ST. ANDREWS CASTLE
Our first view of St. Andrews Castle was across the water from the northern side of the town. It was an impressive sight as it perched on cliffs that were jutting out into the bay.

There was a castle here in the twelfth century but little evidence of this can be found in the existing ruins. A new castle was completed on this site in 1400 with many elements of defenses. There were the two existing cliffs protecting it from the sea, deep ditches cut on its landward side and thick curtain walls.

This castle was the former bishops palace, the residence of the most powerful church leaders in the Scotland. In medieval times the leaders of the church were as much political as they were religious. Because of this power center, the castle witnessed much history and was besieged many times. It’s ownership passed back and forth between England and Scotland often until the fourteenth century when the Scots destroyed the castle so it was no longer of use to the English. The castle was reconstructed in the late fourteenth century but was eventually neglected and finally abandoned by the church in the late seventeenth century. Today much of the castle is very ruined.

We enjoyed the charm of the town of St. Andrews, the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral and priory, and the castle site. From the ruins of the castle are lovely views of the sea. It is certainly a place where we wanted to linger for a while.