I will have to admit that going to St. Andrews was right at the top of my must visit list when we were planning this trip to my two ancestral homelands, Ireland and Scotland. Most golfers dream of playing the great golf courses in the world, or at least getting a chance to visit them and seeing them in the flesh.
We are talking about courses like Pebble Beach, Royal Melbourne, Pinehurst No. 2, Royal Portrush, Augusta National, Muirfield, and even Canada’s own Cabot Cliffs and Highland Links way out there on Cape Breton Island. But probably, for most golfers, at the top of the list is the home of golf, the incredible “Old Course” at St. Andrews in Scotland – the Holy Grail of golf.
If you are a non-golfer… which probably most of my readers are… you’re probably thinking, OH GREAT, this article is going to be about golf, golf, and more golf. Hopefully, you will discover that this is not the case.
When I insisted that we make a stop in Saint Andrews I don’t think the Love-goddess was totally enamoured of the idea, but she certainly went along with it. Not long after we got there, we both realized that St. Andrews is not just about golf. There is a whole lot more to it, and it is a great place to visit, even for non-golfers. In fact, Part 1 of this two-part series is about everything but golf!
Yes, I will be talking golf, golf, golf, golf, and a little more golf in Part 2, but there really are some other interesting features the town has to offer that I think you should read about. First, is a look at the historical importance of Saint Andrews as a pilgrimage site from as far back as 877.
But before we get to all that, a bit of a travelog… Photos from our trip up to St. Andrews from Edinburgh and our “organizational” outings during our first hours in town.
Wandering Up to Saint Andrews
After “the Travel Companions” left us in Belfast we decided to sit down and plan out where we would go in Scotland, and how long we would stay in each place. We decided that we would spend a couple of nights in Edinburgh after our day of travel and then a couple of nights in St. Andrews. After a quick online search, I found a guest house in St. Andrews, Montague House, that looked more than suitable at what I thought was a reasonable price, so we booked it.
Getting to St. Andrews from Edinburgh was quite simple. We hopped on the train that runs up to the small village of Leuchars just outside St. Andrews and then caught a cab from there right to our accommodation. Have a look.
I think this quasi-three-dimensional view of St. Andrews might give you a better idea of its overall layout and where the important sites are in conjunction with the birds-eye view map I just shared. We learned upon arrival that the original town was configured so that all roads led to the cathedral, the main pilgrimage destination. Again, the red star designates the guest house where we stayed.
Our First Afternoon
After getting checked, in we headed out to run some errands. First off, we headed over to the tourist information office (T. I.) to check for walking tours being offered around town that we could sign up for. We were happy to discover that there was a golf related walking tour the next day.
They also provided information about some of the more interesting historical sites we could visit. Visits to T.I.’s are always at the head of our to-do list whenever we arrive in a new town. They are very useful in helping you choose what activities you might want to participate in while you are there. And they are great places to pick up maps and brochures.
In this case the person with whom we were speaking suggested a place where we could have lunch when we asked. And it turned out to be a great choice.
Photos from our first outing.
Pilgrimage Site
As you might know, St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and Saint Andrews the town, being where his relics were kept, was established as a pilgrimage site well over 1000 years ago. Thousands of Pilgrims made their way there every year until the Reformation.
According to Wikipedia…
“In the mid-eighth century a monastery was established by the Pictish king Oengus I, traditionally associated with the relics of Saint Andrew, a number of bones supposed to be the saint’s arm, kneecap, three fingers and a tooth believed to have been brought to the town by St Regulus.
St Andrews, in particular the large cathedral built in 1160, was the most important centre of pilgrimage in medieval Scotland and one of the most important in Europe. Pilgrims from all over Scotland came in large numbers hoping to be blessed, and in many cases to be cured, at the shrine of Saint Andrew. The presence of the pilgrims brought about increased trade and development. Recognized as the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, the town now had vast economic and political influence within Europe as a cosmopolitan town. The Scottish Parliament met in the town in 1304.”
Again, according to Wikipedia, Saint Andrews has once again been identified as a pilgrimage trail and site, alongside all the others frequently travelled in Europe.
“Way of St Andrews (Spanish: El Camino de San Andreas, French: Chemin de Saint-Andrews, German: der Weg von Saint Andrews, Italian: il cammino di Saint Andrews) is a Christian pilgrimage to St Andrews Cathedral in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, UK, where the relics of the apostle, Saint Andrew, were once kept. A group started a revival in 2012 introducing new routes.
Today, only the cathedral ruins, and the graveyard on the site remain. They are certainly worth a visit though. Remains of the local castle are close by as well.”
I have added in a few photos found on the web that look at the cathedral site from an elevated perspective. They should provide a better sense of what the whole site was like before it fell into ruin.
If you are interested in knowing what the original cathedral looked like the Open Virtual Worlds Group at the University of Saint Andrews have created a virtual rendering video that is posted on Vimeo and shared here.
St Andrews Cathedral – 1318 from Open Virtual Worlds on Vimeo.
University Town
Yes, Saint Andrews is known for the golf, but really, at its heart it is just a great university town. The Love-goddess and I live in a town that has two universities and a large community college, so we know all about the residual benefits of doing so.
If you were to undertake a Google search about the benefits of living in a university town, you would find several of them listed such as:
Great dining options – who knew about Ramen until students brought it to our attention? Usually there are a myriad of inexpensive, tasty restaurants within easy walking distance of a university campus. In our town, the community college even has a restaurant where you can have a three-course meal prepared by students in the School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts program for $37.00..
Creates a diverse community – most universities attract students from all over the world. The two universities in our town certainly do, and as you will read below the university of Saint Andrews goes out of its way to attract international students.
Reduced cost of living – while it is true that golfers coming to Saint Andrews will pay through the nose for short term accommodation, there will be a wide range of relatively inexpensive accommodation available for year-round rentals.
Great healthcare – many universities have medical programs which means the hospitals in those communities are usually very good ones.
Most are pedestrian friendly – students are usually walking and taking public transit. This sort of urban planning is beneficial to year-round residence as well.
Educational opportunities – I took a course from a local university last fall and I’m about to start a second one later in the month.
The most notable indicator that this is primarily a university town is that when you take to the streets during the school year the streets are awash in students… Not golfers. And it is a damn fine university to boot!
The University of St. Andrews
Founded in 1413, The University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland – and the third oldest university in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge.
It has a very cosmopolitan and diverse student body. Approximately 45% of the students are from outside of the UK representing over 145 different nationalities.
It is also somewhat famous because it was the meeting place of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. The Love-goddess and I decided if that we had to do it all over again, we would do our undergraduate degrees here. 🙂
Photos from our walk. Again, I have added in a few extra photos that I found on the web to give you a better sense of what it is all about. Essentially, what one would hope, for beautiful old buildings in a welcoming historical setting.
Chariots of Fire
Next up a bit of movie trivia. The opening scene in the film “Chariots of Fire”, which had a group of men running along a beach, was filmed at West Sands Beach adjacent to Saint Andrews. At the end of the scene, they leave the beach and run across the first-tee of the Old Course and head into town.
Even seen from afar this nearly two miles of uninterrupted beach it is clearly a spot worth visiting. Sadly, we did not get to explore Saint Andrews’ waterfront. That will have to wait until our next visit… Pretty sure we will be heading back. 🙂
