St. Andrews

Located on the north-east coast of Fife, legend states that the bones of St. Andrew were brought here by St. Rule. He built a shrine on the site where the cathedral now stands with the tower next to it being known as St. Rule's. To the north of the cathedral is the ruined castle.

There are a number of people that were murdered or burnt at the stake in St. Andrews. The most famous of these, George Wishart and Cardinal Beaton, took place in or near the castle. Paul Crawers was burnt in Market Place and the spot is marked with a cross in the cobbles.

In 1528 Patrick Hamilton was arrested and sent to be burnt in front of the university. However, the fire refused to take hold and gunpowder was used. This only caused and injury to Hamilton's hand. In the end the poor man was slowly roasted to death over 6 hours. His initials are marked in the cobbles outside St. Salvador's College.

In 1679 Archbishop James Sharp, who had previously been a minister in nearby Crail until 1660, was murdered on Magus Muir as he returned to St. Andrews. A pyramid shaped memorial was erected to mark this. Nearby is the unconnected memorial to 5 Covenanters that were executed here.

On the western side of town is the famous Old Course - the home of the Royal and Ancient (R&A) Golf Club. The name of the sport was possibly derived from the old Scots word gowff, which meant to smite, clout or hit hard.

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