THE photographs in this week's trip down West Fife's Memory Lane feature Pittencrieff Park, one of the greatest attractions in Dunfermline which generations of people young and old have vivid and fond memories of from growing up in the ancient capital of Scotland.

Pittencrieff Estate, consisting of 66 acres of parkland, woods and formal gardens, together with the Mansion House and stables, was purchased by Andrew Carnegie in 1902 for the sum of £45,000. Carnegie himself said that this purchase, which enabled him to then gift it to the people of Dunfermline, was "'the most soul-satisfying gift I ever made".

The Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, which had been set up for the care and administration of the park, approached Professor Patrick Geddes and Thomas Mawson in 1904 to come up with proposals for the future development of the park and the historical area of Dunfermline. The proposals were far-reaching and possibly over-elaborate for a town of Dunfermline's size and proved to be outwith the finances of the trust.

However, certain elements of the plans were adopted over time and one of them, an aviary, was erected in 1906. The aviary was enlarged on several occasions and our first photograph shows a family visiting the complex. As well as a variety of birds, including parrots, many other animals were also kept in the animal centre behind the cages such as monkeys, fish and reptiles.

Two dozen grey squirrels from North America were introduced into the Glen in 1908, initially into a closed cage which also housed red squirrels. They were later released into the park and the population of grey squirrels increased rapidly, becoming a popular attraction, particularly with young people who enjoy feeding them.

Another popular attraction were the peacocks, which were first introduced in 1905 when Henry Beveridge, of Pitreavie, gifted four peacocks to the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust with instructions that "the birds were to be kept in confinement until they became accustomed to their new surroundings". The flock multiplied to such an extent that there are several entries over the years in the minutes of the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust referring to birds having to to be sold to reduce the size of the bird population due to the considerable damage being done to young plants in the formal gardens.

The next image is of a painting by James McIntosh Patrick of Pittencrieff Park in 1950 showing the peacocks which had the run of the park.

Arguably the best-remembered and most popular features of Pittencrieff Park were the two paddling pools, one of which can be seen in the next photograph. They were situated near Pittencrieff House Museum which can be seen in the distance.

The final image is of the telephone kiosk, which was built in 1928 after it was decided that the telephone that was available in the tea rooms was a 'nuisance' for some reason.

More photographs like these can also be seen at facebook.com/olddunfermline, as well as in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries where 'Old Dunfermline' DVDs will be on sale in the shop when it reopens to the public. 'Old Dunfermline' DVDs are also available online at olddunfermline.com/shop.