The village of Dalmeny dates from the 12th century, the parish
church being all that remains of the early medieval village. The
area has been predominantly used for agriculture over the
centuries, although there was a brief period of mining in the
latter part of the 19th Century. Today, the village retains its old
character, with quaint terraced cottages along the length of the
village green; the mercat cross in a triangular area and a
generally open and tranquil atmosphere. To the north of the village
is a striking view of the Forth Road and Rail bridges.
The above coordinates take you to the first stop in this short
multi-cache. You will arrive at the village’s church and the nearby
war memorial. The church itself is reputed to be the oldest example
of Romanesque architecture in Scotland and is understandably a
grade A listed building. The church was built between 1128 and 1150
by stone masons fresh from their work at Dunfermline Abbey. There
are a large number of very old gravestones in the churchyard, many
of which are unreadable through age. The church itself is very
striking and well worth a visit. A key is available for anyone
wishing to look inside – details are on the church noticeboard.
Above the main (South) entrance to the church there are carved
stone pillars. Of these, there are A double pillars. There
is a crest above the north entrance of the church - there are
B words on the ribbon below the crest.
Leave the church grounds and cross the road to the nearby war
memorial and mercat cross which is situated in a small triangular
rose garden. The base of the mercat cross has C sides. The
memorial lists the names of D men who fell in WWII.
After visiting the village centre, head west along the road to a
well signposted junction of the National Cycle Network. From here
there is access east/west on a circular route (Number 7E)
around the river Forth and to a route extending north/south (Number
F). The sign here shows distances to a number of nearby
towns and villages (and a rather large city!). It shows a distance
of G miles to Rosyth and H miles to
Inverkeithing.
The final cache can be found at location N 55° 58.(C+F)(G)(A-H)
W 003° 22.(E)(B)(D)
For any younger cachers needing some play time, there’s a fun
playpark and trim-trail nearby at N55° 58.833, W003° 22.352
If you have time, continue north from the final cache location
to visit the nearby caches of
Dalmeny Dander,
Under Iron and
Ferries, Bridges and Whisky.