Tour Itinerary
Take a journey into the heart of the ancient ‘Kingdom of Fife’, an area of Scotland famed for its picturesque fishing villages, medieval palaces, castles and - of course - the city of ST ANDREWS. If you love history and want to see a different side to Scotland – sandy beaches, tiny harbours and rolling farmland – plus visit the many attractions of St Andrews itself, then this is the tour for you. With lots of time off the bus you can enjoy exploring what interests you the most, plus there’s around 2.5 hours in St Andrews itself. We leave Edinburgh via the old sea port of South Queensferry, where we get the best view of the famous FORTH BRIDGES. We then cross over the Firth of Forth on the Road Bridge and into the region of Fife itself. Here we make a quick stop at DUNFERMLINE ABBEY, burial place of King Robert the Bruce and the mother of William Wallace.
We then continue through the ‘East Neuk’ (eastern corner) of Fife and follow the coastal route which takes us through the fishing villages – many of them still working today - which hug the coastline. Your driver will pick their favourite villages to share with you and will show you the tiny fishermen’s cottages and safe harbours that have long been a source of inspiration for artists and for movie-makers alike. The streets are so narrow you will wonder at how the bus goes through them! Ancient kirks (churches) such as ST MONANS are perched so close to the sea that the waves lap against the graveyard walls. As you walk down to the rocky pools on the beach, cormorants and oystercatchers are just some of the birds you’ll probably see. A stop at the village of CRAIL could be a chance to buy something from the village pottery, or will it be the twin villages of ELIE & EARLSFERRY where the local pub team plays cricket in the summer on the wide, sandy beach?
Continuing round the Neuk we’ll head for the ancient pilgrimage town of St Andrews. It was here that the bones of Jesus’ disciple, St Andrew, were brought and a great Cathedral was built to impress the thousands of pilgrims. It was here in St Andrews that the violent actions of the Reformation were acted out. Burnings, executions, riots and murders haunt the streets of St Andrews. The castle has unique medieval underground mines, dug out in the 16th century when the castle was under siege. The ruins of the Cathedral dominate the old town, which also has the oldest University in Scotland. Prince William, future king and son of Princess Diana is currently a student. Above all, though, St Andrews is the home of golf and has the famous Old Course running close to the spectacular beach where the film Chariots of Fire was filmed.
After our stay in St Andrews we continue into central Fife, where the LOMOND HILLS loom over the old Royal Burgh of FALKLAND. Here in this beautifully-preserved village, the Stuarts - the kings and queens of medieval Scotland - built themselves a grand hunting lodge which developed into a magnificent Renaissance palace. Mary, Queen of Scots loved to spend time here, often playing the game of Royal Tennis. The town grew around the Palace and is one of the architectural wonders of Scotland. There will be time to visit the Palace, just enjoy a walk round the streets and maybe enjoy a wee dram of whisky in one of its old pubs.
From here we drive through the heart of the Lomond hills, passing LOCH LEVEN, now a nature reserve but also home to an island with a castle where Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned for a year at the pleasure of her rebellious Scottish nobles, in 1567. As we drive along the edge of the loch the island can be seen and the beauty of the place is mixed with sombre thoughts of Mary’s miserable incarceration. Time permitting, we’ll pause between the mighty FORTH BRIDGES for a photo stop on our way back into the Capital for around 6.30pm.