DAY 10: DUNFERMLINE, FIFE - Thursday, May 31st
Today is a special day: our 40th anniversary. How blessed we are to be able to celebrate in a special way with such a wonderful place. Each day of the trip has had interesting surprises, so we find it hard to pick which was our favorite.
Today we traveled to Dunfermline by express bus. We had originally considered adding Dunfermline to our itinerary because of the Andrew Carnegie birthplace museum, which has preserved the home as it was when his family lived there. We thought this might help us see what life might have been like for our Scottish ancestors in the 19th century. Though his family business was weaving, which is not much like our farm laboring ancestors, it was very interesting and authentic.
Today’s surprise was the marvel of Dunfermline Abbey. We first visited a museum in the public library (a Carnegie library, of course) which helped us understand the historical context. The original abbey was built in the first decade after the Norman invasion, and some of that enormous building still stands. In later years a royal palace was built next to it where several future kings were born.
Several important kings and queens, including Malcolm III and Robert the Bruce were buried in the cathedral, but their tombs were lost during the Reformation, along with much of the cathedral. In the 19th century a new parish church was built on the original foundation and Robert the Bruce's remains and fragments of his tomb were found during the excavation. He was re-interred under the pulpit of the new church.
Today we traveled to Dunfermline by express bus. We had originally considered adding Dunfermline to our itinerary because of the Andrew Carnegie birthplace museum, which has preserved the home as it was when his family lived there. We thought this might help us see what life might have been like for our Scottish ancestors in the 19th century. Though his family business was weaving, which is not much like our farm laboring ancestors, it was very interesting and authentic.
Several important kings and queens, including Malcolm III and Robert the Bruce were buried in the cathedral, but their tombs were lost during the Reformation, along with much of the cathedral. In the 19th century a new parish church was built on the original foundation and Robert the Bruce's remains and fragments of his tomb were found during the excavation. He was re-interred under the pulpit of the new church.
The palace next to the church had enough surviving structures to get a good idea of what it was like.
We enjoyed exploring the rooms and ruins, then walking through part of the adjacent park.
What a special Anniversary present! One you won't forget
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