Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in St Andrews (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Cambo Estate, St Andrews Cathedral, and St Andrews Castle. Also, be sure to include Church of St Mary on the Rock in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in St Andrews (Scotland).
Table of Contents
Cambo Estate
Housing. Cambo Estate lies close to the village of Kingsbarns in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is within the East Neuk, 10 kilometres south-east of St Andrews. At the heart of the estate lies the 19th-century Cambo House, the home of Sir Peter Erskine, Bt and Lady Catherine Erskine. The gardens of Cambo are open to the public, and include the walled garden and seasonal snowdrop gardens. Elsewhere on the estate is the Kingsbarns Golf Links golf course, which co-hosts the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship every year.[1]
Address: Cambo Estate, KY16 8QD St Andrews
St Andrews Cathedral
12th-century cathedral ruins. The Cathedral of St Andrew is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-century Scottish Reformation. It is currently a monument in the custody of Historic Environment Scotland. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately 119 m long, and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland.[2]
Address: The Pends, KY16 9QL St Andrews
St Andrews Castle
Ruined 13th-century castle with dungeon. St Andrews Castle is a ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger, son of the Earl of Leicester. It housed the burgh’s wealthy and powerful bishops while St Andrews served as the ecclesiastical centre of Scotland during the years before the Protestant Reformation. In their Latin charters, the Archbishops of St Andrews wrote of the castle as their palace, signing, "apud Palatium nostrum."
The castle's grounds are now maintained by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument. The site is entered through a visitor centre with displays on its history. Some of the best surviving carved fragments from the castle are displayed in the centre, which also has a shop.[3]
Address: The Scores, KY16 9AR St Andrews
Church of St Mary on the Rock
College in the United Kingdom. The Church of St Mary on the Rock or St Mary's Collegiate Church, was a secular college of priests based on the seaward side of St Andrews Cathedral, St Andrews, just beyond the precinct walls. It is known by a variety of other names, such as St Mary of the Culdees, Kirkheugh and Church of St Mary of Kilrymont.
Although not founded as a collegiate church until the 1240s, Scotland's first, it represented a corporate continuation of the association of clergy known as the Culdees or Céli Dé, "vassals of God". The church lasted for several centuries, but did not long outlast the Scottish Reformation, and today little of the original structure has survived.[4]
Botanic Garden
Botanical garden in St Andrews, Scotland. The St Andrews Botanic Garden is an 18-acre botanical garden in the university town of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. It is located on the banks of the wooded Kinness Burn in the Canongate area, on the southern edge of the town. The gardens are supported by the University of St Andrews and Fife Council, and by admission charges. The garden is included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.[5]
Swilcan Bridge
Arch bridge. The Swilcan Bridge, or Swilken Bridge, or Swilcanth as it was known, 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. The bridge had previously been known as the Golfers’ Bridge, and had been known as this for hundreds of years previously.
The bridge itself is extremely small; at its farthest extent it measures about 30 feet long, eight feet wide and six feet tall, in the style of a simple Roman arch. Originally built at least 700 years ago to help shepherds get livestock across, it has the modern photographic advantage of great backdrops on three sides: the course’s grand Royal and Ancient Clubhouse and Hamilton Grand on one, often a packed grandstand of enthusiasts on another, and rolling hills facing toward the North Sea, on the last.
It is customary for champions of golf to publicly show some sort of homage or respect to the structure. A recent display was by Tom Watson in early July 2010 at The Open Championship, when he was photographed kissing the bridge. Also, at the 2005 Open Championship, Jack Nicklaus gave his final farewell to professional golf while standing on the bridge.
On the second floor of the World Golf Hall of Fame museum in St. Augustine, Florida, there is a life-size stone replica of the Swilcan Bridge, accompanied with a floor-to-ceiling photograph of the Royal & Ancient clubhouse and Hamilton Hall in the background.[6]
Address: The Old Course, KY16 9JB St Andrews
New Picture House
Movie theater in St Andrews, Scotland. The New Picture House is an independent cinema located in St Andrews, Scotland. It was first opened in 1930 and it contains three cinema screens. The largest cinema has a row of special seats with electronic black recliners, and also has a ground level and balcony seating area. There is a lounge area available for rental, with the option to view a licensed DVD digitally projected at a canvas screen.
The cinema screens are equipped with traditional film projectors and a digital projector, the Christie CP-2000 Digital Projector. As of June 2010, the cinema is equipped with digital 3D projectors in all of its screens.[7]
Address: Cinema Cinema 117 North Street, KY16 9AD St Andrews
St Andrews Town Hall
City or town hall in St Andrews, Scotland. St Andrews Town Hall is a municipal structure in South Street, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The structure, which is the meeting place of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council, is a Category B listed building.[8]
St Andrews Museum
Museum in St Andrews, Scotland. The St Andrews Museum is a museum focusing on the history of the town of St Andrews in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.[9]
Address: House Kinburn Park Kinburn, KY16 9DP St Andrews
The R&A World Golf Museum
Museum in St Andrews, Scotland. The R&A World Golf Museum is located opposite the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews, Scotland. The R&A owns and operates the museum.
The museum, which opened in 1990, documents the history of golf from Medieval times to the present, including the men's and women's games, British and international, both professional and amateur. Exhibits include historic equipment, memorabilia and art work, documentation, the history of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and the rules and terminology of the game.
The museum was established in 1989 in an existing, single-storey building behind the Clubhouse. Later, the building was renovated and expanded, for a total area of 580 square metres (6,200 sq ft), including a rooftop cafe. Construction started in summer 2014 and was completed in June 2015.
The museum open on 21 Jun 2021 as The R&A World Golf Museum, previously the British Golf Museum.[10]
Address: Bruce Embankment, KY16 9AB St Andrews
St James' Catholic Church
Catholic church in St Andrews, Scotland. St James is a small Roman Catholic church at 17 The Scores in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The church was designed by Reginald Fairlie and built in 1910, replacing a former 'tin' church, and is a Category B listed building.
In 2019 the Parish Priest is Rev. Michael John Galbraith who is also RC Chaplain to the University of St Andrew's.[11]
Address: 17 The Scores, KY16 9AR St Andrews
All Saints' Church
Episcopal church in St Andrews, Scotland. All Saints' Church, St Andrews, is in North Castle Street, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It is an active Scottish Episcopal Church and is a Category A listed building.
The first church building on the site was a temporary iron church made by Spiers of Glasgow in May 1903, which provided seating for 150 people. The foundation stone for a more permanent building was laid on 11 March 1907. In that year a chancel and belltower designed by the Chester architect John Douglas were built. The iron structure was moved to form the nave of the church. In June 1920 the foundation stone of a new nave was laid. This was designed by Paul Waterhouse and consecrated on 1 November 1923.[12]
Address: N Castle St, KY16 9BG St Andrews
Craigtoun Country Park
Country park in Scotland. Craigtoun Country Park is a country park located approximately 4 miles to the south-west of St Andrews in the county of Fife, Scotland. The site is currently owned by Fife Council, with park amenities being operated as of 2012 by the charitable organisation Friends of Craigtoun Park.
The park was originally part of the Mount Melville Estate, 47 acres (19 ha) of which was purchased by Fife County Council for £25,000 in 1947.[13]
Younger Hall
Music venue in St Andrews, Scotland. Younger Hall is the main music venue in St Andrews, Scotland. Its concert hall seats 1000 people, and hosts performances by the University of St Andrews Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, as well as chamber music concerts and masterclasses by various artists, weekly Wednesday lunchtime concerts, and jazz nights.[14]
St Salvator's Chapel
Chapel in St Andrews, Scotland. St Salvator's Chapel is one of two collegiate chapels belonging to the University of St Andrews, the other being St Leonard's Chapel. It was founded in 1450, by Bishop James Kennedy, built in the Late Gothic architectural style, and refurbished in the 1680s, 1860s and throughout the 20th century. It is currently the chapel of the United college as well as being the major university chapel.
Students and members of the public regularly attend its numerous services, including morning prayers, weekly Evensong and, most popularly, Sunday services. The Sunday services are followed by the famous pier walk, in which students walk to the pier and back in academic procession. Other services are held occasionally to mark graduations and other such occasions, and the chapel also hosts wedding ceremonies for many of the university's alumni. The Chapel has its own choir, The St Salvator's Chapel Choir, which sings at most services.
The name St Salvator is a reference to Jesus Christ and the former college for which the chapel was built founded by Bishop Kennedy.
St Salvator's is the only University Chapel in Scotland to boast a full ring of six bells suitable for change ringing. Four new bells were added to Catherine and Elizabeth (the existing bells) as part of the University's 600th anniversary celebrations in 2010, also marking the 550th anniversary of the Chapel.[15]
Address: 71 North Street, St Andrews