Saint Andrews

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Saint Andrews is a small town on the west coast, about two hours from Edinburgh by bus. We don't know for sure, but we guessed it's about the size of Salem, MA. It is known as the birthplace of golf (whether or not this is true, I don't know, but there was a fairly large golf course and several golf shops around town) and home of the oldest University in Scotland, which seems to have inspired a ton of international students (many from the US) to study abroad here. Similar to Edinburgh, American accents in this town were everywhere.

The town looked to me like a cross between a fishing village and a college town. Interestingly, the same can be said for Salem. Unlike Salem, Saint Andrews has not beaten the daylights out of the dead horse is its one (fairly recent) claim to fame. What is that claim to fame, you ask?

Prince William and Kate Middleton (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) met while attending University here. Other than one coffee shop (with a sign in the window that said "KATE AND WILLIAM MET HERE... frequently for coffee"), the town doesn't really draw attention to that fact.

I try to imagine a prince going to University in such a small town, and I'm not sure how that would work. Are media people everywhere all the time? Did he go to class accompanied by the UK version of the secret service? What happened if he failed something? Getting to and from lectures must have been something of a nightmare. Did he have them recorded and watch/listen to them from the safety of his multi-billion-pound residence?

Anyway.

Saint Andrews is very aware of its tourist population, as evidenced by the number of signs directing us to the major attractions. Especially because we didn't have a map, the signs were extremely helpful in navigating town center.



Maybe a bit too helpful, at times.



Some of you already know that Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and the symbol on the Scottish flag is Saint Andrew's cross. According to the guide on my highland trip (more on that in tomorrow's entry), Andrew was crucified for his beliefs. Apparently before he died, he asked that his cross be different from the cross that Jesus died on, because he was not worthy to be killed in the same way. His enemies agreed, possibly because he also pointed out that the 'x' shaped cross was cheaper and easier to build.



This cathedral - aptly named Saint Andrews cathedral - was apparently destroyed in the wars between churches in Scotland.



This area reminded me a lot of the small towns on the coast of Maine or the north shore in MA.



Except for the castle of course.



Certainly the water was about the same temperature you would get from the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. In March.



I don't know what this kid was thinking, but it was somewhat entertaining to watch him slowly and painstakingly cross the rocks with a skateboard.

From here we walked up the shoreline to the St. Andrews castle.



Again, religious conflict is the main reason the place is in ruin, specifically a siege in 1546. Apparently, attackers built tunnels to get into and seize the castle, and defenders in turn built tunnels to intercept the attackers' tunnels.

After this, we got some ice cream* and wandered around the University a little bit. Parts were fairly modern-looking, but some were old and prestigious.



The University must be a very international school; in front of one building was a display of flags from Scotland, the US, the EU and Asia if my understanding of world flags is not pathetically wrong.

*There is a surprising lack of good ice cream here in the UK. Other than a Ben and Jerry's in the cinema in Newcastle, there are very few ice cream shops and the ice cream sold in stores is usually exorbitantly priced. Not that I'm checking.

And don't get me started on what they call "milkshakes" here.

Anyway. Highland tour starts tomorrow!

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Comments

[Dad]

A golf course???
Any body that has ever golfed would tell you that the old course at St Andrews is the most famous golf course in the world. Playing it is on many a bucket list