By the time we reached the Lowlands, we'd begun to take sunny weather for granted. The final day of our 1,500 mile road trip took us to St. Andrews on the Fife coast. This address had us giggling like schoolboys but it was useful when finding our way back to the car park.
St. Andrews is the "home of golf," not that we were much interested. The guidebooks didn't have much else to say other than noting its antique picturesqueness. Who knew I could have taken this quilted heart as a souvenir?
Houses and shops along the cobblestone streets certainly contributed to the town's seaside charm.
Here's where William met Kate. Little did I know Thom and I would be dining in Edinburgh with a more recent graduate of the University of St. Andrews, ranked as Scotland's best.
Buildings like these instantly convey a sense of academic gravitas. Some have been around since 1453.
The tourist information center informed Chris that the castle and cathedral, both dating from the Middle Ages, were worth seeing even though we couldn't enter the grounds of either because of ongoing renovation.
We meandered towards the long pier at the far end of town that extends into the North Sea.
Touring another castle wasn't at the top of our agenda in any case, even one with a history as bloody as this has. It fell into English hands several times during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Prior to the Reformation, Catholic bishops lived here high on the hog.
They enjoyed magnificent views.
The cathedral ruins did look more interesting.
I was more enamored of the harbor and the pier. Those are lobster boats and traps. Most of the catch along the Fife coast ends up on European plates, even after Brexit.
Purple flowers bloomed on the side of the stone pier. University students add red when they walk the pier in their gowns and climb the ladder at its end after chapel services to mark the beginning of the academic year, an annual tradition of longstanding.
Looking back at the cathedral and the castle from the end of the pier.
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