Visit to St. Andrews

We had a lovely visit to St. Andrews today. We caught the train from Edinburgh into Leuchars station and a bus from Leuchars into St. Andrews. However, before arriving at the train station in Edinburgh, we came across a very large Chinese protest against the Tibetan/Olympic protests. Interesting indeed. There were several thousand protesters.

We met up with our friends Josh and Becky at the train station and had a lovely ride north across the Forth of Firth into the Kingdom of Fife. It was absolutely lovely riding along the rocky coastline of eastern Scotland. Many students seemed to alight the train with us in Leuchars. They were arriving back at university after their three week holiday. [Side note:Can you imagine getting a three week spring break? Don't get too jealous. Their exams are way harder than ours! Oxford and Cambridge have exams in their third year that cover all the courses one took in their first and second years.] St. Andrew's University is also where the royals often attend, including both Prince Charles and Prince William.

Once arriving in St. Andrews, we stopped for bridies and donuts at a charming and busy bakery but were quickly out the door and on our way to the St. Andrew's Castle. Ruins are all that's left of this castle by the sea. During the Scottish Reformation, there was a cardinal residing at the Castle who was overthrown by the "local gentlemen." These gentlemen built an underground mine in an effort to capture the castle and overthrow the cardinal. Meanwhile, those defending the castle built an underground mine in an effort to stop the hostile gentlement. While the castle is mainly ruins, the mines are in tact. We were able to go underground and basically crawl through their cave-like spaces. So fun! St. Andrew's Castle is also the place in which John Knox was captured and forced into the French galleys.

Next we headed to the Cathedral ruins where we saw both the ruins of the Cathedral but also many famous gravesites. Matt was especially thrilled when I spotted Adam Ferguson's grave. Ferguson served as a moral philosopher at the University Edinburgh and was anti-modern before it was fashionable to be anti-modern. Matt just finished reading his Essay on the History of Civil Society this past Thursday and will most likely be using Ferguson's works in his upcoming research. We also climbed a tower on the Cathedral's grounds and were able to take in some amazing views from up top.

After touring the Cathedral ruins, we wondered through the campus of St. Andrew's. It's a beautiful campus! Unfortunately, there were not too many students to be found since many are still away on holiday. An Edinburgh grad student previously attended St. Andrews for undergrad and told us that the students wear regalia to all their classes. How very regal!

After a quick stop for coffee, we headed out to the famous golf course. Even though I'm not a golfer, I felt a bit of nostalgia just seeing the course and thinking of all the history and happy moments that have occurred there. Not being content with only looking at the course, I hopped over the small fence onto the 18th fairway for a quick picture. How could I not??? Then I talked Matt into making his way onto the course for a picture, too. I mean, you never know if you'll have the opportunity to have your picture taken on that course again!

Before heading back to the train station we stopped for a proper British dinner of steak & ale pies at the local pub. Next thing I knew, we were back on the train and then back on the streets of Edinburgh. Climbing the steps back home to our flat, it felt like such a treat to get out of the city for the day and be reminded of the goodness of that great big world out there.