by Sam Wend
Today we kicked into high gear again with an all-day tourist trip to St. Andrews. Half of the girls -- there are ten of us living together -- still recovering from jet lag, the whole gang boarded a train at Waverly Station and rolled through the beautiful Scottish countryside, crossing the Firth of Forth to Fife arriving by mid-morning in the small but beautiful medieval town.
St. Andrews has a somewhat eclectic claim to fame. First, it's the birthplace of golf. We didn't spend a whole lot of time on that area of the town, as none of the group are golfers, but we did pause for a moment to look out at the 18th hole.
Today we kicked into high gear again with an all-day tourist trip to St. Andrews. Half of the girls -- there are ten of us living together -- still recovering from jet lag, the whole gang boarded a train at Waverly Station and rolled through the beautiful Scottish countryside, crossing the Firth of Forth to Fife arriving by mid-morning in the small but beautiful medieval town.
St. Andrews has a somewhat eclectic claim to fame. First, it's the birthplace of golf. We didn't spend a whole lot of time on that area of the town, as none of the group are golfers, but we did pause for a moment to look out at the 18th hole.
In addition to the golf course, one of the other popular draws of the town is the University of St. Andrews, which is celebrating its 600th anniversary this year. Both Xela and her husband Bill went here -- as did Prince William and Kate. Bill was our guide for the day, and as we walked he pointed out buildings such as the dorm where he lived and the new arts building that had "coincidentally" been built right around the time Prince William arrived at the university to study Art History.
Before long, we arrived at the St. Andrew Castle. Before exploring the ruins, we visited the corresponding museum. We walked through winding hallways lined with beautiful paintings and writings on the history of the town and the castle, but I hardly had a chance or a need to look at any of them, as Bill's value as a guide became apparent. Well learned in medieval history, he was an invaluable treasure trove of information about St. Andrews Castle and beyond.
As Bill explained and as can likely be guessed from the town's name, St. Andrews is significant in large part because of its role as a religious epicenter. Without its towering cathedral and important location as a place of religious worship and pilgrimage, it would just be another lovely but sleepy seaside town. In the medieval times, and still today in many countries, the separation of church and state is an unheard of concept; the two were irreversibly intertwined. Therefore, bishops of the church played roles in local government and were quite powerful, and they lived in castles to protect them from their enemies.
Unfortunately, little remains of the castle today. The outer circle can clearly be seen in the form of rocky walls and foundations, but the majority if it is long since gone. Still, it makes for fascinating exploration, particularly when one takes a moment to envision what it was like in its heyday.
Before long, we arrived at the St. Andrew Castle. Before exploring the ruins, we visited the corresponding museum. We walked through winding hallways lined with beautiful paintings and writings on the history of the town and the castle, but I hardly had a chance or a need to look at any of them, as Bill's value as a guide became apparent. Well learned in medieval history, he was an invaluable treasure trove of information about St. Andrews Castle and beyond.
As Bill explained and as can likely be guessed from the town's name, St. Andrews is significant in large part because of its role as a religious epicenter. Without its towering cathedral and important location as a place of religious worship and pilgrimage, it would just be another lovely but sleepy seaside town. In the medieval times, and still today in many countries, the separation of church and state is an unheard of concept; the two were irreversibly intertwined. Therefore, bishops of the church played roles in local government and were quite powerful, and they lived in castles to protect them from their enemies.
Unfortunately, little remains of the castle today. The outer circle can clearly be seen in the form of rocky walls and foundations, but the majority if it is long since gone. Still, it makes for fascinating exploration, particularly when one takes a moment to envision what it was like in its heyday.
One particularly interesting part of the castle ruins that we got to explore was the mine and counter-mine. In the olden days, without good gunpowder or cannonballs, it was very difficult to cause significant damage to castle walls and get at anyone hiding within. So, when armies attacked a castle, one way to attempt to bring it down was by digging a tunnel underneath the walls and lighting a fire, which would then cause heat to rise and collide with likely cold weather conditions, making the stone walls buckle and crack. In retaliation, the castle-dwellers would dig a counter-mine, which they would intersect with the attacker's mine and fight the opposing forces, in theory killing them before their mine workers could light a fire and do any damage. St. Andrews is one of the only places where a mine and counter-mine both still exist, since after they was used, whichever party won would typically fill in the mines to protect themselves. However, at the time the ones we explored were made, the castle was very close to being torn down, so no one ever bothered to fill them in.
After the Castle, the logical next stop in such a religious town was the Cathedral of St. Andrews. This gorgeous epicenter of religious life was built over the course of eleven bishops' eras -- over one hundred years -- and when nearly finished, the west end caved in and had to be rebuilt. That said, in its time it was enormous (with altars numbering in the teens, so no one could miss hearing mass any time they came by), and I wish I could have seen it in its full glory. Unfortunately, it was torn down in the 16th century during the Scottish Reformation, when Catholic masses were outlawed. The Calvinists destroyed countless Catholic saints’ statues and relics because they didn't understand the concept of praying to saints for intercession and saw the opulence of the cathedral as unnecessarily materialistic. Today, the beautiful ruins sit for all to explore and remember, and the large grassy terrain serves as a cemetery.
Before the enormous Cathedral was built, the area's church was St. Rule's (St. Regulus) Cathedral, which quickly became too small for the demands of the town, hence the building of the Cathedral of St. Andrews. Today, all that stands of St. Rule's Cathedral is a beautiful old tower, which would've once served as a watchtower. You can still climb a mountain of winding, curving stairs to reach the roof of the building for incredible views of the town -- which, of course, we did.
After basking in the glory of the magnificent view and enjoying the rare but splendid Scottish sunshine, we descended the spiral staircase and headed out to what Bill continually insisted was the best bakery in the world, Fisher and Donaldson. Best in the world is a bit of a stretch to me, but I did enjoy an absolutely scrumptious treat called a "Coffee Cream Tower."
Finally, we made one last official stop, to the primary buildings of the University of St. Andrews, where Bill told us a little more about the school itself and about its founding. For many years, Scotland and England were not exactly pals. Scotland didn't have a university of its own, so the closest options were Oxford and Cambridge, where Scots were permitted to go but not really welcome. Scotland and France were allies at the time, but going to university in Paris would have been extraordinarily expensive. Therefore, the Scots were striving for a long time to get a university of their own, but didn't have the power or the money to get the papacy to support them in doing so, which was necessary at the time since a university had to be approved/chartered by the Church. They finally succeeded when there was a schism in the Church in the late 1300s and early 1400s and there were three popes because all had been recognized at one point and none had stepped down. Scotland approached one, who did not at the time have the support of any full country's government behind him, and told him they would officially support him -- if he would give them a university. And so, the University of St. Andrews was formed.
After our visit to the university, we were set free to wander the town for a couple hours. Then, we reconvened for dinner at Rules Pub Diner, where I had a delicious beef chili burrito. Storms clouds threatened as we wrapped up our meal, so we headed back to the train station and returned to Edinburgh, exhausted but pleased with our wonderful day.
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