For such a small place, historic St. Andrews packs a big punch. Between the university, its religious history, and its famous golf course, we did a lot during our visit. We stayed in Dundee, the “big city” about 30 minutes away (pop. 150,000), because lodging prices in St. Andrews (pop. 18,000) were astronomically higher. We figured out why when we arrived: we were there during graduation festivities. In addition, the iconic golf course was packed. Yet somehow, we got lucky and found an awesome, free parking spot.
St. Andrews sits on the east coast of Scotland. It is compact and walkable. We ambled through the classical university buildings, learning about its many quirky student traditions. Established in 1411, university students still wear red robes on numerous occasions. We saw one student in her robe giving a tour and a ton of graduates in their special attire. Sally’s Quad was full of students and families (with dogs) celebrating.
The ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral are a testament to the impact of Scotland’s Reformation. Built in 1160, between the 14th and 16th centuries the cathedral was the center of Scottish religious life, and as home to the relics of Apostle Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, it was a pilgrimage site. The cathedral was left to rot as religious life transformed.
Not far from the cathedral sit the ruins of St. Andrews Castle, another casualty of the Reformation. Built by the bishop in the late 12th century, the castle saw its share of religious violence as Scotland changed.
Oddly, the most interesting place of all was the golf course. (A good place to escape the bloody history!) St. Andrews is described as the Mecca of golf. The first record of the game being played there is 1553. We took a walking tour of the Old Course and were thoroughly entertained and edified. While we have watched various majors through the years, we are not golfers. Still, despite our lack of passion for the game, the tour was truly stupendous.
St. Andrews is public and has multiple courses. The original course, the Old Course, is tradition personified. Except for when it hosts the Open Championship every five years (Americans know it as the British Open), the course is closed on Sundays and the public is welcome to picnic on or stroll the grounds (but stay off the greens). (The other courses can be played on Sundays.)
The course sits on the coast, where you can see the famous beach used in the opening scene of Chariots of Fire. Golf courses have 18 holes to this day because that’s how many fit at the Old Course site. Despite its public status, it is pricey to play a round and you must be lucky through a lottery to get a tee time. The 1st and 18th holes sit parallel to each other with no boundary in between, so technically, the two holes share territory, with the public road bordering them. You definitely need a caddie to help navigate and get the most out of the experience. (Yes, that’s the actual Caddie Shack above.)
You can see in the above photos how the golfers teeing off at the 1st and 18th can see each other in the distance.
Here’s the famous bridge on the 18th hole. While we could have been in a photo, we didn’t play the course, so you get golfers who did.
That bridge can be seen from the road, where Jeff is standing out-of-bounds. It’s probably best to avoid parking there. The shot of the 18th green is taken from the same road, so it was easy to watch the action with the famous beach in the background.
I never thought walking around a golf course would be so enjoyable (either as a golfer or as a tourist), but it was, and I know I’m not doing it justice. If you are a golfer, you must consider a trip to this legendary place. You won’t be alone though. We couldn’t believe the number of golf bags being checked at Edinburgh airport as we were departing.
Fore!
Shana & Jeff
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