From our base at the Altido Vita aparthotel in the Fountainbridge district of Edinburgh it was just a ten minute walk downhill to Haymarket station for our train to St. Andrews (Leuchars station). We’d pre-booked our tickets (£18.50 standard off peak day return) for the one hour journey and as we were sitting on the right hand side of the train (in the direction of travel) we enjoyed splendid coastal views. Not to be missed is experiencing the journey across the Forth Rail Bridge at Queensferry, nine miles west of Edinburgh. When the bridge opened in 1890 it was the most prominent steel structure of the Victorian era and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The rail line hugs the rugged coast for most of the journey and passengers for St. Andrews need to leave the train at Leuchars as there is no rail connection to the town. Buses shuttle between the station and St. Andrews at approximately ten minute intervals so there is never long to wait. The only downside is that the bus is extremely expensive at £6.50 for an adult return when the journey is only around 12 minutes. As there were just two of us we used the bus but for larger groups it might be less expensive to take one of the waiting taxis.
Many people will have heard of St. Andrews even if they have not visited as it is known as the home of golf and home to Scotland’s oldest university where our future king, Prince William studied and met his wife Kate Middleton (now the Duchess of Cambridge). We started our tour of this historic seaside town in Fife by taking a walk through old stone archways to the small harbour. In medieval times the small town traded widely and it seems hard to believe today, that at its peak it could hold up to 300 ships.
The pretty harbour dates from the thirteenth century with its main pier extending into the North Sea. A small fleet of fishing boats are based here and we spotted piles of lobster pots drying along the shore. After our early start we were ready for a morning cup of coffee which we enjoyed out on the terrace of the Harbour Cafe overlooking the marina and the East Sands Beach.
Feeling refreshed after our coffee fix, we were on our way again climbing the steep slope up to the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral. This was Scotland’s largest and most important medieval church and was once the seat of the country’s leading bishops and archbishops.
The cathedral was built in the 12th century and for 700 years pilgrims flocked here from all over Europe. It’s grounds are dominated by St. Rule’s Tower which is still intact but most of the cathedral was ransacked in 1559 and in the years that followed it was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Some of the stone was used to construct local buildings and to build the harbour pier which nestles just below the cathedral grounds.
Continuing slightly further along the cliff top we strolled past cannons pointing out to sea and onto more ruins, this time of the castle. Perched on a rocky promontory St. Andrews Castle has served as a bishop’s palace, a fortress and a state prison during its 450 year history.
The stronghold played a part in the darkest days of the reformation when Protestants were incarcerated in its bottle dungeon. Visitors can explore the still intact underground mine passage to view the medieval warfare and then peer into the infamous bottle dungeon. Standard entrance £7.20.
Our walk continued towards the West Sands which might be recognised as it was immortalised in the opening scenes of the famous historical drama Chariots of Fire. This 1981 film tells the story of two British athletes who brought glory to their country in the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. The beach extends for almost two miles with its sand dunes providing a natural defence against the sea and a habitat for plants.
Our route lead us on to The Scores, a tree lined footpath which is adorned with many historic buildings occupied by the University of St. Andrews. Along here is also to be found MUSA (The Museum of St. Andrews) for those interested in the institution’s history. Further along the headland, the Martyr’s Monument was erected in 1842 to commemorate four leading Protestant figures who were executed by the Scottish reformation in the 16th century.
It was from this viewpoint that we caught our first glimpse of the St. Andrews Links where we were heading next. It was here in 1754 that the world famous Royal and Ancient Golf Club was founded with its famous Old Course hosting the British Open Championships every five years.
We recognised the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse as it is an iconic image from our television screens as players walk up to the 18th green. Playing on the Old Course must be on every golfers wish list and surprisingly being able to do so isn’t as difficult as you might expect as any golfers with a respectable handicap can apply. If like us, your golf doesn’t stretch further than pitch and putt you can take a stroll along the footpaths and watch the experts in action. On Sunday’s golf is not played on the Old Course and the public are welcome to walk the famous links.
St. Andrews Links is comprised of seven golf courses which were all in use on the day we visited. We walked past The Himalayas putting green which lies between the Old Course and West Sands Beach.
This takes its name from its undulating course and many small hills providing a putting challenge whatever your skill level. There are 9 and 18 hole options and the course is open to everyone over the age of three. We would have loved to have played a round there as it’s only £4 for adults but with COVID restrictions it’s not possible to hire putters at present and it would have been quite an effort to have brought them up with us on the train. (I do believe we still have some clubs that have been stored undisturbed at the back of our hall cupboard for many years).
We might not have been playing golf but we were on our way to something golf related. I’d booked a table for lunch at the Tom Morris Bar and Grill located in the Links Clubhouse to celebrate my husband’s birthday. The modern clubhouse offers facilities for golfers playing on the Old, New and Jubilee courses, with a large golf shop and a casual dining restaurant which is open to the public.
We were shown to a window table overlooking the links and we studied the menu over a glass of Tom Morris Scottish Ale for the birthday boy and a glass of wine for me. The restaurant re-opened last month after a major refurbishment timed perfectly to celebrate the life and legacy of the grand old man of golf two hundred years after his birth.
Tom Morris was a four time champion golfer who helped to shape the modern game. Dining in the restaurant were a mix of golfers and people like us, all enjoying a delicious meal in relaxing surroundings. I opted for the Scotch rump steak on sourdough topped with caramelised onions and a free range egg (£13) whilst across the table the roast hake fillet served in a curried mussel, carrot and leek stew (£18) was a popular choice.
Awhile later we sauntered back beside the links before heading into town. The centre is very pleasant and has a good range of high quality independent shops, with Scottish tartans, whisky, gifts, books and golfing equipment amongst the items on offer. As we were a little early for our bus connection back to Edinburgh we popped into a cafe for a pot of tea before returning to the bus station.
It had been a lovely day out in St. Andrews and we hadn’t felt rushed at all so I would definitely recommended adding a visit to this part of Fife to your Scottish itinerary.
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Pingback: Day 3. A day in St. Andrews — Love Travelling Blog – Go Golfing Magazine
What a lovely spot for a birthday lunch! St Andrews has a lot going on for a relatively small place it seems. I didn’t realise it was so close to Edinburgh, I’ve missed a trick there! Bit of a long journey for me now but I have enjoyed a little visit via your post.
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St. Andrews is surprisingly close to Edinburgh and a delightful little place. I’m certain you’ll have further opportunities to visit in the years to come. Thanks for your welcome comments Marion
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The birthday lunch looked very good – I’d go for the steak! Sets me thinking that my birthday is on St Andrew’s Day, so might be worth a visit.
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Sounds a great idea for a birthday treat Shane. Hope your weekend is going well. Marion
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st andrews (well named) is so famous that even I, who isn’t even vaguely interested in golf, has heard of it. And it looks well worth a visit too! Thanks for sharing!
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St. Andrews is a gorgeous little town steeped in history and you really need to get there sometime as it’s your namesake Andy! Hope your weekend is going well. Marion
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👌👌👌👌👌👌👍😍
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Thank you!
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St. Andrew’s looks like a very historic site to see. Thanks for taking me around on tour. Would love visit there..it’s been along time ago when we visited Scotland
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The rugged coast around St.Andrews is very scenic Anita and the town itself very interesting with its ruined abbey, castle and famous university and golf links. Hope you get back to Scotland before too long. Marion
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What a beautiful place! I’ve heard of St Andrews many times before (mostly because of its famous golf course) and your post brought now pictures to the town of which I’ve read so much about. Great picture of the St Andrews Cathedral and may I say … your food looks absolutely delicious!
Thank you for taking us on a walkabout in St Andrews (and hope your husband had a great birthday celebration 🎉).
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St. Andrews is a very attractive coastal town and the cathedral appeared so atmospheric in the Scottish gloom! Thanks so much Corna for your ever welcome thoughts. Marion
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I love this place
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Thank you, St.Andrews is a beautiful coastal town.
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I absolutely loved St. Andrews!! We got a picture on the famous golf course bridge
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That’s great Lyssy, we loved it too! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
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Great post and amazing photos, Marion! With its roots stretching back to medieval times, you won’t be short of things to do in St Andrews. There is a host of brilliant attractions to choose from, from family-friendly spots to historic wonders, as well as an abundance of stunning beaches, parks and fantastic walks to explore. I am glad to hear you had a great time. Thanks for sharing and have a nice day 🙂 Aiva xx
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Thank you for taking am interest in this post on
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Thank you for taking an interest in this post on St. Andrews Aiva. We had a lovely time there and hopefully we can spend longer enjoying the rugged coastline of Fife on a future visit. Marion
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It’s lovely – I’d only heard of St Andrews for the University and the golf, but have never been there. Even on a slightly overcast day the harbour and views out to sea look really stunning.
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The gloomy weather seemed to make the castle and cathedral ruins even more atmospheric and despite the lack of sunshine we had a lovely day out from Edinburgh. Thanks for commenting Hannah and hope your week is going well. Marion.
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I had no idea that such a beautiful place like St. Andrews existed, especially being such a convenient day trip from Edinburgh! The coast certainly looks picturesque in its Scottish gloom, which makes the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral especially somber and atmospheric. Looks to be a worthwhile short trip over!
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St. Andrews is a beautiful small town and you are quite right, the gloomy skies did appear to make it look more atmospheric during our visit. Hope you get there next time you are visiting Scotland Rebecca.
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Another good one to share with my niece. Thank you.
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That’s so thoughtful Ian. Although it’s much smaller than Edinburgh, it’s a beautiful town and the university buildings are gorgeous.
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Great post about Scotland. More intriguing things to do. I must go next year.
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Thank you for taking an interest Jamie and I do hope you get there next year. Marion
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I’m always amazed at how much you’re able to cover in a day at these places!
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St. Andrews is compact and it was quite easy to get around. Thanks for your interest, we had a lovely day out.
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St Andrews looks so charming. That’s too bad that the cathedral was ransacked, but it’s pretty impressive that the foundations and some ruins still exist. It’s pretty neat that they’ve used some of the stone to construct the harbour pier and other buildings. Thanks for sharing. Linda
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St.Andrews is a delightful small coastal town and we enjoyed such a pleasant day wandering its streets and enjoying a birthday lunch overlooking the famous golf links. Thanks so much Linda for taking the time to comment.
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Looks like a wonderful day! Great photos
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Thank you, St. Andrews with its ancient university and golf links is a very pleasant place to visit from Edinburgh.
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Thank you very much for all the St Andrews info. We have been there several time, actually, it was our Master’s first time to the island that he visited the Mecca of golfers. He was send with 14 to South Queensferry to Aunt Mary to improve his English. She asked her sons to show me around. So he came to St Andrews.
Wishing you all the best
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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How wonderful, what happy memories you must have of St.Andrews and the surrounding area. Thank you so much for your welcome thoughts. Marion
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Another interesting post Marion. Your lunch looks delicious. We visited St Andrews very briefly on our way to Pittenweem, a lovely little fishing village.
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I’ve not been to Pittenweem Alison but it does sound appealing. St.Andrews is lovely and our lunch delicious too! Hope your week is going well. Marion
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Thanks Marion, so far so good
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Daydreaming of Scotland and visiting this beautiful place… It was so fun to read through your post of all there is to do there. St. Andrew’s is somewhere I knew of by name but knew so little about it. I especially loved the cathedral and I’m so glad when buildings like that are preserved enough to see them. Wonderful post Marion 🙂
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I’m so pleased to read that you enjoyed this post. St.Andrews is such a beautiful town and there’s something for everyone not just golfers!
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The epitome of golfing. The seaside looks pleasant and there seems to be so much history to go with it all. This looks like a great day out from Edinburgh. Thanks for sharing Marion. Allan
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It was a delightful day out Allan and a perfect place to celebrate my husband’s birthday.
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I used to study in St Andrews – beautiful place! ☺️
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How wonderful, you must have fond memories of the town. Thank you for commenting.
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St Andrews looks lovely have always wanted to go and play golf there. Not that I’m that great though they may not let me on
That Hake dish looks absoluty delicious and the steak sandwich doesn’t look bad either
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Thank you for taking an interest in this post on St.Andrews, it’s a lovely small town for a wander and the Tom Morris bar and grill lovely for a spot of lunch.
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I used to do ‘pay as you go’ on the driving range. 😂⛳️
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That sounds fun!
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I was offered a university place at St. Andrews way back when, and went up in January to have a look to see if I wanted to take it as my second choice if I didn’t get into Oxford. It seemed like a lovely town, but it was so damn cold I think I’d have died of frostbite if I’d gone there. Really must go back (not in January) and take a good look round.
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St. Andrews is a lovely city for a wander around bit I agree, it must be might cold in winter. It was actually a bit chilly during our July visit. Hope things are going well for you Stella. Marion.
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Thanks
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A very informative guide Marion, with a pleasingly moody set of accompanying photos. Here’s another one for Scotland list, as I have never been. From the beach, the harbour and the ruins of the castle and the cathedral, St. Andrew’s looks utterly charming. And both dishes at the Tom Morris Bar & Grill looks fantastic, kinda hard to choose between them.
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St Andrews is a great place to visit from Edinburgh and we enjoyed a lovely day exploring the town. Do hope you get a chance to visit sometime as I think you would enjoy it there too. Thanks so much for commenting Leighton. Marion
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Spent 10 days on an in-house course staying in St Andrews many, many years ago. I was fortunate to have a large room overlooking the golf-course. Your photos brought back memories. Thanks Marion
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St. Andrews sounds a good place to attend a course Sheree and I’m pleased that this post brought back some happy memories for you. Marion.
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Thanks
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