Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING AROUND AND INFORMATION
Bike rental
Spokes, (37 South St; Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm;
T
01334 477835,
W
spokescycles.net) offers bike rental for
£15 a day including locks and helmets.
Tourist o
ce
The good-sized tourist o
ce is at 70 Market
St (April-June & Sept-Oct daily 10am-5pm; Nov-March
Mon-Sat 10am-4pm closed Sun; July-Aug Mon-Sat
9.15am-6pm, Sun 10am-5pm;
T
01382 472021,
W
visitstandrews.com); internet access (£1/20min).
TOURS AND ACTIVITIES
TOURS
Bus tour
. An open-topped hop-on/hop-off bus tour takes
a one-hour spin around the main sights starting at Church
St a few paces from the tourist o
ce (July & Aug daily
11.10am-4.10pm; hourly; £8).
Golf tours
For a bracing introduction to the importance of
golf to the town, the St Andrews Links Trust runs 50min
guided walking tours of the Old Course before handing out
a complementary novelty scorecard. Starts
from outside
the golf shop at the eighteenth hole of the Old Course,
north of town (July & Aug Tues-Sun 11am & 2pm; £3;
T
01334 466666,
W
standrews.org.uk).
part thanks to its clifftop position and views to the town.
However, putting here can be a bit frustrating as the greens
are not as flat as you might expect for a modern course and
even experienced golfers can be heard cursing the design.
Green fees £60-120. Open all year.
Ladies Putting Club
Nicknamed The Himalayas, and
open to the public without booking, this putting course
offers arguably the best golfing experience in St Andrews.
Even if you can't tell a birdie from a bogey, it's a
fantastically lumpy eighteen-holer in an ideal setting
right next to the Old Course and the sea. You can have all
the thrill of sinking a six-footer in golf 's most famous
location for a bargain price.
Green fees £2. Daily March-
Oct, 10am-5pm.
New Course
Designed in 1895, this has some pretty
bumpy putting greens and the fairways have hard ground
and plenty of ball-swallowing bunkers to test any well-
seasoned pro.
Green fees £35-70. Open all year.
Old Course
The oldest course in the world offers the
amateur the chance to pit their game against the
generations of golfing legends that have birdied and
bogeyed their way round the eighteen windswept greens.
Its popularity is unrelenting; to play here you must have a
handicap certificate (24 for men/36 for women) and enter
a ballot at least two days in advance.
Green fees £75-155.
Open all year.
GOLF
You can play any of the town's courses, all of which are
administered by the St Andrews Links Trust. With the
exception of the Balgove Course, all of the town's courses
can be booked through
T
01334 466666, or
W
standrews
.org.uk. All courses are on the north side of St Andrews;
follow the brown 'Golf ' signposts off the A91.
Balgove Course
The only nine-hole course in St Andrews
is designed for families and beginners and unlike the
others, you can just turn up and play.
Green fees £8-15.
Open all year.
Castle Course
Built in 2008, the newest addition to the
St Andrews Links has already gained a positive following in
8
ACCOMMODATION
There's no shortage of accommodation both in town and around, although average
prices
in all categories vie with
Edinburgh's as the highest in Scotland.
Upmarket hotels
are thick on the ground, notably around the golf courses.
There are plenty of
guesthouses
, though rooms often get booked up in the summer, when you should definitely book
in advance.
St Andrews Country Cabins
Cuplahills Farm, 7 miles
northwest of St Andrews, off the A914
T
01334
870225,
W
standrewscountrycabins.co.uk.
A
surprisingly luxurious option for families and groups, these
superb ecolodges sleep six in three contemporary
bedrooms. There's a kitchen and lounge as well as an
exterio
r deck
and site playground. Minimum stay three
nights
.
£130
/night
St Andrews Tourist Hostel
Inchape House,
St Mary's
Place
T
01334 479911,
W
hostelworld.com.
Handily
placed backpacker hostel in a converted townhouse right
above
The Grill House
restaurant, with plenty of dorm beds,
but no doubles.
The
cheapest option in town, but not the
quietest. Dorms
£12
B&BS AND HOSTELS
Aslar House
120 North St
T
01334 473460,
W
aslar
.com.
A smart, contemporary B&B in a three-storey
townhouse with an unusual round tower at the back. All
rooms are admirably equipped with fridges a
nd h
ospitality
trays; breakfast is perhaps the finest in town.
£96
Ì
Old Fishergate House
35 North Castle St
T
01334 470874,
W
oldfishergatehouse.co.uk.
Entered via a quaint cobbled pavement, this
seventeenth-century townhouse is one of the more
personal places to stay in town, with its books, pictures
and antique furniture including an old piano. The
en-suite rooms
have
wi-fi and TV. The obvious choice for
traditionalists.
£100
