St. Andrew's

When anyone mentions St. Andrew's, the immediate response is "golf" (unless of course, you are a Roman Catholic, and immediately conjure up an X-shaped cross for that martyred apostle..) And that would be the right answer, though not the complete one. St. Andrew's is a university town, and also the site of a ruined cathedral and castle. Given the weather (though the avid golfers did not seem to be bothered by it one whit) our exploration was devoted to the latter aspects, rather than the most obvious. In addition, the beach at St. Andrew's is the site of the famous running scene in "Chariots of Fire", and I dare you to walk across that sand and NOT hear (at least in your head) "Da-da-da-da-DA-da! Da-da-da-da-DAH!"

Carrying on in the tradition established at Stirling, I quickly bought a woolen hat before we explored the grounds. We wandered among the tombstones and the remains of old stone walls, chasing Claire who was determined to climb to the top of every one. Better people than I am even climbed the tower for some great views..my iPad climbed with JC and brought back some nice pictures of the view. I did not get off scot-free (pun there) however. Audrey was determined to go through the mine/countermine passage. I didn't get to read the placard as I was dragged along in her wake into a tunnel that forced adults to bend double and to climb down a ladder through a hole in solid rock that you could feel at your back. But I kept going, waiting for the big reveal at the end of the tunnel. Which turned out to be a blank wall at the end of the tunnel. So we turned around and repeated the trip in reverse. I still haven't figured out exactly what its charm was, but perhaps that is something only 5-year-olds can understand.