On a headland to the north of St Andrews stand the ruins of the city’s castle, the main residence of the bishops and archbishops of St Andrews – the focal point of the Church in Medieval Scotland.
Hoping to get the place to myself, just my luck, a coach load Just ahead of me
The Mine and Counter-mine – these unique underground passages give visitors a palpable sense of the horrific nature of medieval siege warfare.
I decided not to venture down here alone
Looking back into the town
The Bottle Dungeon – one of the most infamous castle prisons in medieval Britain, cut out of the solid rock. John Knox and George Wishart may have been imprisoned in this dank and airless hole, and Cardinal Beaton’s body was kept here.
The Cathedral
Viewed from the castle walls
I thought that the Cathedral more interesting than the Castle, accessed from the visitor centre there is an exhibition of many of the stone carvings and memorials salvaged from the ruins of the Cathedral
Wandering amongst the graves I found it interesting that the profession or trade of the deceased engraved on many of headstones, it would seem that "Willie Russell"
was a very popular name in this area
There was a monastic community in St Andrews in the 8th century. Due to pressure on Iona from the Vikings, the centre of the church in Scotland moved east, first to Dunkeld and then to Kilrimont (the Celtic name by which St Andrews was known in those days). A church, dedicated to St Rule was built there early in the 12th century. The original, tall (108 feet high) tower of that church still survives (and gives great views over the town). Legend has it that St Rule (or St Regulus) was the original guardian of the relics of St Andrew.
A much more recent addition in the adjoining graveyard is a monument to Tommy Morris, one of the early golfers from St Andrews from the 19th century who won the Open Championship at the age of 17.
Will definately go back
All these image were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ 50
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