St Margaret’s Cave will reopen for the summer season this weekend.

What should be a major visitor attraction, it has long been closed and is located at the side of the Glen Bridge car park.

The historic cave is where Saint Margaret came to pray in Dunfermline over 900 years ago but it's also suffered from being close to an underpass which has been the scene of various acts of vandalism and anti-social behaviour in recent years.

OnFife said: "We're delighted to announce that St Margaret's Cave reopens for the summer season this weekend.

"Things will be a little different this year, with the cave open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until September 29 for pre-booked tours only.

"Visits must be booked 48 hours in advance either by phone, 01383 602365, by email, dclg@onfife.com or by popping into Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries.

"As with all things, there is one exception to the rule.

"On Sunday June 23 the annual St Margaret Pilgrimage takes place with a procession through Dunfermline, culminating in a mass at St Margaret's RC Church, East Port.

"The cave will be open to all from 12:15pm until 3.30pm on that day to allow visiting pilgrims and locals alike to take a look at the site where Margaret prayed over 900 years ago."

Born in Hungary to an English prince, she became the Queen of Scotland upon her marriage to Malcolm III in 1069. She was known for being a very pious Christian and even established a ferry across the Firth of Forth for travelling pilgrims.

This is how the towns of South Queensferry and North Queensferry got their names.

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As a trial run, St Margaret’s Cave was reopened previously over three weekends in September last year, attracting over 500 visitors.

And in November, a delegation of 30 pilgrims led by Fr. János Csicsó, Hungarian chaplain to the UK, visited the cave to mark 930 years since Margaret’s death.

A Fife Council meeting was held in December to discuss the cave’s future.

At that time, OnFife's Chris McLean said: "We're looking at a number of options around both how we staff and manage the site, how we open the site and when we open the site. 

"Would we go back to it being seasonal, as it was pre-pandemic or would we concentrate on a number of popular, high days over the holiday season or to commemorate specific anniversaries?"

Margaret played a key role in Dunfermline’s history as she invited the Benedictine Order to establish a monastery in the city in 1072.

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OnFife's Michelle Sweeney added: "One of the things we're interested in doing is ensuring the customer interface is a better experience than it has been previously with staff more informed about the wider connectivity of St Margaret in the area so the experience feels more rounded."

To get into the cave nowadays there is a tunnel with 87 steps leading deep underground.

At the meeting, Cllr Jean Hall-Muir said: "It's such a fabulous, weird and wonderful site. I love St Margaret's Cave, I love the whole thing but it is not accessible by a long shot for our wider community. 

"In the age of technology and information I think we can do a much better job of sharing the experience and broadening the story, connecting through the church, the shrine, the well, all the different aspects to knit it into the actual community."