- For other places with the same name, see St Andrews (disambiguation).
St Andrews is a town on the coast of Fife in northeast Scotland. With a population of 16,930 in 2021, it's an attractive place famous for its ancient university and as the "home of golf".
Understand
[edit]
St Andrews in medieval times was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, and its cathedral was the most important in the country. But from the 15th century there was religious turbulence: John Knox preached here, two other Lutheran preachers were burned as heretics, the cardinal was lynched as revenge and the cathedral and bishop's castle were wrecked.
The university was founded in 1413, making it the oldest in Scotland, and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. Today the university dominates the town, particularly during term-time. It is often perceived as being elitist: for instance, Prince William studied geography here and met Kate Middleton, who was studying history of art; they are now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
St Andrews proclaims itself as the "home of golf". The game was invented in the Low Countries and adopted in Scotland in the Middle Ages, with the first rulebook written in Edinburgh in the 17th century. That game was played over entirely natural courses of no fixed length. The contribution of the Royal and Ancient here was to create a groomed or maintained course of 18 holes and codify the rules accordingly. The R&A thus co-hosts the game's worldwide ruling body and owns several golf courses, including the renowned Old Course. St Andrews is mobbed when a major tournament is in town, especially during the Dunhill Cup in October, and the Open Championship in July every five years.
Get in
[edit].jpg)
By plane
[edit]Edinburgh Airport (EDI IATA) has the best selection of flights. From there take Stagecoach Bus Jet 747 across the Forth to Inverkeithing for the hourly train to Leuchars and Dundee, or to Halbeath for the hourly bus. Otherwise take the tram or bus from the airport to Edinburgh Haymarket for trains or buses.
Glasgow Airport (GLA IATA) also has a good range of flights.
Dundee Airport (DND IATA) has flights from London Stansted by Loganair, twice a day M-F and once on Sunday. Apr-Oct they also fly from London City (LCY) and Belfast City (BHD).
By train
[edit]- Wikivoyage has a guide to Rail travel in Great Britain
1 Leuchars railway station is 6 miles west of town. This has two trains an hour from Edinburgh, taking an hour via Inverkeithing and Kirkcaldy, and continuing to Dundee, Arbroath, Stonehaven and Aberdeen. There are two direct daytime trains from London Kings Cross heading for Aberdeen, otherwise change in Edinburgh. The overnight Highland Sleeper from London Euston also calls here, but before 6AM; you might prefer to take the Lowland Sleeper to Edinburgh then a day train. From Glasgow Queen Street change either at Edinburgh Haymarket or Dundee, 1 hr 50 min either way.
Leuchars station has a staffed ticket office and machines, toilets and a waiting room. There is step-free access to both platforms.
Stagecoach Bus 99 from Dundee takes 10 min between Leuchars station and St Andrews, see below. A combined train and bus ticket is slightly cheaper than separate fares, select "St Andrews Bus" as your destination.
A taxi from Leuchars costs £20 to the centre of St Andrews.
By bus
[edit]
Stagecoach Fife Bus 99 runs 5:30AM-11PM from Dundee via Leuchars station to St Andrews; daytime it's every 10 min. There are night buses to 3AM on Friday and Saturday night.
Bus X59 runs hourly from Edinburgh St Andrew Square to St Andrews, taking just over 2 hours via Halbeath and Glenrothes, with the last bus at 5:50PM.
Bus X24 runs hourly from Glasgow Buchanan station via Cumbernauld, Dunfermline, Halbeath and Glenrothes to St Andrews, taking 3 hr 30 min with the last bus at 6:20PM.
Bus 95 follows the coast south from St Andrews through Kingsbarns, Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, Elie, Upper Largo and Lower Largo to Leven. It runs hourly, daily.
2 St Andrews Bus Station is central, on City Road.
By road
[edit]By car from the south follow M90 over the Forth on Queen's Crossing (no toll) then A91 east to town.
National Bike Route 1 crosses the Forth by the old bridge, then meanders via Dunfermline, Kinross, Auchtermuchty, and along the lanes south of A91 into St Andrews. It continues north through Guardbridge and Leuchars to Dundee; then, if you're really up for it, to Aberdeen, Inverness, John O'Groats, Orkney and Shetland.
Get around
[edit]
Walk. You might use bus 95 to reach Kingsbarns, or 99 for Guardbridge and Leuchars. The main taxi ranks are at the bus station, and on Bell Street which connects Market Street and South Street.
Moffat & Williamson Bus 64 runs hourly to Cupar (Fife), Falkland Palace and Glenrothes.
Town centre is designed to deter traffic, with a convoluted one-way system and limited expensive central parking. There are free car parks at Petheram Bridge just north of the bus station, Murray Place off North St, and Woodburn Place just south of the harbour. They're often referred to as "Park & Ride" but the town is too small for that, just walk in.
See
[edit]- 1 St Salvator's Quad, North Street KY16 9AL. Daily. This is the quadrangle of St Salvator's College and several academic departments are based here, though the university has abandoned the collegiate system for all but ceremonial purposes. Originally medieval, it became tumbledown and was rebuilt in Jacobean style in the 19th century. Its notable buildings are the college chapel, tower and tenement, and the Hebdomodar's building; St Salvator's Hall just east is a student residence built in the 1930s. The chapel, dating from 1450, conducts university services every Sunday, with staff and students in traditional garb. (The red gowns are for all undergrads except St Mary's; the slant at which they're worn denotes the student's year and subject.) After chapel, the students parade to the end of the pier to commemorate John Honey, who in 1800 hastened from the chapel to rescue five sailors from the stricken ship Janet. On North Street just outside the quad, the letters PH are set in the cobbles. Here Patrick Hamilton was burned at the stake in 1528 for his Lutheran heresies, such as preaching that Gospel and Law are separate things. It's said to be bad luck to walk on the letters, and that students who do so will flunk - this curse may be expunged by bathing in the sea at dawn on 1st May (the May Dip).
- 2 St Mary's Quad, South Street KY16 9JP. Daily. St Mary's College has always been the theology school or Faculty of Divinity, and these undergrads wear black gowns, befitting their sober future as church ministers. Enter through the black iron gates inscribed "In Principio Erat Verbum:" the opening of John's Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word". Left of the gate is Lower Parliament Hall, where the Scottish Parliament relocated from plague-stricken Edinburgh 1645-6; it's now the university Debating Hall. The building on the left of the quad, formerly the library, is now the School of Psychology. The tree on the right side was planted by Mary Queen of Scots; she didn't plant the large oak tree in the centre. Far side of the quad is a ruined gateway, now being restored, into the 20th-century Bute Medical School.
- 3 St Andrews Botanic Gardens, Canongate KY16 8RT, ☏ +44 1334 476452, [email protected]. Daily Apr-Sep 10AM-6PM, Oct-Mar 10AM-4PM. Founded as the University Botanic Gardens in 1889 and now run by Fife Council, these are beautiful landscaped gardens, with different habitats (water garden, heath, peat, rock garden, Chinese, Chile garden). Eight glass houses hold orchids, cactus, alpine and tropical plants. Adult £6, conc £5, under-18 and students free.
- St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum and Gardens, 12 North Street KY16 9PW, ☏ +44 1334 477152, [email protected]. Closed until Sep 2025. Museum about the history of St Andrews. Displays of old shops, furniture, art relating to local area, gardens, and souvenir shop.
- 4 British Golf Museum, Bruce Embankment KY16 9AB, ☏ +44 1334 460046. Daily Apr-Oct 10AM-5PM, Nov-Mar 10AM-4PM. Exhibiting golf through the ages, next to the famous course where the sport was first codified. Adult £17.50, conc £15.50, child free.
- 5 Aquarium, The Scores KY16 9AS, ☏ +44 1334 474786, [email protected]. Daily 10AM-5PM. Aquarium with seals, fish, reptiles, penguins; feeding sessions and talks. Small building at street level, most of it's hidden below ground. Day pass adult £16, conc £15, child £13.
- 6 St Andrews Museum, Kinburn Park, Doubledykes Road KY16 9DP, ☏ +44 1334 659380. M-Sa 10:30AM-4PM. Museum about the history of St Andrews in a Victorian mansion. Also regular temporary exhibitions. Free.
- The Museum of The University of St Andrews has two principal collections:
- - The Wardlaw Museum at 7 The Scores showcases their art, history and science collections. Daily 10AM-5PM, free.
- - Bell Pettigrew Museum within Bute Medical Buildings off Queen's Terrace is the zoology collection. It's open during school holidays M-F 1-5PM and free.
- 7 St Andrews Castle, The Scores KY16 9AR, ☏ +44 1334 477196. Daily Apr-Sep 9:30AM-5:30PM, Oct-Mar 10AM-4PM. There's been a bishop's palace here since the 12th century, which successive armies wrecked; the present building is from 1400. It hosted royalty and also prisoners; in 1478 the unlucky Archbishop Patrick Graham was deemed insane and incarcerated in his own "palace". In 1546 during the Reformation, a Protestant preacher was burnt at the stake here, so his followers got in pretending to be building workers, lynched the cardinal, and barricaded themselves in. In the ensuing siege, a sapper-mine and counter-mine were dug through the underlying solid rock, which you can explore. The castle fell into disuse and in 1656 the burgh council took much of its material to re-build the pier. So it's now a picturesque shell in a great scenic location. Adult £10 child £6, conc £8, HES free.
- 8 St Andrews Cathedral, The Pends KY16 9QL, ☏ +44 1334 472563. Apr-Sep daily 9:30AM-5:30PM, Oct-Mar F-M 10AM-4PM. Ruined cathedral. Built from 1158 to 1318, it was the principal Catholic church in Scotland before the Reformation, then was ransacked and fell derelict. Like the castle much of its masonry was removed in the 17th century for other buildings. St Rule's (adjacent, same ticket) was an earlier church: the tower still stands but is unsafe to enter. Another, St Mary on the Rock, was the collegiate church of the Culdees, who enjoyed a century-long feud with the Augustinians - it's by the shore just north, but little remains. Free.
- 9 Pier and Harbour are small, at the outlet of the Kinness Burn, and the harbour is dry at low tide. It was an important fishing harbour but when the railway bypassed town, trade shifted to Dundee and the Forth ports. It's an agreeable place to stroll, with views from the end of the pier north across the Tay to the hills of Angus. On Sundays after chapel, university staff and students walk to the pier in their traditional academic dress.
- Beaches are great for strolling, but only the hardiest souls will plunge into the cold waters of the North Sea. You'll want a wet suit for water sports.
- 10 West Sands is the two mile sandy beach that flanks the R&A golf courses, with an access lane. There are various zones to segregate activities such as sand yachts and family paddling. It ends in sand dunes at Out Head by the outflow of the River Eden: the dunes may be closed off to protect bird life and other features. Dogs restricted May-Sept.
- 11 Castle Sands is a small sandy beach just below the castle. You need high tide to access the sea, at other times there's a long furrowed line of rocks, fine for rock-pooling but a barrier to paddling. This beach is the site of the annual May Dip, where students jump into the sea at daybreak on 1st May as part of a hoary university tradition.
- 12 East Sands is a half-mile sandy beach east of the harbour. Dogs welcome.
- Further away are sandy beaches at Kingsbarns five miles southeast, and at Tentsmuir Forest north of the River Eden.
- Leuchars is the village where you change between train and bus: its main attraction is the well-preserved 12th-century St Athernase Church. The RAF base at Leuchars closed in 2015 and is now an army base and diversionary airfield; its fighter jets transferred to RAF Lossiemouth on the Moray coast.
Do
[edit].jpg)
- 1 Byre Theatre, Abbey Street KY16 9LA, ☏ +44 1334 475000. It really was a cow byre when it started in 1933, but the present building is the third. The company was taken over by the University in 2014. They put on a variety of repertory productions and some touring productions. The cafe-bar is open 10AM-3PM.
- Cinema: New Picture House on North Street closed in 2024. It's being rebuilt as a leisure complex and will retain two cinema screens, to re-open maybe Sep 2025. The Art Deco facade will be preserved.
- St Andrews Tours offer various guided tours of town, year-round.
- St Andrews EuroWalk - Online self-guided tour of the town visiting key points of interest and exploring their historic and contemporary links with our European neighbours.
- Golf originated in Scotland some time in the Middle Ages, and by 1457 it was common enough to be furiously prohibited by law, along with football. But by 1503 even the king was playing, and buying golf clubs and balls. At first golf was played on natural rugged terrain such as "links" ie sandy grass along the coast. The first maintained course was here in St Andrews, playing outward for 11 holes then homeward for a 22-hole course. Some holes were considered too short, so in 1764 these were combined to create a 9+9 course. And since St Andrews codified the rules of the game, the 18-hole course became standard.
- The Royal and Ancient Golf Club is the high temple of the game, promulgating its rule book, and hosting major tournaments. The good news is, it's relatively simple although expensive to get a game here, if you come off-season. You're unlikely to get onto the hallowed turf of the Old Course - you need to be taking part in a tournament, or have immense influence, or get lucky in the ballot. You could also purchase a golf package from an authorised provider with a guaranteed tee time, but these are very expensive. You might also be a spectator for a tournament, or simply stroll by to watch celebs playing and practising. Mind your head! - "celeb" doesn't always mean skilful. Your best chance of a game at R&A is on their six other courses: Castle, New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove (which is 9-hole with no advance booking).
- Duke's Golf Course is at Craigtoun, 3 miles southwest of town. It's run by the Old Course Hotel, see "Sleep", and is heathland not links. They're evasive about which Duke it was, but presumably a scoundrel if he couldn't get in at the R&A.
- St Michaels GC is on A919 half a mile north of Leuchars.
- St Andrews Bay Golf Course is part of the Fairmont Hotel, see "Sleep".
- Kingsbarns Golf Links is five miles southeast off A917.
- Lots more within a short drive.
- 2 Craigtoun Country Park by Duke's Golf Course is free to stroll and has paid activities for children.
- 3 East Sands Leisure Centre, St Mary St KY16 8LH, ☏ +44 1334 659473. Leisure and fitness complex with swimming pool, flumes, gym, squash and sauna.
- Fife Agricultural Show is held in Cupar, with the next on Sa 24 May 2025.
- St Andrews Highland Games are held on Station Park, with the next probably on Su 27 July 2025, tbc. There are also Games in Ceres in June, but Cupar Games have folded.
- Sands International Film Festival is next held on F 25 - Sun 27 April 2025.
Learn
[edit]
- The University of St. Andrews has a broad range of graduate and postgrad courses. It also offers short courses and summer schools suitable for visitors, eg in music, earth & environmental sciences, education, language, and orientation for overseas students.
- Golf: this isn't the place to learn from scratch, do your hacking and gouging on a humble municipal park. For seasoned golfers there are lots of pricey "golf experiences" and skills development courses.
Buy
[edit]- Golf, golf, golf, it's all over town. The closer you get to the Old Course, the higher the prices and the aroma of "prestige", and no doubt your game will improve proportionately.
- Supermarkets are Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local in town centre, and Aldi and Morrisons south edge of town on A915.
- Fisher and Donaldson, 13 Church Street KY16 9NW, ☏ +44 1334 472201. M-Sa 8AM-5PM, Su 11AM-4PM. Acclaimed bakery and confectioner, their fudge doughnuts are the house speciality. There's another branch at 197 South Street, and more in Cupar and Dundee.
- Mellis Cheese, 149 South Street KY16 9UN, ☏ +44 1334 471410. M-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su noon-5PM. Upmarket cheese shop, also has outlets in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
- University of St Andrews Shop, St Marys Place KY16 9UY, ☏ +44 1334 462730. M-Sa 9AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM. All official university merchandise, clothing and so on.
Eat
[edit]
- South Street with Market St is the main eating strip. It has the usual chains plus Shawarma House, Rogue, Jahangir Tandoor, Zizzi, Blackhorn Burgers, Tulsi (Indian & Thai), Tanon (Thai), Forgans and Tailend. For a post-pub filler, the fish and chips shops do "chips and cheese".
- The Adamson, 127 South Street KY16 9UH, ☏ +44 1334 479191. Su-Th noon-11PM, F Sa noon-midnight. Pleasant brasserie in a former post office. Gets busy, occasional service malfunctions.
- Jannetta's Gelateria, 31 South Street KY16 9QR, ☏ +44 1334 473285. Daily 9AM-10PM. Excellent ice cream. They have 54 flavours including Irn-Bru sorbet.
- North Street has Taste (below), Haar, Ziggy's, and Playfair's Steakhouse.
- Taste, 148 North Street KY16 9AF, ☏ +44 1334 477959. Daily 7AM-5PM. Coffee and light bites. Small place so you may struggle to get seated. No toilets.
- Seafood Ristorante, Bruce Embankment KY16 5LH (by Golf Museum), ☏ +44 1334 479475. Tu-Sa noon-11PM. Great dining on the seafront.
- Old Course Hotel has Road Hole Restaurant and other eating options, see "Sleep".
- Hotel du Vin Bistro (see Sleep) is open W-Sa noon-2:30PM, Su 12:30-4:30PM, and daily 6-9PM.
- The Peat Inn in Cupar is a pricey but acclaimed restaurant with rooms, see Sleep. Lunch F Sa noon-1:30PM, dinner Tu-Sa 6-9PM.
Drink
[edit]
- Central Bar, 77 Market Street KY16 9NU, ☏ +44 1334 478296. Su-Th 11AM-midnight, F Sa 11AM-1AM. Belhaven pub with island bar, good range of beers and ales. Traditional bar meals.
- 1 Aikman's Bar and Bistro, 32 Bell Street KY16 9UX, ☏ +44 1334 477425. Daily noon-1AM. Friendly pub with great selection of European beers and ales. Downstairs is the Cellar Bar specialising in real ales. Live trad Scottish music several nights a week.
- 2 St Andrews Brewing Company, 177 South Street KY16 9EE, ☏ +44 1334 471111. Daily noon-midnight. Brewpub with decent meals, dog-friendly. Brewery tours are F 18:00 and Sa 17:00, book online.
- Others include The Criterion, The Saint and Vic St Andrews.
- Kingsbarns Distillery produces whisky and gin. It's 8 miles southeast along A917 and open daily for tours.
- Eden Mill Distillery makes gin but is relocating - the new distillery and visitor centre might open by Sep 2025. Meanwhile their outlet shop at 96 Market Street remains open daily 11AM-5PM.
Sleep
[edit]Budget
[edit]- 1 Cairnsmill Caravan Park, St Andrews KY16 8NN, ☏ +44 1334 473604. Clean spacious site open April-Oct. Tourer £32.
- St Andrews University lets out its student accommodation to other visitors June-Aug. Much of this is taken up by conference or golfing groups, but individual short stays are also available.
- David Russell Apartments are modern apartments sleeping ten, so they suit large families. Each apartment has five double en suite bedrooms; some individual rooms are available. Bistro and bar on site, plus games room and laundry facilities. They're on Buchanan Gardens along B939 a mile west of town: the free parking lot is 300 yards away.
- University Hall (Wardlaw / Lumsden wings) is a Victorian Baronial concoction.
- McIntosh Hall has single and twin rooms with shared bathroom. It's a grand old former hotel, central on Abbotsford Cres just off North St.
- Agnes Blackadder Hall is a modern building off A91 half a mile west of the centre.
Mid-range
[edit]- Premier Inn, Largo Rd KY16 8NH, ☏ +44 333 321 9423. Reliable mid-price chain. B&B double £200.
- Albany Hotel, 56-58 North St KY16 9AH, ☏ +44 1334 477737, [email protected]. Peaceful and spotlessly clean, B&B in late-Georgian terraced house. On-street parking is free if you can find a space. B&B double £280.
- Kinburn Guest House, 5 Kinburn Place, Doubledykes Rd KY16 9DT, ☏ +44 1334 474711. Pleasant 3-roomed B&B near university. B&B double £200.
- Yorkston Guest House, 68-70 Argyle Street KY16 9BU, ☏ +44 1334 472019. Spacious welcoming B&B west end of centre.
- 2 Rufflets, Strathkiness Low Road KY16 9TX (B939 two miles east of town), ☏ +44 1334 472594. A chic country house hotel, dog- and child-friendly. B&B double £310.
- 3 Stewarts Resort, Cameron KY16 8PE, ☏ +44 1334 2788121. Self-catering lodges in a pet-friendly holiday park with hot tubs and access to resort facilities: gym, sauna, steam room and golf simulator. From £200 / night, 2 night minimum stay.
Splurge
[edit]
- Rusacks, Pilmour Links KY16 9JQ, ☏ +44 344 879 9136. Smart welcoming hotel by the Old Course. B&B double £600.
- Seaton House (formerly Scores Hotel), 76 The Scores KY16 9BB, ☏ +44 1334 796700. This upmarket golfing hotel next to the course re-opened in Feb 2025. B&B double £560.
- Old Course Hotel, Old Station Road KY16 9PS, ☏ +44 1334 474371. Great location overlooking the town golf courses and the North Sea. Good facilities, but sometimes understaffed. Within the complex are Jigger Inn, Hams Hame, Swilcan Loft and the Conservatory restaurants plus spa. B&B double £570.
- Hotel du Vin, 40 The Scores KY16 9AS (just east of Old Course), ☏ +44 1334 845313. Good reviews for comfort, food and service. B&B double £200.
- 4 Fairmont St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 8PN (3 miles SE of town on A917), ☏ +44 1334 837000. Part of Fairmont - Accor chain, this resort hotel complex gets rave reviews for comfort and service. B&B double £360.
- 5 Peat Inn, Collier Row, Cupar KY15 5LH, ☏ +44 1334 840206. 18th-century coaching inn, long renowned for its cuisine (see above for hours) and now achieving similar acclaim for its accommodation. 8 rooms in contemporary style, one is suitable for limited mobility, the others are split-level. No dogs. B&B double £380.
Stay safe
[edit]The cold sea is the main natural hazard, and road traffic the main man-made danger. St Andrews rates as "very low" on all categories of crime statistics. Exercise usual care on the roads and with valuables.
Connect
[edit]- As of March 2025, St Andrews and its approach roads have 4G from Vodafone, and 5G from EE, O2 and Three. Wifi is widely available in public places.
- St Andrews Library on Church Square has free internet access, but you need to book it in advance and show photo ID. It's open M-W 9:30AM-5PM, Th 10AM-7PM, Sa 10AM-4PM. This is the town library, only staff and students can access the university library.
Go next
[edit]- Dundee has the Antarctic sailing ship Discovery, the V&A, Verdant Jute Mill and many more attractions.
- See the picturesque fishing villages of the East Neuk: Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, St Monans and Elie. The coast to the west is industrial.
- From Anstruther, summer boat trips visit the Isle of May.
- Historic sites inland are Falkland Castle, Lochleven Castle on an islet by Kinross, and Dunfermline abbey.
| Routes through St Andrews |
Kinross ( ) ← junction  (Dundee) ←
|
W  E
|
→ END |