IF Dunfermline to you means Amazon, Sky and a sadly recently relegated football team, then it’s time to think again. One of Scotland’s fastest growing towns has just been proclaimed the country’s eighth city.
That should be no surprise as this is the historic hub that spawned James I, Charles I and Andrew Carnegie. And both Big Country’s Stuart Adamson and the new Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa, grew up around this remarkable soon-to-be city.
The award of city status to one of Scotland’s oldest settlements is a massive boost that will really put Dunfermline on the 21st-century map. Not that it should really need that given its epic history. Indeed, this picturesque old royal burgh on a hillside just north of the Firth of Forth has been slowly reawakening and the seal of city status just crowns this renaissance.
"The Ancient Capital of Scotland"
Dunfermline could scarcely be built on richer historic foundations. Sometimes dubbed the “Ancient Capital of Scotland”, man first came here at least as early as Neolithic times. This is where the Auld Alliance with France was ratified in 1295, fitting for a royal burgh and the birthplace of kings.
Dunfermline Palace and Abbey for me is not just one of the finest ecclesiastic sites in Scotland, but one of our most fascinating heritage oases full stop. David I made the priory into an abbey in 1128, one that also housed monastic lodgings. Charles I was delivered here in 1600 – the last monarch to be born in Scotland. Robert the Bruce lies interred in the abbey. His heart may be in Melrose, but I always feel closest to the Bruce in the hallowed walls of the abbey. It’s glorious that – like the whole of Dunfermline – the abbey is no museum piece, celebrating 950 years of worship this year.
It is a testament to the power, energy and ambition of the man that there is a Dunfermline figure that manages to even overshadow any of the royals.
Andrew Carnegie may have been born into relatively humble means, but boy did he make the most of life, becoming the world’s richest man and one of its most renowned philanthropists. His legacy spans the Atlantic.
In Dunfermline his Birthplace Museum and the jaw-dropping revamped Carnegie Library & Galleries are the must-visit sites.
The city's green lung
Just a short stroll away – most things in the city’s compact centre are within easy reach – is another Carnegie gift to Dunfermline. Pittencrieff Park – known locally as “The Glen” – lives up to its nickname. This glorious green lung sweeps up and down a burn-scythed glen, and is a great place to stroll with myriad trails and spot on for families with multiple playparks.
The modern day
Although Dunfermline is built on so many intoxicating seams of history, there is plenty of energy in the present day. Two historic dames bring world-class live music to the city. I’ve seen both superb local band People, Places, Maps, and the Happy Mondays in Dunfermline. The grand Carnegie Hall dates to 1891 and this weekend hosts a “Concert for Ukraine”. This year the Alhambra meanwhile celebrates its 100th anniversary as one of Scotland’s most atmospheric venues.
Dunfermline’s location makes it a brilliant gateway too. You can see the Forth Bridges from this hilltop city. Nowhere else in the world I’ve been to has three architecturally significant bridges from three successive centuries.
The best way to appreciate them is to snake south on the Fife Pilgrim Way, an under-the-radar walking route that has been lost in the Covid fog after opening in 2019. Culross, the East Neuk and St Andrews all lie close by too.
I’ll leave the last word to the first person I spoke to after hearing the news. John Humphreys, a friend who lives in neighbouring Inverkeithing, is a long-time Dunfermline advocate. “Dunfermline has long felt like a city with its historic core, its lively nightlife and energy. I’m just delighted to be able to say I live on the outskirts of Scotland’s newest city and a really exciting one at that,” John says, pride beaming down the line.
