We wake up this morning to a drizzly day. Well it is Scotland after all. We cross over to the Old Course to walk along the road of “The Road Hole” . There is a foursome playing so we stop to watch. One guy shooting from the other side of the green crosses the road and is lying about 8 inches from the wall. We’ve seen this shot before 🙂 He has a caddy who shows him the spot on the wall he should bank it from. One of the foursome who is safely on the green says that he can move it a certain distance for a one stroke penalty. The guy with the tough shot says “how often can you say you banked it off the wall on the Road Hole??”, so he’s going for it!! Banked off the wall, but still didn’t quite make the green, but a memory to last a life time! My photographer didn’t get the shot of it however. He did get one other guy chipping from the rough along the green.
The rain is picking up so we feel a museum coming on. The British Golf Museum it is. Here the seniors rate begins at age 60! Score, we save 4 Pounds!!
We see some very interesting things. The history of the game, the early balls made out of leather stuffed with feathers, the next edition made from gutta-percha gum (called gutties), the early wooden clubs and best of all the rules. A few examples that should bring a smile to your face.
Once we are finished at the Museum the rain has subsided so we explore the town of St. Andrews. It is a university town and we pass many many university buildings. All of them museum worthy in their own right. A beautiful example below.
This is part of the Castle that remains. The Castle has a storied history. Here is an excerpt from the museum web site. We have remarked many times already that this year Canada is celebrating 150 years. It seems like we are still an infant compared to this country. This Castle alone has a 450 year history!
Protestant preacher George Wishart may have been imprisoned in the castle’s bottle dungeon. Cardinal Beaton’s murdered body was certainly kept in the dank and airless hole. The assassination sparked the brutal siege of 1546–47, when opposing sides dug the remarkable mine and countermine into the rock close to the castle battlements.
We head towards the ruined Castle and Cathedral at the south end of town. Even though it is a grey day the ruins are spectacular. This is a shot of the ruined Castle taken from a spot a bit south of it.
Across from the Castle there is a row of quaint little cottages. This one was particularly charming. I think this photo would complement one that we have in our dining room that we took in France.
We then get to the ruined Cathedral. There are some beautiful imposing towers that are still standing. The Cathedral grounds is a cemetery that is the home to some very old graves. Some stones tilting looking like the will fall soon, some already have.
We have decided eat at Agnes Blackadder Hall tonight. There is a bar on the ground floor, so it will be nice to be close to the bed tonight. One our way home we decide to try to find a Geocache near the 18th hole of the Old Course. On our way there we spot this gate that we have passed before, but not noticed. Had to get this shot! 🙂
Another great day!