Hello again! Yes, I am really posting again so soon! The second weekend that Ben was here we went with a group of my friends (Liz, Brooke, Becky and another Ben) to St. Andrews. Only an hour away by train, St. Andrews was the perfect day trip get away.
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| Good morning, Arthur! |
We woke up bright and early to walk to Waverly Train Station to be on the 9am train. St. Andrews is an hour north of Edinburgh and the train ride was full of beautiful views as we rode along the coastline.
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| Riding across the Firth or Forth Rail Bridge out of Edinburgh (a famous bridge that I studied in a class freshman year!) |
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| Lovely views out the window |
Our first order of business upon arriving to the town of St. Andrews was to see the ruins of the castle and cathedral from the early 12th century. The cathedral sits amongst a graveyard and cloisters right on the edge of the ocean. By standing in the center of what remains of the cathedral, I can only imagine what a grand structure it was at one time. Here we are!
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| Left to right: Hannah, Ben, Liz, Ben, Becky, Brooke. |
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| St. Andrews Cathedral Ruins. |
A short walk down the road brought us to the town's castle ruins. The castle is literally perched on the edge of a small cliff over the ocean. It was very, very cold. After a brief look through the castle's gift shop, if only to warm up, we went to explore the ruins. More intact than the cathedral, we were able to see a dungeon, a few floors, and tunnels...let me explain. Back in the day when enemies tried to siege St. Andrews castle, they would dig underground tunnels in order to get past the walls. The people on the inside would dig straight down as a defense mechanism, in order to drop in on (no pun intended) their enemy. One of the tunnels is open and we went in it despite my claustrophobia!
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| Main area inside the castle, ocean behind me. |
The sun came out while we were at the castle which made for a very beautiful and that much more enjoyable day!
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| Descending! |
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| Me in the tunnel. My friend Ben is 6'6" so it was even worse for him! |
After our castle visit we began our walk to the other side of town where the world renowned St. Andrews Old Course is, alongside West Sands. Along the way we stopped for a lovely lunch at a very nice restaurant that had a great two course lunch deal! Love those. For those of you who don't know: St. Andrews is where golf was invented, The Old Course being the oldest golf course in the world; West Sands Beach is famous for the scene from the movie "Chariots of Fire" where the men dressed in white run down the beach in slowmotion to majestic music. As we walked we saw the quaint town that is St. Andrews. While I don't think I could last a semester there, but after having been in a busy city it was a pleasant change of pace. We saw a bit of the campus...very pretty!
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| We all made it across the course unscathed by golfballs. |
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| West Sands. Yes, there were people in the water, surfing. It was in the thirties....crazy! |
We walked on the beach in awe of the brave/crazy surfers. I had the urge to reenact the scene from Chariots of Fire, a great movie! However, my friends either did not get the reference or thought I was being really weird because they were not able to complete the reenactment with me:
After my failed attempt at recreating a beautiful work of cinematography we walked along the old course to the driving range. As some one who has merely dabbled in minigolf, I was very excited to try to swing a golf club properly! It was very fun learning and seeing who of my friends had actually played before. The Ben's and Brooke were great...hit the balls long and high. While Liz, Becky, and I were lucky to make contact with the ball, let alone get it into the air. It made for a great time filled with laughs!
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| Ben Clarkson or is it Ben Woods? |
After we finished up at the driving range we walked back along the course to find some hot tea in town. As we walked we saw this beautiful bride (the groom was there too) getting their photos taken! It was such a lovely sight. But I would not be caught dead out in that cold, with that wind, in that dress.
After a long day of walking and shivering we got back on the train to Edinburgh! Upon our return Ben and I were off to my favorite noodle bar for a hot dinner to warm up!
Tomorrow my parents arrive in Edinburgh, I could not be more excited! We have plans to visit the Falkirk wheel and for me to give them a tour of the city. The following weekend I will be going to a Scotland vs. New Zealand rugby game! Check back in a week or so for an update!
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