October 6 2016

Today we leave Edinburgh but not before taking a farewell postcard shot down the Advocate's Close.

Before leaving town we pay a visit to the famous castle. Loaded the luggage on the coach and then Valter dropped us at the base of the castle. Mountain goat time again. Up the stairs behind a group of school kids in red uniforms, we are early so why not shop? The gift shop was deceiving and phenomenal in its size, with an amazing array of goodies. The castle didn't open soon enough! Save your money guys! Too late.




In the castle we found a free tour given by one of the castle guides who was excellent. The castle itself is immense and would take a day just to see the highlights. But we only had a couple of hours so the guided tour really helped.







At 11:30 we were back on the bus (excuse me! the coach, Valter reminded me), headed towards Saint Andrews, the village where golf was born. We arrived around 1 and after a quick lunch met our tour guide, Mike Terpie, who appeared not only in his kilt but sporting a bagpipe. He took us on a walking tour. Thankfully, Saint Andrews is much flatter than Edinburgh. We started with a tour of a portion of the campus of The University of Saint Andrews, including its beautiful chapel.


We then walked along the shore to the ruins of the Castle of Saint Andrews, where we learned that the once Bishop's Palace and fortress was the site of a terrible struggle between Protestant and Catholic forces. Quite an intriguing place, with it's tunnels and counter tunnels dug beneath the structure in an effort to get inside during it's many sieges.

As we continued along the water, Mike stopped to "serenade" us with a few bagpipe tunes. I have to admit I could not tell an beginner from an expert on the "pipes". But we applauded and passersby stopped to listen and take pictures.
Then we came to the ruins of the great cathedral. Once the largest of its kind in the world, now just a hollow shell.

We could not visit the famous "Old Course" at St. Andrews because the Alfred Dunhill Links Tournament was in progress, so Mike directed us to some shops where golf gear could be purchased.

After departing St. Andrews, we arrived at Fonab Castle in Pitlochry, by far one of the nicest places we stayed on the trip. Here we had a really elegant dinner.