Monday, May 6, 2024

St Andrews. Scotland


St Andrews, Scotland, is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Dundee and 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Edinburgh.  When our tour bus approached St Andrews it began to rain, as you can see by my photos through the raindrop-splattered tour bus window.

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.


We spent the final two days of our tour in Edinburgh!
 More details to come in my next blog post.



Monday, April 29, 2024

Pitlochry, Scotland



The next morning our Cosmos bus tour of the "Highlights of Ireland and Scotland," drove north from Culloden toward PitlochryWe drove past colorful pastoral scenery which was aglow in autumnal splendor.  I could not resist taking many photos through the bus window!


 Ruins of the Ruthven Barracks

We passed Ruthven Barracks in the Badenoch area, They are the best preserved of the four barracks built in 1719 after the 1715 Jacobite rising. Set on an old castle mound, the complex comprises two large three-story blocks occupying two sides of the enclosure, each with two rooms per floor. The barracks and enclosing walls were built with loopholes for musket firing, and bastion towers were built at opposite corners. Destroyed by Jacobites following their retreat after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.



When our bus stopped at Pitlochry we had a few hours to explore the town. Pitlochry is largely a Victorian-era town, which developed into a tourist resort after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited the area in 1842 and bought a highland estate at Balmoral, and the arrival of the railway in 1863. It remains a popular tourist resort today and is particularly known for its Pitlochry Festival Theatre, salmon ladder (click here to read about that unusual attraction), and as a center for hiking as it is surrounded by mountains and world-class golf. 

My husband and I were charmed by the town! As we walked by a canal a fellow tourist on our tour bus, who was visiting from New Zealand, offered to take our photos.



Colorful sights in town...

...and much window shopping!



Please click on the photo to enlarge it

This Scottish Kilt made from hangers in one store window was very clever!


I was excited to visit the John Muir Trust Visitor's Center in Pitlochry as he is someone I've admired for many years!

 John Muir (April 21, 1838 – December 24, 1914) was born in Scotland and emigrated to the United States in 1849 with his parents and siblings. In his life, he became a naturalist, author, environmentalist, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States, and is known as the "Father of the National Parks" system and the founder of the Sierra Club.



Please click on the photo  to enlarge

There were many informational placards in the center


Environmental conservation is a worldwide need and Scotland is promoting its awareness. 



I agree!


We passed more beautiful scenery when we departed Pitlochry, on our way toward St Andrews.



We passed farmlands and sadly saw the remains of flooding that had occurred with Storm Babet which roared through part of Europe in the middle of October, with destructive rain and flooding. All of Europe has been feeling the effects of climate change.


We rode along with Rail Europe at one point as we made our way east to St. Andrews--on my next post!

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