. And enjoy it we do, following the gushing burn up to William Wallace’s well and through the wee tunnel as we look out for squirrels and birds in this slice of the country in the city. No wonder locals call it ‘The Glen’.
Appetites restored after a dash of parklife, we head for one of the city’s sweep of family-friendly places to eat. Fabric soars us away from Fife to Japan. We tuck into a salmon set with sushi and sashimi, backed up by gorgeous fried gyoza dumplings. Main courses bring beef teriyaki and beef ramen, while Emma stays at home with a prime beef burger. Tara loves the sushi and is all set for a trip to Asia now.
It’s time to bathe in the afterglow of that man again in a city alive with culture and entertainment options. The Carnegie Hall is an art deco wonder that is worth going to no matter what is on. Tonight it is ‘13: The Musical’. It’s a grand venue, but intimate too and we’re right down at the front really feeling immersed in the performance. My girls are mostly used to watching things at home with all its distractions, and are utterly wrapped up in the happenings on stage with not a mobile phone in sight. It can be hard parting teens from their phones, but the format here makes it easy.