This summer has been a record-breaking one for Dunfermline’s Pittencrieff Park.
More visitors than ever before have flocked to the “jewel in the crown” that is Andrew Carnegie’s gift to the town.
This year more than half a million visitors have been to the Glen, as it is known, with figures topping the 100,000 mark for July alone and 350,000 between May and August.
And it even welcomed two new feathered friends when its most famous resident. Clive, its last remaining peacock, was joined by a brace of birds in a new sanctuary.
It is thought good summer weather contributed to the high visitor figures to the town centre park, which is undergoing an extensive £1.6 million facelift.
The park’s visitors are tracked using electronic people counters positioned at its main entrances.
June and July saw a particular rise in visitors compared to last year, with 32,686 more visits than the same time in 2013. More than 700,000 people visited the park in the whole of last year.
City of Dunfermline area committee chairwoman Helen Law was pleased so many people were visiting.
“During the summer months between May and August the park had over 350,000 visitors,” she said.
“It’s always a top Fife summer attraction but it’s very encouraging to see the park enjoying such visitor numbers and attracting showcase events like the Bruce Festival, pipe band competition and the Highland games.
“Congratulations must go to the staff and volunteers working hard in the park to keep it looking so lovely.”
Pittencrieff House museum has also been popular this summer too, with more than 20,000 people visiting since April.
Fife’s Mobile Arts Coach took its Moving Stories Fife’s Great War exhibition to the park in early August to mark the centenary of the declaration of the First World War. It attracted 1,200 people during the three-day event.
The Glen was purchased in 1902 by the town’s most famous son, the industrialist and philanthropist Carnegie, and gifted to the people of Dunfermline the following year.
The 76-acre park is home to his statue, Pittencrieff House Museum, the Glen Pavilion and formal gardens.
It also has the remains of Malcolm Canmore’s Tower, thought to date back to the 11th Century, when it was the royal residence of Malcolm and his queen Margaret.
The park is well known for its resident peacocks. The Heritage Lottery Fund confirmed funding of £708,900 for the Glen in December 2011.
As part of the park’s heritage lottery restoration, free summer activities were led by the urban park ranger.
Almost 200 children and parents took part in the activities, which encouraged people to find out more about the wildlife and how they can help.
Mrs Law added: “Other parts of the restoration project are going well too.
“Two peahens are settling in to their new home in the park, which is some welcome company for Clive.
“Work to clean up the Andrew Carnegie statue has recently finished and the lighting across the park has been upgraded.
“The focus will now shift to the glasshouses, another key part in the park’s restoration, with an extensive refurbishment planned to start soon.”
The Friends of Pittencrieff Park also welcomed this year’s visitor numbers.
A spokesperson said: “The friends look forward to even more people enjoying amenities next year, when some of our projects come to fruition.”