William Wallace and Pittencrieff Park

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Following the Scottish ‘Victory‘ over the English in the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, William Wallace was a Scottish hero, and very much sort after by the King of England, Edward I.

In 1303, Wallace was meant to have visited St Margaret’s Shrine in Dunfermline, (see Jo’s blog, The Hazel Tree, for an excellent post about St Margaret and Dunfermline Abbey), but had to hide from English ‘scouts’, in a well in what is now Pittencrieff Park, just below the ruins of Dunfermline Palace.

Remains of Dunfermline Palace

Remains of Dunfermline Palace

Location of Well in the Glen of Pittencrieff Park

Location of Well in the Glen of Pittencrieff Park

 

The Well in which William Wallace allegedly hid, below Dunfermline Palace

The Well in which William Wallace allegedly hid, below Dunfermline Palace

 

Plaque about the Well and William Wallace

Plaque about the Well and William Wallace

 

Unfortunately for William Wallace and the Scottish, he was captured by the English in August 1305, and later that month taken to London where he was tried for treason, and then hung, drawn and quartered.

 

Pittencrieff Park, situated on the far west side of Dunfermline, is one of my favourite parks’ in the whole of Scotland. Below are a couple of photographs of the ‘Flower Garden and Greenhouses’, just the formal part of this magnificent place. The greenhouses were originally built in 1904, but were replaced in the early 1970’s.

Greenhouse in Pittencrieff Park, with Dunfermline Abbey in background.

Greenhouse in Pittencrieff Park, with Dunfermline Abbey in background.

 

Pittencrieff Park Formal Garden

Pittencrieff Park Formal Garden

 

 

26 thoughts on “William Wallace and Pittencrieff Park”

  1. Love this story, Andy, and thank you very much for the link and your kind words! I didn’t know about the well and its connection with William Wallace. I must take a walk around Pittencrieff Park next time we’re there.

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  4. Fabulous post, Andy. Your photos of Pittencrieff Park are lovely! It looks like a beautiful place to visit – and overlooked by that wonderful abbey, too. I also enjoyed reading the history you added: the story of William Wallace is fascinating. He was one of many throughout history who suffered that awful death.

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    • Alas you’re right Millie, far too many people suffered that terrible form of execution. Pittencrieff Park is the best park I know of, it’s got almost everything in it. The only thing not there is a boating lake. If your ever in Dunfermline, it’s worth taking an hour or so to walk around 🙂

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      • I’d love to get up to Scotland some time next year, but whether we’ll get to Dunfermline I don’t know. The park does sound lovely. The best parks I’ve ever been to are in my hometown of Southport. I have a post to do about Southport in general sometime, including photos from both parks – which both have lakes. Unfortunately, they aren’t overlooked by a magnificent abbey. 🙂

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      • You certainly must do a post on Southport, I know very little about the whole of that area. I know very little about Manchester too, and my Mum is Mancunian!! There aren’t that many town parks in the UK that are overlooked by both an Abbey and a Palace!!

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      • Yes, I forgot about the Palace. It must be really beautiful there in the summer – every season, come to think of it. As for my Southport post, it’s in the queue with dozens of others. I have loads of posts to do from all our outings over the summer. Unfortunately, I’ll be cutting down on blogging a lot very soon. Book 3 is screaming neglect – big time! 🙂

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      • Thank you, Andy! The book I’m writng (or attempting to write) at present will finish off my Alfred/Viking trilogy. Then I plan to write a Roman one, set on Hadrian’s Wall. Yikes! I still haven’t put my posts up about that – and one is sitting in my ‘drafts’ just waiting to go. Your posts are lovely with the text you include. The focus is on your photograghy, which is wonderful. 🙂

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