St Margaret's Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Located in a corner of Glen Bridge Car Park, in the middle of Dunfermline town. (56.072265, -3.465007)
Open:	Easter to SEP daily 11-16. [2021]
Fee:	Cave free. Charge for car park. [2021]
Classification:
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=3 m (cave), 50 m (tunnel and steps).
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	St Margarets Cave, Glen Bridge Car Park, Chalmers St, Dunfermline KY12 8DF, Tel: +44-1383-602386. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

11th century	Queen Margaret prayed in the cave.
1960s	council chiefs plan to build a car park and fill in the cave.
1993	cave reopened at the 900th anniversary of Margaret's death.

Description

The cave is named after Queen Margaret, who used to meditate and pray in the cave in the 11th century. She was Queen of Scotland, canonised in 1250 and made patron saint of Scotland in 1673. The cave is one of Scotland's holiest shrines.

In 1969 the council wanted to bury the cave under tons of concrete. This sparked a public outcry and the council then agreed to build a tunnel under the car park to allow access to the cave.

From a small building in the corner of the car park, 84 steps lead down to a tunnel, echoing with Gregorian chants. In the sides of the tunnel are displays giving the history of the cave which turns out to be a single chamber 10 feet long by 8 feet wide and 8 feet high. There are two raised seats on either site and a well at the far end which was once used as drinking water, now covered. To complete the illusion there is a statue of Queen Margaret.

Text by Tony Oldham (2005). With kind permission.