St Andrews

The home of golf and Scotland's oldest university town, with a seaside cathedral ruin and castle, the West Sands of film fame, and the colourful fishing villages of the East Neuk for coastal strolls.

St Andrews lies at the northern tip of the Fife peninsula on Scotland's east coast, about 80 km from Edinburgh. This seaside university town of around 18,000 people is known as the Home of Golf. Its compact old town is easy to explore on foot: three parallel historic streets – North Street, Market Street and South Street – run from the West Port to the cathedral and castle ruins by the sea; to the west are the Old Course and West Sands, and the buildings of the University of St Andrews, Scotland's oldest, are scattered throughout town. The best season is May–Sep, with long daylight hours and temperatures of about 15–20°C; spring and autumn are cool and quiet, while winter brings short days and strong sea winds. Accommodation is scarce and expensive during Open Championship years and university graduation. Nearby, you can head south along the coast to the East Neuk, a string of colourful fishing villages – Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, St Monans and Elie – and in summer take a boat from Anstruther to the Isle of May to see puffins; inland are Falkland Palace and Kellie Castle, and just across the Tay to the north is the V&A design museum in Dundee. Getting there: take the train from Edinburgh to Leuchars station (about 1 hour), then a 10-minute bus into town; the No. 95 bus links the East Neuk villages, but services are infrequent, so driving is more flexible. Allow 2–3 days. Note: the weather is changeable, so bring a windproof jacket in every season; the Old Course is closed on Sundays and open for walking, and to play you'll need to book ahead or enter the daily ballot.

Top sights

• Old Course, St Andrews – The world's oldest golf course, a pilgrimage site for the 'Home of Golf', where on Sundays, when play is closed, visitors can stroll the fa…
• Swilcan Bridge – A 700-year-old small stone bridge spanning the 1st and 18th holes of the Old Course, where golf legends have said farewell at the Open. A m…
• St Andrews Cathedral – The largest medieval church ruin in Scotland, with seaside walls and St Rule's Tower forming the town's skyline, where climbing the tower g…
• St Andrews Castle – The ruins of a bishop's castle on a sea cliff, where you can crawl into the tunnels dug during the 16th-century siege, and the 'Bottle Dung…
• West Sands – A wide beach about 3 km long, the setting for the opening running scene of the film 'Chariots of Fire', with views across the Old Course an…
• St Salvator's Quad & Chapel – A 1450 Gothic chapel and quadrangle at the University of St Andrews. The 'PH' plaque in the paving is said to bring failing exam results to…
• St Mary's College Quad – A peaceful quadrangle of the university's divinity college, with an ancient holm oak and a hawthorn said to have been planted by Queen Mary…
• R&A World Golf Museum – A golf history museum beside the Old Course, with the earliest clubs and balls, Open Championship trophies and memorabilia of legendary pla…
• St Andrews Botanic Garden – The university's historic botanic garden on the south side of town, with glasshouses, a rock garden and a butterfly house, ideal for a rela…
• West Port – A historic town gate built in 1589 at the western end of South Street, and one of the few medieval town gates still standing in Scotland.
• St Andrews Aquarium – A small aquarium on the cliffs above West Sands, where you can watch seal feedings, penguins and local marine life.
• East Sands – A small bay beach on the east side of the harbour, good for swimming and paddleboarding. A coastal path runs from here all the way to Crail.
• Anstruther – The largest fishing town on the East Neuk, famous for its award-winning fish and chips, and the departure point for boats to the Isle of Ma…
• Scottish Fisheries Museum – A fisheries museum beside the harbour in Anstruther, with restored historic boats and displays of fishing life that tell the story of the E…
• Crail – The most picturesque fishing village on the East Neuk, with a tiny stone harbour and red-roofed white houses stacked up the hillside. It is…
• Pittenweem – A working fishing harbour on the East Neuk, with brightly painted houses and St Fillan's Cave. In summer, the arts festival turns the town…
• St Monans – A small fishing village with a seaside windmill and an old church built right at the shore. The coastal path leads on to Pittenweem and Eli…
• Elie and Earlsferry – An upscale seaside village at the western end of the East Neuk, with golden sands, the 'Chain Walk' along the cliffs and harbour pubs.
• Isle of May – A national nature reserve at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, where tens of thousands of puffins breed in spring and summer. Boats sail fro…
• Falkland Palace – A Stuart-era Renaissance hunting palace with the world's oldest real tennis court. Falkland village was a filming location for the 1940s In…
• Kellie Castle – A 14th-century tower castle in the East Neuk countryside, with 17th-century plasterwork ceilings and an Arts and Crafts-style walled garden.
• Scotland's Secret Bunker – A Cold War nuclear bunker hidden beneath a farmhouse, with two underground levels of preserved command centre and communications equipment…
• Tentsmuir Forest – Extensive pine forest and dune beaches at the mouth of the River Tay. A walk to Tentsmuir Point offers views of groups of seals basking on…
• Fife Coastal Path (St Andrews–Crail) – A roughly 190 km long-distance trail in Scotland. The stretch from St Andrews to Crail has the most natural cliffs, reefs and sea caves.
• Cambo Estate – A Victorian estate near Kingsbarns, famous for its carpets of snowdrops in late winter, with woodland trails leading to the sea.
• V&A Dundee – Scotland's first design museum, designed by Kengo Kuma. Its cantilevered building resembles a sea cliff and is a highlight in itself, and t…

Where to eat

• The Seafood Ristorante – A landmark seafood restaurant in a glass box above West Sands, serving Scottish seafood with Italian techniques, with v…
• Tailend Fish and Chips – An award-winning fish and chip shop on Market Street that was once named Scotland's best in the British National Fish a…
• Jannettas Gelateria – A century-old family ice cream shop opened in 1908 near the cathedral, offering more than fifty handmade flavours, incl…
• Haar Restaurant – The flagship restaurant of MasterChef: The Professionals chef Dean Banks, serving tasting menus of local seasonal seafo…
• Forgan's Restaurant – A lively restaurant-bar on Market Street in the Old Town serving steaks and classic Scottish dishes, with many TripAdvi…
• The Cheesy Toast Shack – A takeaway hut on the East Sands specialising in creative toasted cheese sandwiches. It was named Street Food Stall of…

Itineraries

• Eastern Scotland: Fife to the Cairngorms – Travel from the fishing villages of Fife to Dunnottar Castle, then cross Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms, returning vi…