St Andrews is famous as the birthplace of golf and now also the college town where Prince William met and wooed the future Princess Kate! Our bus drove by the coffee shop where they often had their dates, but it was on the opposite side of my window, so I could not snap a photo.
This was our first view of the famous St Andrews "Old Course" golf course
St Andrews is known widely as the "home of golf." According to the earliest surviving document from 1552, the "playing at golf" on the links adjacent to the "water of Eden" was granted permission by Archbishop Hamilton. The most famous golf course in the town is the public Old Course, purchased by the town council in 1894. The course which dates back to medieval times, is an Open Championship course – which was first staged in 1873.The golf course is situated next to the North Sea and our Scottish-born tour guide told us that he never saw the sea as turbulent as it was that day!
We were mesmerized by the sea water churning and spraying, and amazed to see someone was parasailing in the water!
This short video, that I filmed, shows the parasailor battling the storm at St Andrews
Sadly, the Old Course at St Andrews, is at major risk of falling into the sea due to coastal erosion over the next 20 years, according to a report on BBC/
Because it was raining hard we decided to pop into the gift shop for a while.
...where we could see a nice panorama of the golf course from its windows.
When the rain stopped my husband and I and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law walked out to the gold course--what a thrill to see it up close!
In the distance, we could see the famous Swilcan Bridge. The Swilcan Bridge is a small stone bridge in St Andrews Links golf course, Scotland. The bridge spans the Swilcan Burn between the first and eighteenth fairways on the Old Course and has become an important image in the sport of golf.
Across from the golf course was a park overlooking the sea.
We had a bit of time before we had to re-board our tour bus, so we walked down to the main street...
...where we window-shopped.
One interesting shop, once owned by a famous Scottish golfer, hand makes custom-made golf clubs.
Upon re-boarding our tour bus, we arrived in Edinburgh in the early evening. After checking into our hotel, we attended an optional dinner show called "The Spirit of Scotland," consisting of traditional Scottish food, music, and dance.
It was exciting to meet Pipe Major Andrew Coulter!
Our appetizer was the traditional Scottish Haggis.
It was surprisingly good!
The rest of our meal was also delicious!
We enjoyed the show very much! John Morgan played superb accordion, Clark Stewart sang old Scottish ballads, and Andrew Coulter played the bagpipes.
A short video that I filmed at the show of traditional Scottish dancing and bagpipe music.
More details to come in my next blog post.
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26 comments:
Hello Pat,
Wonderful tour of St Andrews! The sea images are great, it does look turbulent. The dinner show looks wonderful, with the Scottish music and dance.
Take care, have a wonderful week!
I can't wait for my opportunity to visit Scotland. My daughter's dream...
Pat - I have been to many parts of Scotland, but never St. Andrews. Thanks for the fine tour - and I am glad I could do it in the dry in front of my computer! So glad you took the option for the dinner and the show - looks like you got to experience many of the cultural specialties - I love haggis! Visiting you from Mosaic Monday this week!
It looks like you had a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing at Royal Doulton “Goody Two Shoes” Figurine
$50
It is a shame about the rain but it sounds like the day ended on a lovely note with the dinner and entertainment in Edinburgh. Karen (Back Road Journal)
If we get to Scotland in September we are planning to spend some time in St. Andrews. It was fun to see your photos and learn about Prince William and Kate. I wasn't aware that they met there. Have a great week.
The sea does look quite turbulent! What a beautiful golf course; even in the rain it looks like such a bright green beacon.
Another set of nice pics thanks for the tour it saves me going heheh! sorry about the rain
Have a haggistastic week Lydia 👍
What fun you had! Fierce sea tho! Yikes! #ThruMyLens
What a beautiful experience. The surging waves and cloudy skies are not the weather I would pick for parasailing, but hopefully they enjoyed it! The architecture of Scotland looks so breathtaking. I hope to visit one day!
So very cool, that a place that I would love to visit. WOW, very nice.
Wow...that para-glider must have the gene that makes you take risks....
Birthplace of Golf? Best part of Internet is that you learn something new everyday.
I get hungry now ;)
Another round of MosaicMonday in beautiful May... and I am very happy about your contribution. More pictures this week that show your surroundings, nature, something of your everyday life. Pictures that also tell a bit of history, it`s very interesting.
Thank you so much for your wonderful participation.
Have a good time, best wishes from Heidrun
Love the old buildings and the wild ocean and coastal scenes. The meal and traditional entertainment was fascinating to me ; I have always wondered what haggis tasted like and I was surprised (from what I've read before) that it tasted good! (And I trust you completely when it comes to food, so I would sure try it if I were ever lucky enough to be in that beautiful country. I've enjoyed your tour vicariously.
What an incredible trip! My husband wants to go their someday. Thanks for sharing.
A wonderful tour. The sea really does look turbulent!
St Andrews is a beautiful place. I enjoyed the photos and information. Lovely place to visit.
What a fantastic trip.
Worth a Thousand Words
Great.
looks like a nice place
I'm sorry about the rain -- that's really too bad, but it looks like you made the best of it. St. Andrews does look charming. Boy, that's an intense surf! I'm looking forward to your Edinburgh posts!
Such a shame about the rain.
The sea does look quite turbulent.
Fabulous golf course, a very famous one.
All the best Jan
I love this! I can't wait to visit Scotland. Your photo diary of your visit is wonderful. Thank you for linking up.
I don't play golf any longer but I would sure like to see that iconic course.
I'm still loving your photo essays on your travels.
Thanks for sharing your trip to Scotland, you must have had a great time, gorgeous pics to remember.
Thanks so much for participating and sharing at #26 #WW (Words welcome). See you tomorrow https://esmesalon.com/tag/wordlesswednesday/
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