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Published: December 1st 2012
Andrew and I booked a private day tour through Mini Tours Scotland. I wanted to get a chance to see more of Scotland than Edinburgh, but I didn't want to rent a car because it is expensive and I didn't want to have to stress about driving in a foreign country on the other side of the road. A tour was the perfect solution!
After breakfast, Craig picked us up in his van. We drove into the countryside, over the Firth of Forth, and into the region of Fife. He took us into some small fishing villages. Well, they used to be fishing villages. Apparently, that industry isn't as prominent today as it has been. Today, they are sleepy little towns that border lovely rock beaches. They attract local families on holiday but aren't very bustling or touristy because the roads are too narrow to allow for buses and large groups.
First, we stopped in the town of Elie, where the buildings were small and the doorways even smaller. Honestly, they'd be perfect for my short frame, but the doorways couldn't accomodate Andrew without ducking first. Craig taught us how to recognize the older structures. The buildings from the
St Monans Church
This picturesque church dates back to the 14th century.16th and 17th century had crow-stepped gables. I appreciated the beauty of Elie, but, honestly, the air was very cold from the sea breeze, so I prefered appreciating the town from the warmth of the car.
We left Elie and continued on to St Monans. Without spending a stretch of time in the towns, I'd have to say that St Monans wasn't much different than Elie except for one feature: the old church. The church is about 700 years old and absolutely stunning against the ocean as its backdrop. I love old buildings, and this one was surrounded by large, stone tombstones. Some of the tombs were old and undated. Others were recent. The undated ones had images carved into the stone, and Craig explained that many people in the Middle Ages were illiterate and used symbols on their tombs. Throughout our trip, we saw the same figures on many old tombs, like a skull and crossbones, an hour glass, and the cross of Saint Andrew. Andrew and I strolled along a path that led back to the docks, where Craig met us with the van.
Our next stop was St Andrews. Before our trip, I'd never heard
of St Andrews but learned that it's famous for many things. The first is golf. St Andrews is where golf is said to have been invented. Craig told us the legend of the invention of the golf game: Apparently, the shepherds would use their hooks and hit stones into rabbit holes while their sheep grazed. I'm not a golfer and don't know much about the game, but, I have to say, St Andrews seemed to be the perfect place for golf. The ground was soft, and the grass everywhere was naturally soft, short, and mossy. He took us to the Old Course, which has been around since the 1500s. It was neat seeing this bit of history, but I doubt I appreciated it as much as a golfer might have.
I learned that Prince William went to the University of St Andrews. It was where he met his wife, Kate Middleton. Apparently, St Andrews is famous for that bit of gossip. There was even a coffee shop with a big sign up on the window that proudly pronounced that it was the first place where Prince William took Kate Middleton out. I suppose it was kind of cool to
A Medieval Tomb
There are no words carved onto this tomb, as many people were illiterate in the Middle Ages. Instead, this tomb is carved with images of an hour glass and skull and crossbones. see and learn of all that, but it was no more impressive to me than the golf courses. We took a stroll around the university. It's beautiful and very old. In fact, it's celebrating its 600 year anniversary in 2013. As an American, that is just mind-blowing. Today also happened to be graduation day. Men wear kilts to important events, and so we saw many graduates walking around in kilts. I thought it was fantastic.
My favorite part about the city of St Andrews is its history. Craig explained bits and pieces to us throughout our time there. Obviously, St Andrews is named after Saint Andrew. Saint Andrew was a disciple of Jesus and was executed on a cross. Legend has it that he refused to be executed on a cross like Jesus and had it tilted onto its side in the shape of an X. That is why Saint Andrew's cross, as we've seen on tombstones and on the Scottish flag and projected onto buildings on St Andrew's Day, is an X. Pretty neat! Well, part Saint Andrew's body was put on a ship. That ship was shipwrecked on the east coast of Scotland, and they took that
as a sign of God to build a church there. The church (St Andrew's Cathedral) is almost 900 years old.
Bishops had a castle built nearby to live in (St Andrew's Castle), and an abbey was built at the church for educating monks. It was a community. The city became known for education, and so the university was built. A wall was built around the city for extra fortification. During the Reformation, the Church burned alive a few "heretics," or those who preached about Protestantism, in St Andrews. There, those spots are marked. Cardinal Beacon (who lived in St Andrew's Castle) burned alive a man by the name of George Wishart, who was preaching about Protestantism. Instead of quashing the Protestant movement, the people of St Andrews basically revolted. The castle was built to protect against attacks from outside forces but not its own people. Citizens went into the castle, stabbed the Cardinal to death, and hung his body for all to see. We saw the spots marked in stone where George Wishart and Patrick Hamilton were burned alive. The Scottish people destroyed the cathedral by burning the wooden roof top, which caused a cave-in. Over the years, much
The Wall
This wall partially surrounds the city of St Andrews and was built around 1500. of the stone was used to build a pier and homes nearby. What's left are the front and back door areas of the cathedral and St Rule's Tower. We got to walk into St Rule's Tower, which is nearly 1,000 years old. With the exception of the Mayan pyramids in Central America, St Rule's Tower is the oldest manmade structure I've ever seen. I was thrilled to step into it and walk around.
We explored the grounds around the cathedral. Everything is grown over now, but we could see a well that was once in the center of the cathedral (indoors!) and the bases of the pillars that once stood within the walls of the church. We walked through the graveyard and saw young and old graves. We walked around the abbey, and I sat where the church bishops and people once sat for their meetings. It whole area was breathtaking and one of the highlights of the trip. Craig told me I could go buy a token to climb up the stairs of St Rule's Tower (!!!), but Andrew was cold and had a sore knee, so I decided to pass.
I wanted to do a little
shopping and explore the square of St Andrew's, so we set up a meeting time and place with Craig and set out. I selected an authentic Harris tweed hat for my brother, and then Andrew and I enjoyed a cup of black coffee and a pastry from Gregg's Coffee. We window shopped a bit more and made our way back to the university to find Craig. He drove us through countryside back to Edinburgh. Andrew and I enjoyed talking to him about Scotland and America, and we took in the picturesque views.
We got back in the evening, after the sun set, and said goodbye to Craig. Andrew and I took a stroll down George Street in Edinburgh to the Dome. Craig told us how the Dome is decorated extravagantly for Christmas, and I wanted to check it out. It was worth the walk just to see the outside. I'd wanted to go inside to see all the decor, but there were men in suits standing guard outside the doors. We figured we either needed a reservation, or there was a special event going on. We kept moving and enjoyed dinner at Amarone's Pizzeria before heading back to our
PH for Patrick Hamilton
Patrick Hamilton was burned alive for teaching about Protestantism at the University of St Andrews. The spot where he was burned is marked with his initials in stone. room for the night. OK, so we might have stopped and purchased up a couple pieces of shortbread to eat back at our room, but you can't prove any of that.
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Aunt Carol
non-member comment
love it
Becky, I loved this entry. I could just hear you talking as I read it. What a great experience you're having!