Around St Andrews

Fife holiday 2026 #14

I really enjoyed wandering around St Andrews, fairly aimlessly really, just seeing what I could discover.

There's been a settlement here since the Iron Age but the town really began as an ecclesiastical centre in the 8th century when a monastery was established, holding some relics associated with St Andrew. Construction of the present town began in the 1100s and it became a place of pilgrimage. The university was founded in 1413 and is now ranked consistently among the top five UK universities. The town declined steadily throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and even the university, the third oldest in the UK, was considering relocating. In the mid-19th century, Hugh Lyon Playfair, provost of St. Andrews, was credited with improving the burgh, the University and the Golf Club. Today, St Andrews is served by education, golf, tourism and the conference industry.

The centre is a wonderful mix of old (very Scottish in style) buildings and more modern inserts. It has, effectively, four main streets in parallel, which hold some of the university buildings, the shops, numerous cafés and civic buildings. Many of the university buildings have been renovated, extended or built as new in a pleasingly sympathetic way. I think initially it was a collegiate university like Oxford and Cambridge but now it seems to be managed as one entity, with all its various schools of study. 

It was one of those places where it was worth ambling up little alleyways and through gates; you never knew what you'd find. I discovered this fairly well-hidden quadrangle, St Mary's Quad, with some magnificent trees including the Great Holm Oak, planted in 1740. It's surrounded by lovely old buildings, one of which houses the St James Library. 

There's a statue of Bishop Henry Wardlaw, a founder of the university, beside a ruined arch which was once a boundary gateway c1420.   

Along South Street, I popped in to Holy Trinity Church, some of which dates back to 1412 but most of it rebuilt in 1907. It was a beautiful space, enhanced by the wonderful flower arrangements courtesy of a wedding that had been held that day. The volunteers on duty were very kind and helpful too, so I really enjoyed my visit.

As with most university towns, it has several bookshops, including the magnificent 'Toppings', where I could happily have spent all day browsing. With so many tourists and students, it's not surprising that there are also a huge number of cafés and bars.

Northpoint Café, at the east end of North Street, proudly proclaims that it is 'where Kate met Wills (for coffee)', which presumably is a good recommendation. 

I visited the university museum, the Wardlaw Museum, which has a lot of interesting information about the history of the university, the University's extraordinary art, history, science and natural history collections and the research and inventions that have had an impact on the world. It was modern, well curated and displayed. I enjoyed browsing. Outside there's a statue of St Andrew, attributed to Sir John Steell (1804-1891) and apparently a copy of one in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. 

It's easy to forget that this is a seaside town but the coastal vista from the viewing terrace at the museum was stunning. 

St Andrews - St Salvators

Fife holiday 2026 #13

The unexpected gem of my perambulation of St Andrews was the beautiful college chapel of St Salvator, dating back to 1450 but much changed since then (largely due to the Protestant Reformation when it was stripped of most of its iconography). What we see now owes much to the Gothic Revivalist style popular in Victorian times, and some sympathetic modern additions, but the chapel retains a dignity and serenity that I found most appealing. 

Behind it is a quadrangle of university buildings. I gather that the Prince and Princess of Wales resided in St Salvator's Hall during their first year at St Andrew's University (which is famously where they met) but the buildings behind the chapel are not the student halls of residence, which lie beyond. 

As I was nearing the Chapel, a large tour bus stopped outside to deposit its passengers. I upped my pace in order to get inside before they did! So I at least had a few peaceful moments to myself, and took all the interior shots with my phone in order to speed up the process. I am quite pleased with how they turned out.  

As I left the Chapel, I noted a man in a full Scottish kilt outfit entering. I then realised that there was about to be a wedding. Guests were gathering outside the main entrance on the street side of the Chapel and there was a bagpiper who began to play, so I was delighted to see that. It was an unexpected bonus, since if I'd arrived a few minutes later I would not have been able to go inside. Serendipity. 

St Andrews - Golf

Fife holiday 2026 #12

Amongst its many claims to fame, St Andrews prides itself as 'the home of golf'. Golf has been played here since at least the 15th century. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club was formed in 1754 and its iconic clubhouse (the rear of which you can see in my photo above) was built in the mid-1800s. It is the ruling authority for golf in every country in the world other than the USA and Mexico. Beyond the clubhouse, the famous Old Course regularly hosts major championships. In the foreground of the photo above, the grassy area is known as the Bow Butts and was used for archery. 

I couldn't get a good shot of the clubhouse frontage as there were hospitality tents in the way. It's on the left (below) and the other lovely building is the Hamilton Grand, formerly a hotel, then halls of residence for the university and now luxury apartments.  It featured in the film 'Chariots of Fire', as did the West End beach in the distance in my last photo. 

People come from all over the world to play golf here. There was some serious equipment on show, and if you forget anything there are plenty of shops selling all the clothes and gear.

There are of course, monuments and plaques commemorating famous golfers. This one is Tom Morris (1821-1908) 'The Grand Old Man of Golf', who was born and died in St Andrews. 

As I mentioned earlier, the long sweep of sand beyond the golf courses is known as the West Sands. The two mile long beach was the iconic filming location for the legendary opening running scene of the 1981 Oscar-winning film 'Chariots of Fire'.

St Andrews - Historical sites

Fife holiday 2026 #11

The plan for the final day of our holiday was to walk from St Andrews to Kingsbarns, a distance of some 7 miles across quite remote country (lots of golf courses again!). I and a couple of friends decided we'd rather spend the day in St Andrews, a university town with a wealth of interesting sights. So we hopped on the bus. I still walked more than 5 miles around the town, so I did get a good workout albeit at a slower pace, with more coffee! 

The bus station was near to the West Port, a gate into the town built in 1589, designed to impress visitors, which it still does I guess. 

My first port of call was the ancient cathedral, now a ruin. I was rather disappointed in it, to be honest, mainly because the grounds were covered in temporary and unsightly metal fences. These have been erected around gravestones and monuments that are judged to be unstable (most of them, in fact!). It seems they are waiting for the relevant families to pay for repairs... but I guess in many cases there is no family left. The dominant structure is St Rule's Tower, part of the original St Rule's Church that preceded the cathedral. Built in the 1100s, it drew pilgrims to the shrine of St Andrew. The Cathedral, consecrated in 1318, was the most important church in medieval Scotland. Part of the grand west entrance still survives. 

There's the foundations of a Cloister and a Chapter House, where the canons would meet to do church business. Several of the priors were buried under its floor and today you can see some of the medieval, stone coffins.

Next stop for me was the harbour, not large by the standards of some we'd already visited but an important presence to the south west of the town. 

Then I meandered along the seafront, passing St Andrews Castle. Destroyed and rebuilt several times during wars between the Scots and the English, it was rebuilt by Bishop Walter Trail in 1400 and became the main residence of the bishops and archbishops of St Andrews and the administrative centre of the Church of Scotland. It was also a notorious prison. It went through many turbulent times, including a siege in the mid 1500s, as a result of the entwining of church and national politics. It was abandoned and finally fell into ruin in the late 1600s. 

Beyond the castle, the seafront road (The Scores) is where many of the university buildings are situated so I wandered along enjoying the grand old buildings and the more modern structures that have been shoehorned in among them. 

 

Kingsbarns to Crail #2

Fife holiday 2026 #10

The beaches had lots of rocky outcrops stretching into the sea so, had we had time, there were rockpools and sandy coves to explore, with all the wildlife, flotsam and jetsam that the tide brings in. 

We saw more eider ducks - quite a little nursery of baby chicks darting around. There were also some shelducks with babies, which were lovely to see. 

When we stopped for lunch I did a bit of beachcombing and found beautifully marked stones - and some sea glass. I was delighted by that, as many times I've searched for it on shores and never found any. There was in fact quite a bit - little turquoise, green and white fragments, softly polished by friction in the sea. Can you spot the tiny piece in the photo? 

Some of the flotsam was less desirable, though I still found a kind of beauty in the tangled ropes and mangled lobster pots. 

Somewhere along the way we passed Constantine's Cave, of historical significance, with ancient carved crosses, Pictish animal symbols, and fragments of Roman glass and pottery discovered inside. Local lore claims that King Constantine I (or II) used the cave or was killed there by Viking raiders in AD 877, though this appears to be a myth. 

And everywhere we saw blue sky, blue sea and colourful flowers. It was a good day. 

Kingsbarns to Crail #1

Fife holiday 2026 #9

The next day was much brighter, a more pleasant day for walking. For logistical reasons, we walked this part of the coastal path in the opposite direction, starting at Kingsbarns and ending in Crail. It was a walk of only about 6 miles, though up and down and scrambly over rocks and sand. Beautiful though. It was a more remote part of the coast with fewer settlements and mostly we were walking alongside golf courses. That was fine apart from the many signs that said 'On hearing a shout of FORE, cover your head and turn away.' Great... except that I was never going to hear anyone shout Fore, was I? (She wondered what the white object flying towards her was... and then it hit her!') Thankfully we all got back unscathed. 

The sunshine made a remarkable difference to the colours and clarity of the sea, and I delighted in the many bright wild flowers we saw along this stretch. 

Scotland's white sand beaches would be a real draw if the weather was consistently warmer. We felt privileged to have them more or less to ourselves!