St Andrews for Guides 

On the bus 

We are approacing the famous view of the three bridges across the river Forth that represent more than 100 years of Scottish engineering. The most famous is the oldest bridge that you can recognise by its bright red colour. 

The Forth Bridge is one of the most iconic symbols of Edinburgh and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. When it opened in 1890, it was the longest cantilever bridge in the world, and is still sturdy enough to carry trains. However, we partially owe its strength to a disaster. 

Years before the construction of the bridge, there were plans to connect Fife and Edinburgh coasts, but the project was very ambitious for the time. Some construction projects were denied funding, some ran out of it, but one project was by an architect, Sir Thomas Bouch. He started designing the bridge, but disaster struck. 

At the Viewpoint

You have to remember that in the 19th century, trains were still a new technology and lots of people didn't trust them, a bit like AI today. This wasn't helped by a railway bridge disaster in 1879, where the bridge collapsed and killed 75 people. And guess who designed that bridge that collapsed? It was our friend, Thomas Bouch, designing this bridge we're looking at now. As a result of the disaster and people's mistrust, he was quickly fired from the project, and two new designers replaced him. They intended to build a bridge that would not only withstand anything, but would also repair trust in the public. Apparently red is a very trustworthy colour! Apparently the bridge took so long to paint that by the time the workers moved from one end to the other, the paint at the other end had already started to chip. 

Now that we've reached the viewpoint, enjoy and take lots of pictures!

We are now approaching St Andrews, so now's a good time to mention that this town is the world's golf capital, and the course we will drive through is the oldest in the world

Ask the students; Does anyone like golf? How old do you think the sport is? 

It founded in the 1400s!

Back then, golfers had a bit of a rebellious reputation. The sport was banned by the king for 50 years. He believed it made young men skip archery practice. At the time, archery wasn't a hobby but an important part of national defence, so soldiers dodging practice to play golf for fun was a huge issue. 

Scottish history has a lot of weird chapters, and one of them happened here. What comes to mind when you hear the name "The Rabbit Wars"? In the late 18th century, the town went bankrupt, so the council tried to make money by renting out the golf green to a family of rabbit farmers, which started a land war with the golfers. The issue is that rabbits did what they do best- they bred and dug holes. Soon, the golf green was unusable, which made the gentlemen golfers very angry. The word "wars" isn't used lightly, as lawsuits and fist fights followed, and the poor rabbits were caught in the middle. Since the course still stands, you can conclude that the golfers won. 

There is not much left of the castle itself, but it is an important monument to the political and religious struggles of the late medieval times. Some events that happened here resemble Game of Thrones level of political intrigue and violence. 

Originally, the castle was built in the 12th Century as an official residence of Scotland's bishop. This shows how much power that figure held, as his residence was a military fortress. Some of the biggest political decisions in Scotland happened within these walls. 

This Castle also played a huge role in the Reformation, which was when Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church and established a Protestant Church, part of wider changes that were happening in Europe. It wasn't a peaceful shift at all, and St Andrews Castle was a hub of violence. The Catholic cardinal who was at the head of the Castle at the time  captured a protestant preacher and burned him alive inside these very walls. Protestants then took over the Castle and and assassinated the cardinal. In response, the Catholics launched an attack to take it back, and actually started to dug tunnels underneath the Castle to invade it. When the Protestants noticed, they started digging tunnels from the other side to hope to meet their attackers in the middle. You can still walk through the mine today (note: Please check with staff if it's open, it's been closed for maintenance in the past). 

Another interesting feature of the castle is the bottle dungeon. It's a circular prison underground that gets its name from the structure narrowing at the top and expanding at the bottom like a bottle. It wasn't just a cell; it was a torture method. Once the prisoner was inside, they were abandoned in complete isolation without natural light, ventilation or sanitation. Sometimes it was a way to make undesirable people disappear!

The Castle is in the state it is today because no one has been living in it since the late 16th Century. It has slowly been crumbling away into the sea below. 

Have some free time to explore and imagine what it was like in its prime!

Before St Andrews was the capital of golf, it was the religious capital of Scotland and the neighbouring countries. When it was built in the 12th century, this cathedral, naturally, was the largest and most important religious site in all of Scotland. It gathered pilgrims from all around as it contained holy relics, including the bones of Scotland's patron saint, St Andrew himself. Some believe they are still there. 

Just like the Castle, it fell into disrepair during the Reformation. As mentioned, the reformers loved attacking Catholic cathedrals, destroying the altars and artworks. The cathedral was abandoned in favour of the new parish church. Parts of the structure collapsed due to lack of maintanence, and most of the stones were used for other buildings in the town. 

We are at the oldest university in Scotland and one of the oldest in the English-speaking world. It was founded in 1413, which is older than most countries. Students have been coming here for over 600 years to study literature, philosophy, theology, law and science. 

St Andrews was founded by a group of Scottish scholars who had been studying in Paris, Oxford and Cambridge, but had to leave due to political and religious tensions, especially the Western Schism where there were rival popes competing for power. So, what did they do? They came home and created their own university with permission of the Pope of Avignon in 1413. That's right, the pope officially blessed this University. The University was modelled on Oxford and Cambridge, but wanted to be more focused on theology and philosophy, and less on pleasing the King. It became a centre of reformist thought long before the Reformation arrived. 

It you're a fan of royal stories, you might know a famous couple who's love story started here. Do we have any fans of the Netflix show The Crown? They came and filmed here because Prince William, the future King, and Kate Middleton met while they were studying here. They both lived in the same hall and had lectures in this very quad. Times are tough in the job market, so if the degree doesn't get you much, maybe you'll have a chance to meet your prince or princess at uni. 

This charming coast is called Ruby Bay. The name sounds very romantic, but it also has a literal origin- on sunny days, the reddish stones along the beach glisten like rubies. These aren't real gems, but fragments of jasper and garnet, naturally polished by the sea. 

The Lady's tower that you see overlooking the sea is the site of a legend about a quirky noble lady called Janet Anstruther. The tower was built as her personal changing room, as the lady loved two things- swimming and privacy. Most of you, I imagine, also don't like public changing rooms, but not all of us can build a private castle. 

Lady Jane didn't like being disturbed while swimming in the sea earlier. While the beach wasn't private, she made it so. Whenever the ladyship wanted to take a dip, her servants would go into the village and ring a bell notifying people to stay out of the bay. That's what happens when you are an introvert with money. 

Nobody is going to ring the bell now, so feel free to walk around and explore. Be careful not to fall into the sea; the winds on this shore can be violent.