St Andrews - things to do

[HikingforScenery]

Posted on chat but, tumbleweed so posting here for traffic.

We’re in St Andrews for a week and will de doing the following:

• golf museum and a walk on the old course, a session on a golf course ( for DH)
• St Andrews Castle
• a day in Edinburgh
• a hike recommended on AllTrails ( not sure which one

Any other pointers please? We’ve tweens. Thank you!

Go over to Dundee gaze in awe and wonder at the river views and have a visit to the V&A. It's small but beautiful and surely has the best view of any museum in the country. An incredible building. V & A www.vam.ac.uk/dundee

Make sure you visit the Cheesy Toast shack on East sands in St. Andrews. Toasties www.facebook.com/thecheesytoastshack/

Also, I've never been but many people rave about the Secret Bunker which is just outside St. Andrews. Secret Bunker secretbunker.co.uk

Eat at the Steak Barn. Steak Barn www.balgove.com/pages/steak-barn

St Andrews Ghost Tours

Falkland Palace - love this place and the village is pretty!

Go to Crail and have fish and chips.

Have a walk through Tentsmuir Forest

Kinshaldy Stables if you fancy a hack through the forest and/or beach

Go to Broughty Ferry for a wander and lunch; about a 20 minute drive away and has tons of nice shops and places to eat, as well as a castle, big play park and nice beach.

There’s also a botanic gardens, and Crail and Anstruther down the coast are lovely.

Don’t miss Balgove Steak Barn!

You also have Dundee and all it offers, V&A, Discovery, Ice Arena etc just 11 miles away

Aquarium

www.cambogardens.org.uk/ Cambo Gardens just a few miles out of St Andrews, near the Kingsbarns golf course, is beautiful. Lovely gardens, walks, and great vegetarian/vegan food.

Tentsmuir is lovely too. I prefer to park the Tayport side and walk along that way.

Falkland Palace, Kellie Castle, and a bit further afield, Culross are all worth visiting.

St Andrews Cathedral and climb St Rule's Tower.

St Andrews Aquarium - they've got a new baby seal there.

St Andrews Museum (in Kinburn Park) and the University museum on the Scores. Preservation Trust museum on North Street.

Jannettas for ice cream of course!

If you do go over to Dundee for the V&A, the McManus is (in my opinion) far more interesting! There's also an open top bus tour of Dundee and other places like the DIscovery ship, Verdant Works, Transport museum, waterfront area (and urban beach). If you like cycling you can hire bikes and ride along the riverfront - you can get along to Broughty Ferry which is lovely too.

Crail/Anstruther/Pittenweem are little coastal fishing villages - some nice places to eat and gorgeous views.

Salt & Pine pancake shack behind the beach at Tentsmuir forest (could combine that with a trip to Dundee)

No visit to the east neuk is complete without a pootle around Crail and a visit to Crail pottery.

other little villages along the coast worth a visit …e.g pittenweem . Nothing much to do, just a pretty place & coastal walks.

If you pop to Dundee, drive up to the Law. Amazing viewing point.
I absolutely love Dundee & St Andrews.

run on the beach 😭

Chariots of Fire

1. Play the Himalayas!
2. Re-enact the opening scene from Chariots of Fire on the West Sands
3. Dundee's Discovery Point

Isle if May is beautiful if you like wildlife. Not sure if the puffins will still be on land. Seals should hopefully be around.

www.nature.scot/enjoying-outdoors/scotlands-national-nature-reserves/isle-may-national-nature-reserve

Discovery ship and the Verdant Works are less architecturally interesting but more satisfying as museums than the V&A. I like the golf museum in St Andrews but I do play golf. You can go Sand yachting on the West Beach, haven’t done it but it looks fun. Go putting on the Himalayas course; fun for golfers and non golfers alike. The fishing museum in Anstruther is good (I am fond of museums, obviously). The boat trips from Anstruther are good as well.
For golf , any of the St Andrews courses will be worth it. Possibly easier to get a tee time at Elie, which is a lovely links course. Kings barns golf course is beautiful but very expensive. Anstruther is 9 holes but spectacular and challenging in places.

The aquarium is good because your ticket is a day pass, so you can go in and out, have lunch somewhere and come back, etc. Handy if the weather is a bit sketchy!

You can also feed the meerkats and penguins. My kids have done it and loved it, you can book that on the website

www.standrewsaquarium.co.uk

The secret bunker is brilliant. We were there in April and my teens enjoyed it. We drove onto Anstruther afterwards, and had the most amazing cream tea.

do not go into the V and A Dundee, it is a travesty. Very poorly curated and very little in there, it’s great to look at but an appalling exhibition space. Considering the riches in London non of it has made its way north. The only internal space which is any good is the restaurant and shop.

That's your opinion @Iadorerain 🤨

The nuclear bunker is fantastic and a real eye opener. It’s absolutely huge and not what you’d expect

The Himalayas, its a very hilly mini golf course for fun, on the west sands.

I live very near, and I've never heard of the Himalayas! Must check it out.

love the Himalayas! Watch out for opening times and booking etc. Don’t know if it’s changed since last year but last year you had to have your own putter due to COVID. We had a wasted booking as I hadn’t read all the small print.

www.standrewsputtingclub.com

Thank you so much everyone for the ideas! I really appreciate you taking the time.

Lots to choose from.

Going through now to plan them in. 😊