St Andrew’s day trip

I did this with Rabbie’s last year and really enjoyed the day. But you don’t get near enough time at St Andrew’s to do everything on your list. We had about 3 hours there - we checked out the golf course views, shopped the gift shop, strolled up and down the main shopping street and grabbed a snack, and then went to the University bookstore for a sweatshirt. There wasn’t time for more than that.

That was my suspicion/fear. Good to know, and I think makes my decision to do it on our own. Looking for everyone’s best tips!

It's simple to do on you own.

If coming from Edinburgh, take the train to Leuchars. From just outside the station, get the #99 bus to St. Andrews. (Make sure it's the one headed to St. Andrews and not the one headed back to Dundee.)

The closest stop to the Himalayan Putting Green is "Grannie Clark's Wynd." It only a few minutes walk from there. Make sure you make reservations way ahead of time for a tee time. (If you go to the bus station, it will add about five minutes to the walk.)

St. Andrews is not that big and you can easily see most things in a few hours. Most of the golf related places are near the Old Course. From there walk east and follow the road south for most sights. The University is all over the town.

Sunday will be busy so trying to find a place for a Sunday Roast will be tough. It might be best to make a reservation. (I've never had a Sunday Roast there so I can't recommend a place.)

I believe St Andrew's Golf Course is closed for play on Sundays, and there are many local guides offering colorful walking tours of the course. We did this precovid, so I don't have current info. I'm a golfer, and I can't imagine playing that course with all the coastal conditions. It was fun walking the course and hearing the stories. The golf museum was also well done. Have a great trip!

I totally agree about the lack of flexibility on a bus/van tour. However, for future reference I want to note that the bus ride through the Fife villages should be very nice. I took a public bus through that area a few years ago as I was traveling from Dundee to Edinburgh. It was worth it even though I had to roll my (not small) suitcase behind me every time I hopped off a bus to walk around.

I took the Rabbie's day tour last year and loved it! I really liked the stop at Anstruther and would have missed that if I just took the train to St. Andrews. I also had plenty of time in St. Andrews for what I wanted to see. But if you want to play golf and have a long lunch, you will not have enough time for all of that on the tour.

We overnighted in St. Andrews on a Sunday in September 2023.

Here are some of the places we visited. If you plot them out in Google Maps you'll see it's just over a 2 mile walk starting and ending at the bus station.

• Swilcan Bridge at the 18th hole of the Old Course
• Himalayan Putting Course (we only played 9 holes because the rain became a bit much)
• Walk along West Sand Road to see the Chariots of Fire beach
• Walk The Scores (a road) to see St. Andrews University buildings
• St. Andrews Castle Ruin
• The Pends Gate House
• St. Andrews Cathedral
• St. Salvator's Chapel for Choral Evensong (my favorite Evensong ever)

It seemed most of the shops, restaurants and pubs were along North St,, Market St. and South St. We didn't arrive early enough for a Sunday roast, but we did enjoy a nice dinner at Forgan's .

Have you come across this walk which takes you round the highlights of St Andrews? Map here.

Yes, the Stagecoach bus route from Edinburgh to St Andrew's through the Fife villages is a very nice route. You can cut a bit off the corner off that, and take the train from Edinburgh to Leven, picking up the bus there.
Leven Bus Station is currently closed for repairs, with services stopping on the street outside, that work may be complete by September.
There is also the fast 787 bus route from Edinburgh Airport (tram or bus from the city) to St Andrews- but it is fast by keeping to the main road in Fife, so cuts out the coast.

Leuchars is the traditional route, because Leven station was closed for decades, but now it has re-opened is a great way in.

Anstruther also has regular buses down from St Andrews if that is the only bit of Fife you want to see.

As a previous poster noted, be sure to make an advance tee time for the Himalayas Putting course. We did a similar day trip from Edinburgh and unfortunately when we checked in on the Himalayas website 2 days prior to make reservations, all tee times were booked. However, everything is very close and we enjoyed walking the Old Course and another course adjacent to it as well as sunning ourselves on the beach nearby. For us, a walk on the campus of the University of St. Andrews was great. The town itself is quaint and very walkable with many interesting shops.

You all are amazing, as usual. Thank you for the very practical advice and tips! We are looking forward to our first trip to Scotland!