Rick Steves'
Best of Scotland
Tour Day 3: Culross and St. Andrews
Culross
We hit the road in the morning for our trip into the Scottish countryside, leaving behind a somber Edinburgh (the votes had been counted and the "no's" won the Referendum). One of the best parts of the tour, for us, was being able to watch the countryside go by while we rode the bus and someone else did the driving. We were a bit worried about all the travel time, but it ended up being fun. Our first stop on the way to Aberfeldy was Culross, an adorable but tiny mining village where we got to learn about the mining trade in Scotland and tour a 17th century home along with its beautiful English-style gardens.
I think I may have overused the word "adorable" in this town...just a bit...
We had to risk our health and wellbeing to get this photo, as tourists would stand on the side of the course waiting for a pause in game play and then rush on to the grass to take a snapshot. The golfers did not wait for us. I don't know if this was technically allowed, but people seemed to look the other way.
I couldn't resist a photo of another set of beautiful doors - aren't they wonderful?!
We had to risk our health and wellbeing to get this photo, as tourists would stand on the side of the course waiting for a pause in game play and then rush on to the grass to take a snapshot. The golfers did not wait for us. I don't know if this was technically allowed, but people seemed to look the other way.
St. Andrews
After leaving Culross, we headed to St. Andrews for a lunch stop and some time to tour the castle and abbey ruins there, visit the famous St. Andrews Links golf course, check out the University where Prince William and Kate met, or walk down the beach where the famous scene in Chariots of Fire was filmed. We got ambitious and decided to do all of the above in a whirlwind tour of the city.
History in the making
The day before we arrived in St. Andrews, the "Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews" voted to allow women to join for the first time in history. The day we arrived in town was the very first day that women were allowed to join that privileged society in its 260 year history! What a cool time to be there!
After we arrived at our hotel and had dinner, our guide surprised us with a special treat. She had her friend Gillie come to play the bagpipes for us and teach us all about the history of the bagpipes. She had a very interesting story, as she was one of the first female pipers to play professionally. She even once attended a performance for the Queen where she failed to mention that she was a female, because the Queen's people would not have approved. After her performance, she gave us the chance to try the bagpipes. Despite terrible stage fright, Tamara was the first to volunteer. When else are you going to get the chance to play the pipes? It is harder than it looks. The people in the background of that photo may be laughing, or may be crying, it is difficult to say... We have attached the outtake film of David's sad, sad attempt in the upper right corner. And to help you forget, right below that we also have a short clip of Gillie playing Amazing Grace, which is always spectacular on the pipes!
