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You don’t have to be a huge golf fan to fall in love with St. Andrews. And shoot, if someone had told us that sooner, it wouldn’t have taken us over a year and a half to visit St. Andrews. It wasn’t until August of our second year living in Scotland that we made the trip to St. Andrews, and after seeing it the first time, we went back time and time again!
St. Andrews is full of character, charm, and loads of history too. If you can manage a visit when university is NOT in session, it can be quite the romantic getaway. You’ll find yourself strolling through the town feeling like you’ve been transported back in time!
This St. Andrews travel guide contains information on where to eat in St. Andrews, free things to do in St. Andrews, tips for visiting the St. Andrews Cathedral, and don’t miss secrets of the St. Andrews Castle!
6 Free Things To See In St. Andrews, Scotland
Visit The St. Andrews Cathedral
- St. Andrews Cathedral Website | Find it here
Now, this technically has signs saying it’s a paid for experience, and maybe in the high seasons it is.. however, in our four times visiting the cathedral, we only had to pay (or show our membership) just once.
You can visit the St. Andrews Cathedral grounds/graveyard and walk through the ruins for free. You only have to pay if you want to actually go inside the museum, or visit the top of the cathedral tower.
Search for the Cats Chasing Creatures Throughout the Town | find them all over
If you look closely while wandering through St. Andrews, you’ll find cats chasing mice and other critters all throughout the villages. Sometimes they’re paintings, other times their sculptures.. keep a close eye and try and find them all!
See The Blackfriers Chapel
- Google Maps | Find It Here
The Blackfriars Chapel ruins are all that remain of the original Blackfriars Chapel built in the 1520s! And if this is all that remains and it stands this big, I can only imagine what the rest of the chapel looked like before it was destroyed!
Walk Around The Old Course | The Birthplace Of Golf
- Google Maps | Find It Here
Free for people to walk through, just be wary of the many golfers tee-ing off around you. This has got to be the most famous bit of St. Andrews, and you can wander right on up to it! Again, just be respectful of those playing golf around!
Step Back In Time Wandering Through The Streets of St. Andrews
Jason spent SIX WEEKS in St. Andrews alone during a clinical placement, and walked all throughout the town photographing buildings and homes he knew Heather would love. BUT… we lost every single one of those photos.
However, we went back to St. Andrews time and time again and have a few photos to share with you of our favorite homes in the town! Wander the streets and find your favorites too!
Walk Through Scotland’s First University
- Google Maps | Find It Here
St. Andrews University was founded in 1413, and has been the university of choice for top scholars, members of the royal family, and students from all over the world. While the university holds courses scattered all around St. Andrews, the old university buildings (still in use today) are something to marvel at!
4 Paid For Things To Experience In St. Andrews
Explore The Castle Life at St. Andrews Castle
- St. Andrews Castle Website| Find It Here
The St. Andrews Castle is over 450 years old! Walk through the ruins and find a secret passageway to the sea, one of Scotland’s most famous dungeons of all time, and try to imagine life in a castle on the sea!
Crawl Through The Underground Mine
This one’s included in the castle visit cost, but we wanted to point it out specifically so you don’t miss it! In the corner of the castle, you can crawl underground all the way to the sea!
The area is quite small, and not recommended to those with claustrophobia, but it’s a great experience unique to the St. Andrews Castle!
Putt A Few Rounds On The St. Andrews Golf Course
If going out and playing a full round of golf isn’t really your thing, no worries, you can pay £2 to putt around a mini-golf course on St. Andrews Old Course!
Stop By The Cafe Where Prince Williams + Princess Kate Had Coffee
If you fancy the royal side of Great Britain, you’ll probably fancy this café where Prince William met Kate for coffee! We can’t vouch for how good the café is, because we didn’t even go in – but my mother insisted we take a photo here of the kiddos!
But hey, to each their own, if you fancy something like that, pop on into the Northpoint Café.
Where To Eat In St. Andrews
Grab Ice Cream at Janettas Gelateria
World Famous Ice Cream served up at Jannettas Gelateria. At certain times of the day, there are literally lines out the door and around the corner. If this is the case for you, just walk down the road and grab a beer (below) and kill some time before the line dies down!
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Enjoy A Fresh Brew At St. Andrews Brewing Co.
You can’t have a food list without the local brewery. Pop in and have a locally brewed pint, or enjoy the pint on their outdoor seating area. Either way, grab a beer and unwind at the St. Andrews Brewery.
Drool Over Fresh Local Steak And Burgers At the Balgove Larder
You eat in a barn, with the coos just outside, but this place is to die for. By far the best burger and stead we’ve had since being in Argentina. It’s a bit on the spendy side, so it’s not a place to go all the time, but definitely worth the treat out! All fresh, and locally grown everything!
Find A Good, Cheap Burger At Burger
This was a weekly stop for Jay while on his clinical placement. Getting the student deal + ordering the burger to go made the burger and fries come out to under £7!
Can’t beat that deal for a full meal!
Where To Sleep in St. Andrews
Hotels
Hotels in St. Andrews are going to be on the high end and rather expensive. But if you want to stay in St. Andrews, you’ve got places like the golf course to look at for a hotel. We recommend searching for hotels in Dundee, as this is the biggest town near St. Andrews and will provide much cheaper accommodation.
Wild Camping
Wild camping is 100% legal all across Scotland, but can be tricky to find in places like St. Andrews.. and we’d even say it’s a bit looked down upon. There are a few places down by the water/golf course that allow for free overnight parking, and if you can find a place to campout on the beach without “no camping” signs head for that!
If you’re “wild camping” in a van or camper, then park at any of the parking lots that have free overnight parking! Think, the university, golf course, and beach parking!
Day Trips From St. Andrews
Visit Anstruther For Fish and Chips
Anstruther Fish and Chips Bar is on our top three Fish and Chips in Scotland list, and for a good reason. This place is amazing. And to top it off, Anstruther is the cutest little fishing village, and isn’t too far from St. Andrews, making it a great wee day trip!
It’s about 20 minutes from St. Andrews unless you decide to take the coastal route, though we don’t recommend it as you don’t get to drive that close to the coast anyways!
Read More | Top 3 Fish and Chips in Scotland
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Visit Balvaid Castle
Balvaird Castle was the very first Scottish castle we took our family to see. It’s free to get into and is a great place to explore or even have a picnic while day tripping outside of St. Andrews. Pair visiting this castle with visiting the Falkland Palace for a complete day trip!
READ MORE | 70+ Castles in Scotland We Personally Visited
Go to the Falkland Palace and See Where Scenes from “Outlander” were Filmed
If you haven’t watched the Outlander Series, you need to put it at the top of your must-watch list!! It’s a series based in Scotland and it’s so fun driving around Scotland seeing places that are filmed in the show!
The Falkland Palace is the town of Inverness in Outlander, and there’s a palace, and cathedral to see while exploring the Fife area.
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Find all those things here on our travel advice page. With over five years of nearly full-time travel under our belts, we’ve gathered a few travel tips and it wouldn’t be right to not share them with you all!
