Day 87: Aberdour, Fife to Dollar, Stirlingshire

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

1st April 2021: 48.52km walked today taking the total to 8526.42/8868km. 9% of 72 entries submitting 539.14km.

We visit Aberdour before heading west along the coast to the Firth of Forth’s famous bridges. Here we turn north west through Rosyth to visit Dunfermline before continuing along country roads and paths to Dollar.

Route 23: St Andrews to Glasgow

Climbing over the hill from the Ha Lighthouse we descend steps to reach the west side of the rocky bluff. Here we find a short concrete jetty that was used as part of the development of radio-controlled torpedoes during World War 1. Continuing around the shore, we reach Aberdour Harbour and then Black Sands Bay.

In a field above the harbour, we may be able to see a 12-metre-high obelisk. This was erected by James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, when he moved to Edinburgh from Aberdour so that he could locate where his former house had been when he looked through his telescope.

We turn up Shore Road, when we reach the sands at Black Sands Bay, to go into Aberdour itself. At one time Aberdour consisted of 2 villages, one on each side of the Dour burn, one called Wester Aberdour and the other Easter Aberdour. When we reach the High Street we turn east, and follow the signs to Aberdour Castle, passing the Aberdour Memorial Clock built to commemorate Dr Robert Spence who was a local doctor for 40 years. The castle lies to the east of the Dour Burn and so is actually in Easter Aberdour. The castle was initially built, overlooking the burn, in the 13th century by the de Mortimer family. From the 14th century it came under the ownership of the Douglas family, the Earls of Morton, and they developed and increased the size of the castle and built a range of other buildings, such as a bakehouse.

The castle is surrounded by extensive gardens. To the east is the walled garden whose outer wall encloses nearby St Fillan’s Church. To the south are terraced gardens which were only rediscovered in the 1970s and have been restored. They are formed from 4 L-shaped levels descending in walled steps towards the sea. At their end lies an orchard which was created in 1690. At the far end of the upper terrace of the garden is the beehive-shaped doocot which was built at the end of the 16th century. This still contains over 600 stone nesting boxes and the ladders used to reach them.

In circa 1680 a fire caused a significant amount of damage to the castle and, although there were plans to fully repair the castle, only the east range was fully restored, leaving the central and west ranges in ruins. Rather than do any more restoration, the Morton family effectively abandoned the castle in 1725 when they bought Aberdour House (formerly called Cuttlehill House) on the west side of the burn and, in doing so, moved to Wester Aberdour. The east range of Aberdour Castle saw a number of uses after this, including being used as a barracks and a school, but in 1924 the castle was passed to the state and is now cared for by Historic Environment Scotland.

After leaving Aberdour Castle we walk across to St Fillan’s Church, accessed through the castle’s walled garden. This is a small, simple Norman church surrounded by a graveyard overlooking Aberdour Harbour. The original nave and chancel date from 1123 with extensions completed in the 15th and 17th centuries. The church was abandoned in 1790 because the then Countess of Morton didn’t like the people of Aberdour coming so close to her property, so a new church was built on the High Street. The church then fell into disrepair but was restored in 1925 and is again Aberdour’s Parish Church.

Retracing our steps back to the centre of Aberdour, we visit the Aberdour Sensory Garden. This is across the road from the railway station on the site of the old school. It is a very peaceful area in which to relax with picnic tables, sculptures and an array of plants. Leaving the garden, we head west along the High Street, rejoining the Fife Coastal Path. When we reach the Woodside Hotel, we turn left and go through impressive gates which used to be the east entrance of, what used to be, the Earl of Moray’s Donibristle Estate.

The path takes us down Beech Avenue, beside the golf course, passing the driveway to St Colme’s House (named after Inchcolm island) before we reach St Bridget’s Kirk on the edge of Dalgety Bay. St Bridget’s Kirk is now a ruin, as it was abandoned in 1830, but it still has some impressive decorative stonework. It was originally built in 1170 and was granted to the canons of Inchcolm Priory by William I. It was abandoned when most of the local people had moved away to the mining village of Fordell where a new church was built. As part of the ruin, we can see a small watch house built into the church wall, used to keep watch for body-snatchers.

From St Bridget’s Kirk we head around Dalgety Bay, through Crowhill Wood and Ross Plantation, before we reach a road which passes the small harbour and sailing club. Just past here we pass Donibristle stable block before we reach the gardens of Donibristle House. The first Donibristle House was built by the Earls of Moray, who removed the existing village in order to build here. The original Donibristle House was destroyed by fire when the Earl of Moray was murdered in 1592 by the 1st Marquis of Huntly after an argument. The second house was also destroyed by fire and then replaced by another house, built in about 1700, with wings on either side added in 1720. The main part of that house was destroyed by fire in 1858 but the wings survived. During World War 1 and 2 the estate was used as an airfield, and then in 1962, the airfield and the rest of the estate was developed as Dalgety Bay, a privately funded new town. In the late 20th century, the wings of Donibristle House and the nearby stable block were redeveloped and restored as housing, and a new building was erected where the main block of the house was originally. Connecting the 2 wings is a decorative wrought iron screen which dates from the early 18th century and is said to be the finest in existence in Scotland from that era.

We keep following the Fife Coastal Path, and pass the Donibristle Chapel, built in 1731 and is where 9 Earls of Moray are buried. Following the road near the coast, we reach a path which goes through a stand of pines called Bathing House Wood, before we climb through trees at Hopeward Wood to walk past large houses to Hopewood Point. From here we have great views of 3 of the bridges over the River Forth: The Forth Railway Bridge (usually simply known as the Forth Bridge), the Forth Road Bridge and the newest bridge, the Queensferry Crossing.

We then walk past St David’s Bay before we reach the industrial Inner Bay area at Inverkeithing, which we have to go around by heading inland following the Fife Coastal Path signs. Inverkeithing is an ancient town and was settled by 400 AD when a church was founded here by St Erat. In medieval times Inverkeithing was a walled town with 4 gates. The walls were removed in the 16th century, but there are still a few buildings which were originally built within the walled town. For example, the tower of St Peter’s Church was originally built in the 14th century, although the church itself dates from 1827. At the north end of the market is the Mercat Cross which is topped by a unicorn.

There are other interesting buildings in the centre of Inverkeithing, such as the Thomsoun’s House built in 1617, Fordell’s Lodging in 1670, and the Tolbooth from 1770. Further down the High Street we pass the Grey Friars Convent, also called the Hospitium of the Grey Friars, which dates back to the 14th century and was part of a Franciscan Friary. This was where the Franciscans gave hospitality to pilgrims travelling to Dunfermline Abbey or St Andrews.

When we reach Ferryhill Road we turn left and then keep left along the shore to West Ness pier. Keeping to the coast we soon find ourselves passing a beach at Port Laing and then the Carlingnose Point nature reserve where the path runs along the bottom of cliffs, part of an old quarry. Fulmar and other seabirds’ nests in these cliffs and the lime rich grassland means that rare plants such as Field Gentian and Bloody Geranium can be found.

Just before we pass under the Forth Bridge, we turn left down a path before reaching the road, which we follow to Deep Sea World, an aquarium built in and around Battery Quarry. But before visiting the aquarium I will tell you a bit about North Queensferry and the Forth Bridge.

North Queensferry takes its name from the ferry set up by Queen Margaret in the 11th century for travel between Dunfermline and Edinburgh Castle. Across the Forth, on the south side of the river, is South Queensferry which we will visit later on our walk. The Forth Bridge is a giant steel structure which opened in 1890 after taking 7 years to build and which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was designed just after the Tay Bridge disaster, so the design had to be rigid, stiff and capable of carrying heavy freight trains, but it also had to be built so that the River Forth was still navigable by ships. The bridge was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker and built by Sir William Arrol and Co. It was built as a cantilever bridge with 3 double cantilevers with 2 suspended spans, each over 520 metres, sitting between them. These were the longest suspended bridge spans in the world at that time and are still the second longest in the world even now. It was also the first major construction in Britain using steel. The first part to be built were the granite piers on which the bridge was to be supported. This involved sinking caissons, wrought iron cylinders, to the sea bed and then pumping them out so that men could work on the seabed, creating foundations and building up the piers. Once these piers were finished, the towers were built up before the cantilevers were built outwards. The resulting bridge is 2.5 kilometres long and carries a double railway track 46 metres above the River Forth at high tide with the overall height just over 100 metres. The amount of steel in the bridge weighs over 50,000 tonnes and it is thought that 6.5 million rivets were used in its construction.

It used to be said, of a never-ending job, that it was ‘like painting the Forth Bridge’ because once the bridge had all been painted, the process had to start all over again. This, however, is not the case anymore, as the bridge has now been restored and painted with a type of paint used in the offshore oil industry which means it will be protected for 25 years. It was painted in the iconic colour known as ‘Forth Bridge Red’ to match the original red oxide colour used when it was built.

We cross the Deep-Sea World car park to arrive at the aquarium itself. This aquarium opened in April 1993 in the disused Battery Quarry. One of the main attractions is the 112-metre-long transparent underwater viewing tunnel, one of the longest of its kind in the world. Most of the fish seen here are found in waters around Britain as the tank is filled with sea water from the Forth, so the temperature is quite low. It does, however, have sand tiger sharks which, although usually live in warmer temperatures, can adapt to the colder temperature here. The aquarium also has other tanks and rock pools containing exotic fish and other sea animals; there is also a seal enclosure which houses resident seals as well as injured ones which have been rescued.

From Deep Sea World we return to the Fife Coastal Path but before we head out of North Queensferry we walk to the end of the pier on Main Street. This takes us to the North Queensferry Harbour Light Tower, the world’s smallest working light tower, built in 1817 by Robert Stevenson which has now been restored and is open to the public, so we are able to climb the 24 steps to the lamp. This light was used as part of the Queensferry Crossing when ferries used to cross the Forth. Retracing our steps up Main Street, we head west along Main Road, the B981, before going under the Forth Road Bridge and then the Queensferry Crossing.

Work on the Forth Road Bridge began in 1958 and was opened by the Queen on September 4th, 1964, when it replaced the ferry service between South and North Queensferry. At the time it was opened, it was the first suspension bridge of its kind in the UK, the longest outside the USA, and the fourth longest in the world. It was initially a toll bridge, but the tolls were scrapped in 2008. The whole bridge had to be strengthened in the 1990s as the traffic loading on the bridge was significantly higher than was expected by the engineers who designed the structure.

Due to the Forth Road Bridge having exceeded its design capacity, a new crossing, the Queensferry Crossing, was built to carry the M90 motorway across the Forth which opened in August 2017. It was just as well a new bridge was being built as, in 2015, structural defects were found on the Forth Road Bridge which meant it was closed for a period of time. It was repaired and, after the Queensferry Crossing opened, the Forth Road Bridge was changed to be a public transport corridor, only open to buses and taxis, but also crossable by foot and by bike.

The Queensferry Crossing is 2.7 kilometres long, is the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world, and is also the largest to feature cables which cross mid-span. When it was being built, the centre tower deck was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the largest freestanding balanced cantilever in the world. The record didn’t last long though as, once the gaps between the towers were closed, it was no longer freestanding. The wind barriers, that are part of the Queensferry Crossing, means that the crossing remains open to high-sided vehicles during high winds, when the old Forth Road Bridge would have had to close.

Still following the Fife Coastal Route, we pass St Margaret’s Marsh on our left, an SSSI area of reedbed and saltmarsh before we arrive in Rosyth. Just as we enter Rosyth, we see Rosyth Castle which is now surrounded by industrial buildings. It was built in the 15th century for Sir David Stewart and originally stood on a small island in the Forth, accessible only at low tide. It was occupied in 1651 by Oliver Cromwell’s army after the Battle of Inverkeithing. It, however, remained as a Stewart residence until the late 17th century before it eventually became part of the Earl of Hopetoun’s estate, although from the 18th century it remained unoccupied. In 1903 it became Admiralty property, and, because of land reclamation, it became part of the dockyard. The dockyard at Rosyth was constructed as a naval base for World War 1 battleships and was also used in World War 2. Later, it became home to the UK’s nuclear submarines and, in 1997, it became the first naval dockyard to be privatised. It is now used for the assembly of aircraft carriers.

From Rosyth Castle we cross the roundabout to walk through Orchardhead Wood, passing a well-preserved 16th century doocot with a crow-stepped gable roof. Reaching Ferrytoll Road we turn left and cross onto Hilton Road, before turning right onto Wilson Way. We follow this past fields until we reach the A985, where we again turn left. After about 1.2 kilometres we turn right on the Fife Pilgrim Way at a junction signed for Pattiesmuir. We walk through woodland, past a cemetery on our right and then walk across open fields, past Wester Gellet Farm until we reach the B9156. Following this road north, we reach Dunfermline and soon reach Pittencrieff Park at its south end at the Nethertown entrance.

Dunfermline is an ancient settlement and the ancient capital of Scotland whose name comes from the Gaelic ‘Dun Fearam Linn’ which translates as ‘the fort in the bend of the stream’. The fort was possibly the tower which Malcolm III, also known as Malcolm Canmore, built in the 11th century probably on the site of earlier Pictish defences, which we will visit later.

We don’t enter the park yet though and, instead, follow Moodie Street until we reach the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum. As suggested by the name, this is the cottage where he was born in 1835 and, next to it, is an Art Deco Museum Hall which tells the story of Andrew Carnegie, the steel tycoon, stockbroker, writer, lecturer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He lived in Dunfermline before emigrating to America with his parents when he was 13. He set up businesses in Pittsburgh, USA, and became the richest man in the world. In the last years of his life, he decided to give away 90% of his personal wealth and supported the founding of many institutions and landmarks across the USA and the UK. He established about 3000 libraries around the world, the first of them being in Dunfermline. One of the places he also bought was Pittencrieff Park. As a boy Carnegie had been forbidden to enter the park, so he bought it in 1902 and gifted it to the people of Dunfermline.

Just after the museum we turn left into Pittencrieff Park, crossing Tower Burn before going past the Laird’s Garden and Glasshouse. The Laird’s Garden is a formal garden which would have originally been the kitchen garden and orchard for Pittencrieff House. The Glasshouse was built in 1973, replacing old conservatories, and is 60 metres long with cacti, succulents and many varieties of exotic plants. We then pass Pittencrieff House which was originally built in the 15th century by the Wemyss family. What we see today though is a 17th century orange-washed T-plan house built by Sir Alexander Clerk of Pittencrieff. The house passed through various families before being bought by Andrew Carnegie and then served as the Pittencrieff House Museum, but this has now been closed with the opening of the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries.

After passing the Italian Garden we turn right to pass between this garden and the Glen Pavilion, an art deco building with a cafe where we can stop for coffee and cake! We then turn right again and cross the double bridge before passing Malcolm Canmore’s Tower.

The original route followed by pilgrims from the west would have brought them through the woodlands of Pittencrieff, over a bridge over the burn, before climbing towards Dunfermline Abbey. The first stone bridge was built with money given by Anne of Denmark in 1611 to ease the journey of pilgrims going to the Abbey, which was renovated in 1788. When a replacement bridge was needed some years later, it was built above the original, creating the “Double Bridge” we see today. From here we pass Malcolm Canmore’s Tower, of which little remains, but was originally built on a highly defensible outcrop of rock above the deep glen. The first mention of the Tower is 1070, when King Malcolm III married his second wife, Princess Margaret. It acted as a fortress on the outskirts of Dunfermline and became the seat of royal power in Scotland after King Malcolm shifted the centre of government from Forteviot to Dunfermline. The site was also close to a religious centre which had begun as a Culdee establishment in the 9th century.

Following her marriage to King Malcolm III, Queen Margaret encouraged her husband to convert the small Culdee chapel into a church for Benedictine monks. The foundations of this church evolved into the Abbey in 1128 under David I which we will visit now after we leave Pittencrieff Park. Leaving the gates, we can see Dunfermline Abbey Church in front of us and, off to our right, are the remains of Dunfermline Palace and parts of the original abbey and monastery.

David I wanted the Abbey to be a fitting tribute to his mother, Margaret who was already on the path to becoming a saint, when he built it in 1128. The original nave that David I built still stands and, together with the New Abbey Church built in 1821, forms Dunfermline Abbey. When the Abbey was built in 1128 there were lots of other buildings built, most of which were destroyed by Edward I in 1303. Rebuilding was undertaken, and development of the Abbey continued until the Scottish Reformation in 1560, at which point the Abbey was sacked. The buildings fell into disrepair, although the nave was rescued to be used as a parish church. The flying buttresses, which are such a feature of the old Abbey Church today, were added in 1570 to keep the church from falling down.

In 1587 King James VI took control of the Abbey and the other associated buildings and gave them to his wife, Queen Anne who converted the Abbey Guest House into a Royal Palace. It was here that Charles I was born in 1600, the last of the 7 Kings of Scotland who were born in Dunfermline. Not long after Charles I was born the Palace was effectively abandoned, when King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England and Ireland in 1603 and based himself in England. Charles II did occupy the palace in 1650 but it was abandoned soon afterwards and was roofless by 1708.

As indicated above, the ruined east end of the Abbey Church was replaced in 1821 with the New Abbey Church, so the Abbey Church is effectively 2 very distinct churches joined in the middle, the Old Abbey Church at the west end dating from 1128, with additions from 1570, and the New Abbey Church at the east end dating from 1821. To see the Old Abbey Church, we need to buy a ticket to visit this church, the abbey ruins and the palace, as these are run by Historic Environment Scotland. The New Abbey Church is free!

Dunfermline was renowned as the burial place of many Scottish Kings and Queens. The first was Queen Margaret in 1093 and the most famous was Robert the Bruce. He was buried in Dunfermline Abbey in 1329, minus his heart which was taken on a visit to the Holy Land before it was buried at Melrose Abbey. It was during the building of the New Abbey Church that his body was discovered (it was identified as his, due to the cut breastbone for removal of his heart) and he was reinterred in the centre of the New Abbey Church, 560 years after his death. His grave now lies below the pulpit covered by a large brass grave marker. The words "KING ROBERT THE BRUCE" were formed with large stone lettering around the 4 sides of the crown of the tower at the east end of the church.

Outside the east gable of the New Abbey Church is the shrine of Queen Margaret. After King Malcolm and Queen Margaret died, they were both buried in Dunfermline Abbey. After her death, pilgrims would visit Margaret’s tomb in the abbey to pray for cures from sickness. Many miracles of healing were recorded and, in 1249, Pope Innocent IV made her a saint. Her and Malcolm’s remains were moved a year later to the new chapel at the Abbey. Not much of this shrine now remains.

After leaving the Abbey we walk up the Kirkgate, then Bruce Street, before turning left into St John’s Vennel and walking to Chalmers Street car park where we find St Margaret’s Cave in the north east corner. This is the cave where Queen Margaret would go to pray over 900 years ago. At that time there was a path beside a stream, through some woods with a short climb up to a small cave. Today, there’s a tunnel with 87 steps leading deep underground to reach the same cave!

We then walk back into Pittencrieff Park to the Louise Carnegie Gates which were constructed in 1927 in memory of Louise Carnegie, the wife of Andrew Carnegie. After passing through the gates, we walk down the avenue to the Andrew Carnegie Statue before leaving the park again by the north entrance. We continue north and west, using roads and tracks, to then pass between 2 reservoirs before reaching Craigluscar Hill. We don’t go up the hill but instead head west, skirting Glassiebarns Wood before crossing Carnock Moor. When we reach the B913 we turn right and, on the hill to our right, we should be able to see the Tower of Bandrum. This is an octagonal watch tower, also called the Temple, which was built by an old sea captain, Archibald Hogg, to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. At the village of Saline, we turn left, then right along North Road, before walking on roads for 11 kilometres until we reach the River Devon which we cross to then head into the village of Dollar. In front of us are the Ochil Hills which stretch westwards towards Stirling.