We left our hotel and picked up our hire car, a Citroen Cactus and were on the road heading north about 9am.
We drove across the Firth of Forth and after missing a turn off, got back on track and at the right locations to take a few pictures of the bridges over the Firth of Forth, both the “new” road bridge and the famous Forth Railway Bridge built in 1890 which is a UNESCO site.
We then followed along next to the Firth of Forth taking the scenic route to St Andrews. We called into a couple of the enchanting fishing villages in the East Neuk, and drove through a lot more. At Elie we drove down to the beach, a nice pleasant area along side the water, there were lots of people on the beach but not many swimming. I think even with the warm temperatures we are having, the water would still be a bit too chilly. Next we called into Anstruther, the home of “Britain’s Best Fish and Chip Shop”, the Anstruther Fish Bar. Even a few Royals have sampled their food.
Neuk is the Scots word for nook or corner, and the East Neuk comprises the fishing villages of the northerly part of the Firth of Forth and the land and villages slightly inland. In effect, this means East Neuk includes Elie, Pittenweem, Struthers and other such villages on and near the Firth of Forth. (
After lunch we drove inland a bit to go to Falkland, a delightful village that features in ” Outlander” as the 1940’s and 1960’s Inverness. Our National Trust membership came in handy again, and we got free admission to Falkland Palace, the country residence of the royal Stuarts, adored by Mary, Queen of Scots. We did a quick tour through, all the castles and palaces are interesting and have their differences.
We then drove to St Andrews, and took a drive by and a brief stop to look at the 18th hole fairway on “The Old Course”. We then drove into town and eventually found our hotel, and jagged a great car park near by. Our room is very nice and it was very pleasing to walk into it and find a pedestal fan cooling it down. The last 2 days have been unseasonably warm, high 20’sC.
After settling in we went for a walk around town. First stop was the green of the 18th hole, “The Old Course,” adjacent to the clubhouse of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. The club is the home of golf and was founded on 14 May 1754. It was everything I had imagined, well maybe the Clubhouse was smaller than I expected. We then walked over to the beach area. This beach was used in the opening scenes of the movie “Chariots of Fire”. It is a very long and wide beach (it was low tide when we got there.)
We then walked up to have a look at the old part of St Andrews University passed The Martyr’s Monument on The Score. A memorial commemorating martyrs of the Scottish Reformation. In the end their cause succeeded and Scotland became Protestant in the Reformation of 1560.
The old buildings of the University are grand, gracious and alluring. There are many large, well maintained green spaces scattered around the buildings, a series of havens for both students and lecturers.
Next we walked passed St Andrews Castle, or what is left of it. It is in ruins, and has been since 1656. After the victory in the Scottish Reformation it no longer had a use and it was left to fall into ruin. Ever since it was first built the late 1100’s it has been ransacked, embattled, badly damaged and generally misused numerous times, and was always rebuilt as there was a Royal who wanted it for their own. It looks like it was once a magnificent building.
Just over the road, and around a corner we found the St Andrews Cathedral, in a ruinous state, it is the largest medieval church in Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland, but by 1651 it had been abandoned and left to ruin as a direct result of the Scottish Reformation. Unfortunately it was closing time so we had to leave.
We had dinner on the way back to our hotel in the rain, just in time to write this blog and plan tomorrows explorations.
We hope Patrick had a fantastic 33rd birthday, sending him lots of love and hugs. ?
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So glad you’re enjoying such warm weather and enjoying the sites ?