Understand
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"Dun" means a fortified hill or outcrop, and "ferm lynn" is thought to mean a crooked stream, no-one's sure. Prehistoric folk settled in spots that could be fortified against their dear neighbours and in-laws, and needed a water supply, so they were here from 3000 BC. But the town only emerges into history circa 1070 AD, when King Malcolm III married Margaret of Wessex (later canonised as St Margaret) and together they made it a royal residence and ecclesiastic centre, effectively capital of Scotland. Its fortunes rose and fell with those of independent Scotland: 7 kings were buried here, the last being Robert the Bruce in 1329. The last monarch to be born here was Charles I in 1600. But then the crowns of England and Scotland were united, James VI / I much preferred London to chilly Scotland, and all the power and patronage ebbed away south. And then the town burned down in 1624.
The area around Dunfermline became industrial in the early modern period, with salt panning, coal mining, limestone quarrying, linen weaving and metal-bashing. Initially it developed as a series of industrial villages, with wooden wagonways connecting the mines and quarries to a string of small ports along the Forth. (One of these, Culross, has been beautifully restored.) The Victorian period brought larger scale industry, shipping and railways, and a concentration into fewer but larger towns and ports. Dunfermline was constrained to the north by the Cleish Hills but expanded to the south and east; its port of Rosyth was carved off in 1909 to become a separate town and Royal Navy base. The area slumped after the Second World War as the coalfields were exhausted and traditional heavy industries such as ship-breaking were lost to foreign competition.
The opening of the Forth Road Bridge in 1964, and linking highways, improved Dunfermline's connection to Edinburgh and the rest of central Scotland. The town attracted new businesses and became part of the Edinburgh commuter belt, and expanded rapidly east. It's now reached the "natural" boundary of M90 at Halbeath, and its council forsees future expansion west. This has created an urban and suburban sprawl but hasn't blighted the abbey and park which are Dunfermline's main attraction.
In 2022 Dunfermline was awarded city status, as part of the celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. This makes not a scrap of difference to its governance within Fife Council.
Visitor information is posted online, there isn't a physical tourist office.
Get in
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By plane
[edit]Edinburgh Airport (EDI IATA) has good flight connections across Europe and UK and within Scotland. Stagecoach Jet Bus 747 runs from airport stop G across the old Forth Road Bridge to Inverkeithing (for trains) and Halbeath P&R (for local buses), taking 30 min. It runs daily 24 hours, every 20 min daytime.
By train
[edit]Trains from Edinburgh Waverley run every 30 min via Haymarket (for airport), Dalmeny (for South Queensferry), North Queensferry, Inverkeithing and Rosyth, taking 35-40 min to the two Dunfermline stations and continuing to Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Cardenen and Glenrothes-with-Thornton. Change at Inverkeithing for trains along the Fife coast from Kirkcaldy, Leuchars (for St Andrews), Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth and Inverness. From Glasgow Queen Street take the fast train to Edinburgh and change at Haymarket.
1 Dunfermline City 
is the main station, in town centre and with a staffed ticket office, machines and toilets. There is level access to Platform 2 (towards Glenrothes) and a ramp to Platform 1 (towards Edinburgh).
2 Dunfermline Queen Margaret is three minutes further along the line, near Queen Margaret Hospital. It's just an unstaffed platform halt, with ticket machines but no toilets.
By road
[edit]Dunfermline is two miles west of M90 motorway. From the south, follow M90 over Queensferry Crossing (no toll) and at junction 2 take the spur A823(M). However there's a little cluster of hotels and other facilities at the east edge of town: for these and the two hospitals take junction 3.
By bus
[edit]3 Dunfermline bus station is on Queen Anne St in town centre. Services are:
- - Stagecoach Bus X55 runs hourly daily from Edinburgh over the old Forth Road Bridge to Rosyth and Dunfermline, taking just over an hour.
- - Bus X24 / 27 runs every 30 min from Glasgow, taking 70 min via Cumbernauld and Kincardine. Both continue to Halbeath P&R, whence X24 heads for Glenrothes, Cupar and St Andrews, while X27 goes to Cowdenbeath, Kirkcaldy and Leven.
- - Bus 7 is a slower service along the coast every 30 min from Leven via Kirkcaldy, Burntisland, Aberdour, Dalgety Bay, Inverkeithing and Rosyth.
- - Bus X22 runs hourly from Stirling taking 55 min via Alloa.
- - Bus 8A is hourly from Alloa via Clackmannan, Kincardine and Culross.
- - Bus X51 is hourly from Livingston, taking an hour via Rosyth.
- - Bus 28 is every 3 hours from Falkirk, taking 1 hr 15 min via Kincardine and Culross.
4 Halbeath P&R is on A92 four miles east of town. X24 / 27 also stops here, but this is the only stop for Citylink buses passing along M90 from Edinburgh towards Perth and Inverness (Bus M90 and M91), Dundee and Aberdeen (M92 and G92), Kinross and Perth (X56), and Glenrothes and Leven (X61). The Edinburgh airport bus 747 also starts from here. See below for local buses between the P&R and town centre.
Get around
[edit]Buses between town and Halbeath P&R are Bus 19, which runs south to Rosyth and north to Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Ballingry; Bus 33 running east to Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Cardenen and Kirkcaldy; and Bus 83 southeast to Dalgety Bay.
Bus 89 runs hourly M-Sa from Crossford and Dunfermline to Queen Margaret Hospital, Inverkeithing and North Queensferry, 40 min.
Bus 87 runs from Dunfermline to Dalgety Bay, Inverkeithing and North Queensferry. They run M-Sa every hour or two.
Taxis include Corporate Taxis (+44 1383 252525), Ash Cabs (+44 1383 333333), GoRa (+44 1383 633633) and Halbeath Taxis (+44 1383 305288).
See
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- 1 Dunfermline Abbey, St Margaret Street KY12 7PE, ☏ +44 1383 739026. Apr-Sep M-Sa 10AM-4:30PM, Su 1-4:30PM, Oct-Mar Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM. The Abbey dates back to the 11th century and is Romanesque, but ruined in the Reformation. Several parts such as the impressive nave were incorporated into the 19th-century parish church. Notable burials here are St Margaret of Scotland, Robert the Bruce, and five other kings and their queens. Attached to the Abbey are the few remains of the Palace: King Charles I was born here in 1600, but by the end of that century both the palace and the Stuart royal dynasty were broken. Free.
- St Margaret's Cave is accessed through a small building on Chalmers St car park near Tesco. Steep steps lead down to what was probably a monastic hermitage or shrine - Margaret herself had no need to pray here, having royal chapels aplenty.
- Fire Station Creative is an art gallery in an Art Deco former fire station, on Carnegie Drive next to Tesco. It's open W Th 10AM-5PM, F Sa 10AM-noon, Su 11AM-4PM.
- 2 Carnegie Library & Galleries, 1 Abbot St KY12 7NL, ☏ +44 1383 602365. M-W F 10AM-5PM, Th 10AM-7PM, Sa 10AM-4PM, Su noon-4PM. Carnegie funded the building of this public library in his home town, opened in 1883, and he went on to fund over 2800 more. A modern extension, opened in 2017, houses a museum and galleries. Free.
- Abbot House is the pink one at 11 Maygate near the Carnegie Library. Dating from the 16th century, it's Dunfermline's oldest house, nowadays a cafe and gift shop.
- 3 Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Moodie Street KY12 7PL, ☏ +44 1383 724302. mid-March - mid-Dec. This humble weavers' cottage was the birthplace of the steel tycoon and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). He was 12 when the family emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he was soon noticed for his brightness and hard-working. He became prosperous through the railway industry, then enormously wealthy through iron and steel. He resolved to donate most of this to causes such as education, and by the time of his death had donated over $350 million, equivalent to $80 billion in today's money. Free.
- St Leonard's Church is at the roundabout 200 yards below Town railway station. It has a Round Tower, associated with ancient Ireland, and the Apse is in Norman style, but it's all retro construction from 1904.
- 4 Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, M90 Commerce Park KY12 0SJ, ☏ +44 1383 623380. Apr-Sep Su (plus July Tu & Th) 12:30-5PM. Collection of over 100 buses. Adult £8, conc or child £5.
- Lathalmond Railway Museum is on the same site as the bus museum and has the same hours. Adult £4, conc or child £2.
Do
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- 1 Carnegie Hall, East Port KY12 7JA, ☏ +44 1383 602302. This is the original Carnegie Hall, a 540-seat theatre named for the local-boy-made-good. The shows are mostly light fare.
- Alhambra Theatre is at 33 Canmore St, 200 yards east of the library.
- Football: Dunfermline Athletic were promoted in 2023 and now play soccer in the Scottish Championship, the second tier. Their home ground (capacity 11,480) is East End Park, on A907 half a mile east of town centre.
- 2 Pittencrieff Park. 24 hours. Carnegie purchased this park and gave it to the people of the town; the grand gates were added in 1908. A stream runs through a bosky glen and there are various walkways, an Art Deco pavilion, gardens and hothouses, and the stumps of King Malcolm Canmore's tower dating to 1000 AD.
- Golf courses are Pitreavie GC, Canmore GC, Dunfermline GC, and Forrester Park Resort, see Sleep.
- Fife Leisure Park is just south of Halbeath roundabout, jcn 3 of M90. It has a Premier Inn (marked on map), Odeon cinema, bowling alleys and adventure golf.
- Adventure Golf Island, Fife Leisure Park KY11 8EX, ☏ +44 1383 737152. Su-Th 11AM-9PM, F Sa 10AM-10PM. Florida-style adventure golf with two 18 hole courses, Treasure Island and Pirates Cove. Floodlit at night. Adult £9.50, child £7.50.
- Town Loch a mile north of town has water-skiing and wakeboarding.
- Knockhill Racing Circuit is 8 miles north of town on A823.
- Walk or cycle along the coast of the Firth of Forth, west through Culross, Kincardine and Clackmannan, swinging inland past Rosyth navy base; going east the coastal trail goes all the way to St Andrews. You may cross the river by Kincardine Bridge or the old Forth Road Bridge, both toll free; you may not use the Queensferry Crossing, which is motorway. Another trail to Clackmannan runs inland parallel to A907.
- Highland Games are held in Ballast Park in Inverkeithing in early August, see North Queensferry#Do.
Buy
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Tesco on Carnegie Drive is open M-Sa 7AM-11PM, 8AM-8PM.
The main retail park is Halbeath, east of the centre on A907. There's an Asda here, open daily 8AM-10PM.
Eat
[edit]- Wynd is a cafe 100 yards south of the bus station at 10 Cross Wynd, open daily 9:30AM-4PM.
- The Canmore is a popular bar and restaurant at 25 Canmore St, 100 yards east of the library. It's open W-Su noon-10PM.
- Jack O'Bryans gets good reviews for its Med cuisine. It's on Chalmers St by the park entrance, open W-Su noon-8:30PM.
- Fabric is a Japanese restaurant at 2 Canmore St, open W Th Su noon-10PM, F Sa noon-2AM.
- Dhoom is a bustling Indian restaurant at 19 New Row, open daily noon-9PM.
- Maria's Baking Stories is a bakery and cafe at 25 New Row, open W-Su 10AM-5PM.
- Fresh, 4 Kirkgate KY12 7NB (100 yards north of abbey.), ☏ +44 1383 626444. M-Sa 8AM-4:30PM. Central cafe.
- Gratzi, Carnegie Drive KY12 7AN, ☏ +44 1383 737979. Su, Tu-Th 4-9:30PM, F Sa noon-10PM. Tasty Italian, Tuesday nights is tapas.
- Royal Bengal, 57 Pittencrieff Street KY12 8AJ (a mile west of centre), ☏ +44 1383 733788. Tu-Su 2-9:30PM. Good Indian food, mostly tandoori.
- Garvock House Hotel is an upscale Georgian place east of the centre on St John's Drive, but it's the restaurant that most impresses.
- Fife Leisure Park by M90 junction 3 has a rash of cheap eateries, including Frankie and Benny's, Pizza Hut, Brewer's Fayre, Bella Italia and Chiquito.
- 1 Carnock Inn, 8 Main St, Carnock KY12 9JQ (A907 four miles west of Dunfermline), ☏ +44 1383 871246. M 5-11PM, Tu-Su noon-midnight. This Gastropub does food worth coming the extra distance. The bar has a garden.
Drink
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- "The king sits in Dunfermline toune, drinking the blude reid wine...."
- - Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens, anon
- Guildhall & Linen Exchange is a JD Wetherspoon at 83 High St, open daily 7AM until midnight. They also have rooms.
- Other central places are Coady's, Commercial Inn and Monty's. Just east are East Port Bar and The Monarch.
- West of centre along St Catherine's Wynd are Bruce Tavern, The Old Inn and the Creepy Wee Pub.
- Strange but true: Fusion Whisky make Japanese-style Scotch whisky. They're blenders not a distillery.
Sleep
[edit]- City Hotel, 18 Bridge St KY12 8DA (100 yards north of abbey), ☏ +44 1383 722538. Pub with rooms near the bus station, weekends are noisy with drouthy folk. B&B double £120.
- 1 Garvock House Hotel, St John's Drive KY12 7TU, ☏ +44 1383 621067. Georgian mansion half a mile east of centre, good reviews for comfort and service. B&B double £155.
- 2 Pitbauchlie House Hotel, Aberdour Road KY11 4PB (B916 a mile southeast of centre), ☏ +44 1383 722282, fax: +44 1383 620738, [email protected]. Pleasant mid-range Best Western with gardens, dog-friendly. B&B double £110.
- 3 Holiday Inn Express, Halbeath Road KY11 8JH, ☏ +44 345 218 2074. Good budget chain hotel, dogs welcome. B&B double £130.
- 4 Premier Inn Dunfermline, 4-12 Whimbrel Place, Fife Leisure Park KY11 8EX (near Jcn 3 of M90), ☏ +44 333 777 4661. Chain budget hotel, comfort and service consistently better than its price range. Lots of eating places, retail and amusements on the Leisure Park. B&B double £140.
- 5 Travelodge Dunfermline, Halbeath Junction KY11 8PQ (Jcn 3 of M90), ☏ +44 871 984 6287. Reliable budget chain next to motorway, good value for what you pay. B&B double £85.
- 6 Keavil House Hotel, Crossford KY12 8NN (2 miles west of town), ☏ +44 1383 736258. Upscale 72-room country house hotel in its own grounds, part of Best Western. With restaurant and spa, often does weddings and similar events. B&B double £140.
- 7 Forrester Park Resort, Pitdinnie Rd, Carneyhill KY12 8RF (4 miles west of town), ☏ +44 1383 880505. Plush country hotel with golf course. B&B double £200.
Connect
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As of March 2025, Dunfermline and its approach roads have 5G from all UK carriers.
Go next
[edit]- The Fife coast is urban until you get east of Kirkcaldy and Leven. The view improves greatly around Anstruther and the charming fishing villages of the East Neuk.
- Culross 10 miles west is a well-restored 17th / 18th century village. Highlights are the Abbey, Town House, Study and Palace.
- Dollar, reached by the scenic A823 over the hills, has a walk up the ravine of Dollar Glen to the ruin of Castle Campbell. The autumn colours here are fabulous.
- Falkland Palace ten miles north of Kirkcaldy is the medieval palace of the Stuart kings, rebuilt in the 19th century.
| Routes through Dunfermline |
| Edinburgh ← North Queensferry ← | S  N
|
→ Kinross → Perth |
merges with  ←
|
SW  NE
|
→ Kirkcaldy → Dundee |