Walk 106 – Rex Park & Garvock loop, Dunfermline – 3 miles

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This circuit starts at the edge of Dunfermline's Public Park before following Lyne Burn through Rex Park and into the residential area of Garvock. The entire loop is on tarmac surfaces with a few steps at the end of Rex Park.

Print  Dog-friendly walk (public park & pavements)

  Car park on the corner of Viewfield Terrace/West Drive (KY12 7HZ). Dunfermline train station (where there is also a bus stop) is just a few minutes walk away from the start point. Alternatively you can walk from Dunfermline bus station which is half a mile away.

Rex Park

WALK REVIEW: 13th January 2017

I was keen to explore some of the green areas of Dunfermline today while a friend and I were out walking an excitable one year old pup. The remains of yesterday’s snow lay iced up on the ground and made things interesting a few times (more so for my friend who had the lead!) I remarked on how hilly Dunfermline is: the public park and the residential area of Garvock  are both ‘built’ on steep slopes. The plus side of that being the views: all the way to the bridges across the Firth of Forth on a clear day like today.

It quickly became obvious to me how little I actually know about dogs…. There was so much I had never considered before! When is it ok to extend the lead? How does one get safely down a set of iced up stairs whilst doggy wants to go faster than you? What do you do when the lead is extended and doggy makes a bee-line for another pup or a burn, crossing past your friend and tangling her in the lead whilst still running? How far are you allowed to walk a dog of this age? Aren’t they supposed to lift their leg to pee??  As for poo…. don’t even go there! I was relieved that my friend was taking charge of these things! And in case  you are wondering…. yes the incident with the tangling of the lead did actually happen and yes I was the one being tangled! In truth it was a near miss, my friend having the common sense to drop the lead and throw it to the side so that it didn’t smack me on the head on it’s way past!

The first section of the walk is through the Public Park with it’s tree-lined walkways and open grassy areas.

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The bandstand in Dunfermline Public Park, still used today at outdoor festivals

I was intrigued by the name Rex Park…. was it something to do with dinosaurs? Or had I been spending too much time with my 3 year old son?! On doing a little research back home I learned that it is believed to be short for ‘recreation’, which admittedly makes far more sense… I found it to be a strange area, as though it was a work-in-progress. The park entrance off Malcolm Street looked a little like a construction site, and there seemed to be too many bridges for such a small burn. Signage around the park indicated that tree planting would take place in the near future:  I would definitely agree that the addition of plants, flowers and trees would improve the park’s appearance significantly. I look forward to coming back in the months to come to see what developments have taken place.

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Rex Park

Crossing over the railway bridge took us into Garvock, a quiet residential area located next to the Public Park.

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Looking back along the “Middle Walk” in the Public Park

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