Dunkin three

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

I walked this route in two parts, one in July and the other in August using linking buses. I started in Kinross and walked first to Kelty where are there are shops and then continued the walk to Dunfermline. The route between Kinross and Kelty takes a loop out east to find walkable paths before climbing over Vane Hill and returning westwards to Kelty and then taking a more direct route to Dunfermline. The route is accurately mapped.

I found it generally easy to follow though careful navigation is needed between Townhill and Kingseat as the route switches between tracks and small paths and it is easy to miss a turn off when enjoying a good conversation. It has some fantastic views across Loch Leven to the Lomond Hills and across Kelty and Loch Ore Meadows. Apart from in the towns and villages the route is all off road and there are always pavements alongside the roads. Some sections, such as the Loch Leven Heritage Trail, and the path at Loch Fitty, are suitable for wheelers, but the climb over Vane Hill and some of the narrow paths between Kelty and Dunfermline make the route as a whole a non-starter for wheelers. Some parts of the walk are a little muddy after heavy rain and suitable footwear to cope with this should be considered. The section across the former colliery at Blairadam has some large chuckies in places which makes for tiring walking for a kilometre or so.
There are some roads to cross but the busiest have an underpass and a bridge.

Walking the route in summer meant that I was able to benefit from the blaeberries on Vane Hill and the blackberries of the sections between Kingseat and Dunfermline. Look out for the wooden, crafted 'Dunfermline Halt' with Thomas the Tank Engine on the former railway line into Dunfermline.

For a really direct route between Kingseat and Dunfermline an alternative route is the Pilgrims Way which follows down the side of the B912 and is a noisier option.

This is a really lovely route which traverses a wide range of habitats - farmland, loch, hill, woodland, plantation, restored colliery land and settlements. I have given it 4 stars just because it is not a very direct route and is therefore rather long.

This is an improvement on previous version of the route. It goes straight through Kelty, minimising the road walking. We walked from north to south and the first part of the route from Kinross to Kelty is the same as Kinross to Cowdenbeath KINCOW 2 which I had walked and reviewed recently so I just walked from Kelty to Dunfermline on this occasion. At the entrance to St Ninians park there was a large gate with no signage even though it follows the Pilgrim's way at this point. Part of the path through here was large gravel uncomfortable to walk on and not suitable for wheelers. Kingseat was a useful place with shops and buses before entering the Townhill area. Some reviews of previous versions mentioned the route was hard to follow here, but coming from north to south there was no problem, although it was useful to check the GPX map. Coming in the other direction it might be easy to miss some narrow paths leading off wider ones.
This was a pleasant route and was far enough away from the main road for traffic noise not to be a problem and avoided the tarmac roadside path taken by the (slightly shorter) Pilgrim's way. There was inevitably quite a lot of tarmac walking in Dunfermline itself but much of it was on an old railway track (with many brambles there for the picking!) The end point of the route as shown on the map seemed a bit arbitrary but was quite close to the bus station, just above.
I have given 4 stars because there are a couple of areas (Benarty and Townhill) where careful map reading is necessary, and might be a difficulty for those not using gpx direction finding.

I walked this route in July and August 2024, using buses between Kelty and Dunfermline and Kinross.

Route is correctly mapped, I have given it 4 stars as the route finding is a bit tricky and the steep steps up from Vane Farm and up into Benarty Wood from the south are steep and rough. However there are some lovely views from parts of the path that are not in woodland, and Loch Leven and Loch Fitty, and the former bing at St Ninians provide interest.

En route, there is a cafe & toilets at the RSPB reserve at Vane Farm, also various shops, cafes and pubs in Kelty, and buses to Kinross, Dunfermline and other places.

From Kinross, the route follows the Loch Leven Heritage Trail as far as Vane Farm, 7km. This part of the route is fairly tedious, as it affords few views of the loch, being between high hedges. The path surface is good, but is busy with cyclists. Short detours can be taken to the bird hides beside the loch.

After Vane Farm, the route climbs the shoulder of Benarty Hill on a steep path with many timber steps. This is the Woodland Path and leads to a viewpoint with benches. An alternative, less steep route could be to use the Sleeping Giant path to the west, which is of similar length but might not give such good views.

The path is briefly quite narrow, then it gains a forestry track in Benarty Wood. The descent to the road is very steep with uneven steps/flags. The zigzags through Harram Hill Wood is a good path, sometimes with a blaes surface.

West of Kelty the route crosses the motorway on a high bridge with steps, and shortly afterwards joins the Pilgrim Way which it follows to Kingseat. Underfoot, in the forest the path surface is firm. A short stretch of footway beside the B914 leads , across the road, to the entrance to St Ninian's, a former coal mining site. There is a multitude of signs, one indicating that the area is closed overnight. No Pilgrim Way sign, apparently it has disappeared. This site is going to be developed but public access should be maintained. Underfoot, for less than a km, it is rough, with large stones, but views across a lochan to the former bing are interesting.

At Loch Fitty the path is tarmacked, and follows a bank with the loch on both sides, which is lovely but could be exposed on windy days. There is a footway into Kingseat.

From Kingseat there is an alternative route into Dunfermline, a tarmac foot and cycleway beside the B914, which would be the quickest route down to Queen Margaret Station and Hospital, and is the route the Pilgrim Way takes. Dunkin3 follows a more rural route to Townhill then downhill through various housing estates to the cycleway between Dunfermline city centre and QM hospital. Care must be taken to follow this route as there are many paths, and turns. In Dunfermline there are pedestrian crossing lights across all the major roads.

Unsuitable for wheelers due to gradients, narrow and rough paths, steps, and the motorway bridge.

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