Visiting The greatest cathedral ⛪️ in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 with friends ~ St Andrews Cathedral

When the trio of intrepid explorers said they were visiting Scotland at the end of January and they would be in Fife, then it gave me an opportunity to flex my tour guide hat!

St Andrews thought I, is steeped in visible history all over the place and with personal links for me too!

Yes this would be the perfect place to take @dreemsteem @samsmith1971 and @penderis, not to mention the drive from Kirkcaldy where they would pick me up through the Kingdom of Fife to the coastal town of St Andrews would be picturesque!

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Today though we are going to focus solely on St Andrews Cathedral.

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Some original ⛪️ history

St Rule’s Church was likely built around 1130, as the first place of worship in Scotland for the newly arrived Augustinian canons. This Continental reformed order supplanted the existing clergy.

St Andrews Cathedral is now under the stewardship of Historic Environment Scotland and all quotes are sourced from their information page on their website

The 33m tall St Rule’s Tower may have been a beacon for pilgrims heading for the shrine of St Andrew.

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That picture shows the St Rule's Tower which is from the original church dating back to 1130. Can you imagine how old that is?

Do you see the metal fencing all over the place?

This is because parts of the ground are shifting and deemed unsafe. Remember this was the site of a church then cemetery and so there are many graves all around you, it is these which in places are unsafe to be standing on or near.

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Fortunately for us when we visited the cathedral grounds were open. Unfortunately though there was no access to the visitor centre, St Rule's Tower, museum or toilets as they were all closed.

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You can start to grasp the immense size of the Cathedral from that picture above.

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Everywhere you looked you could see history crawling out from the stonework! And talking of stonework imagine building something like this without our modern tools and safety procedures!

Can you see the wee plaque on the wall?

This was the remnants of an under building that is on the cathedral grounds.

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A pretty good life in those days, if indeed it was the home of the Prior who was the head of the cathedral Priory!

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I think our intrepid travellers were quite taken with the history and the ambience of St Andrews Cathedral!

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At one point we saw this long shaft in the ground, which thankfully was covered with a metal grid structure. I can imagine the heretics being thrown down here to rot!

Now though what do you think gets thrown down there?

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☑️ If you said coins, then give yourself a pat on your back!

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Although the Visitor Centre was closed, I was pleasantly surprised to see that were many informative signs and plaques all over the place. This one informing us that "THE PORCH AROUND THE MAIN LAY ENTRANCE TO THE CATHEDRAL WAS HERE".

In other words, that is where you and I would have entered the cathedral in days gone by!

Almost adjacent to the 'porch' were what appeared to be three long metal boxes of which two seemed to be padlocked shut.

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One though was open ... so what did Indiana Jones do?

Open it of course!

The boxes are to preserve original floor tiling dating back from the 1200's. How fluffing amazing is that, looking at history like that right in front of your face!

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It was a dull day as you can tell by the unedited gray pictures, which was not surprising really as it was January and winter in the UK, however the rain pretty much stayed away and our enthusiasm was not dampened as Pen displayed!


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I am not so sure the local seagulls were impressed with us!

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Okay Okay we cheated that was not the beach in the background. St Andrews is in the Kingdom of Fife and is on the coast and has a massive beach, however more of than on another day!

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I mentioned previously about their being graves and they came in all stages throughout history, and included former ministers as you can see below.

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Did you know that St Andrews is the home of golf? Now you do! There were then some golf themed headstones and memorials.

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Dreemie even pointed out that she might have found an ancestor of Matilda!

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Before we go, here are a few more shots to showcase this once great cathedral of ours!

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The end was nigh

The cathedral and the Protestant Reformation
In 1559, John Knox preached a fiery sermon in St Andrews parish church, and the cathedral was ‘cleansed’ as a result. In 1561, it was abandoned and replaced by the parish church as the chief place of worship. St Rule’s was then left to fall into ruins.

It is quite crazy to think that as you wander through these grounds, the main ruins are 500 years old.

St Andrews Cathedral and St Mary's Church, Kirkheugh - Statement of Significance

Historic Environment Scotland Statements of Significance are documents outlining the history and development of Scotland's Properties in Care. They highlight the key features that make the properties special.

If you would to know more about the history of the site including learning about Túathalán who in the year 747 died. This is significant because he was the abbot of Kilrymont, and Kilrymont meant church of the king’s mount and the name would be come St Andrews. Saint Andrew is of course the patron Saint of Scotland.

I find history fascinating, don't you?


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Download your free copy of the St Andrews Cathedral and St Mary's Church, Kirkheugh - Statement of Significance here. I found it a fascinating read, and gives you a great timeline from 747 onwards. Note the image is my screenshot of my copy that I downloaded.

My Advice...

Don't wait until you have out of town visitors visiting you, go and have a look around your own neighbourhood, you might be pleasantly surprised what you find and had forgotten about!

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This was my first time meeting Pen, Dreemie and Sam. In fact it was my first time meeting anyone from Hive. Suffice to say it really was a dream meeting these dreemers from dreemport💙

This is also my contribution to #wednesdaywalk from the terrific @tattoodjay

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day!

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All images and ramblings are from me, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo and pictures taken with my Smartphone or Canon HS Powershot Bridge camera.
@tengolotodo February 22nd 2023

DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND DO IT OFTEN

Haste Ye Back!

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23 comments

Hi @tengolotodo,
Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content.
For more information visit our discord https://discord.gg/8CVx2Am

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TengoloFOSHOOOOOOO hehehehhe

this was going to be my Wednesday walk today also!!!!! hahahahhaa that would have been hilarious!!!!

but luckily even if it was, we only had ONE image that would have been the same! heheheh

I LOVED your take on our day there!!! It was so wonderful being there with you, and I'm pretty certain I'm going to see you again someday because you have lured me back well for the summer....and then I will get that gluten free fish and chips too! hehehehe

my Wednesday walk ended up being about a walk my son took me on a few days ago.hehehe but don't worry! you'll get tagged when I pull out those pics of that day too! hehe

I am so glad that I got a hug from you!!! and spent the day with you!!! what a treasure it is for my dreemie heart ❤️🥰

can't wait for next time!!! tell Mrs. T I will bring more cupcakes for her hehehehe

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DreemieWeemieSeeme I don't know if you caught the saying of Edinburgh last night or not, if not then next time!

Hehe I was toying between doing this or another one with the castle and swimmer and bits and bobs!

Oh yes talking about gluten free, I have been looking everywhere at what is gluten free or GF!

Yes a wonderful hug from you too and such a treat seeing you all and taking you on a wee tour, especially places sentimental to me that I had not been to for fluffing years!

Still got 4 zingers left, but I will tell Mrs T more are on the way hahaha 💙🔷🚙

!ALIVE
!LUV

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@dreemsteem! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @tengolotodo. (3/10)

The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.

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yes I actually heard it right before logging off hahaha thank you for remembering! I am saying it correctly now heheheh

and yes - LOLOL the swimmer!!!! I was going to add her in - but hey - i'm sure it would be fine if we both added her, right?? lots of people on Hive and we always have different readers on different days LOLOL

hahahaha so - gluten.
gluten is in a lot of starches and grains - but the only gluten I have to steer clear of - is wheat, barley and rye.

the gluten in rice or corn or other grains - fine for me! hehehe

so i can eat pasta that is made with rice flour - or a mix of flours .... as long as it has no wheat! hehehe

and I really am so happy that you took us places that meant a lot to you. Because when I do the "professional tours" it just doesn't have the HEART. you know? I would MUCH rather connect to a story from the life of a friend - and that's exactly what it felt like with you!!! i loved it

and yes - more zingers. hehehe but - she might want to ration those - because I think i couldn't come before 2024 hahahaha LOL and next time i'll have to bring all three flavors that i've seen - just for fun! LOL

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You had the best time! I am not sure if it is more hilarious to read the posts or have been there with you! :)

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hehe it was a fun time, that is for sure!

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What a marvelous tour and look back into history! And such a great experience for all of you to be together creating treasured memories!

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It really was a wonderful experience and you nailed it, some treasured memories were created! The tour part is easy though when places are steeped in history:)
!ALIVE

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@melinda010100! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @tengolotodo. (2/10)

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I have played golf but not really a fan of it, but I did know of St Andrews history in Golf :)

WOW what an amazing place so much history and exploring there must have bene such fun for all four of you

Thanks for joining the Wednesday, its always fun for me to visit the walks from all around the world, getting a feel for communities where people live and what they see on their daily walks

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Thanks Jay, it was fun indeed for all four of us. We forget living in the UK, that we have so many places that are just awesome and stacked with history.
More staycations for me I think!
Hope things are good over there with you.

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Such a great bunch of people its awesome you all got together, I visited the UK many times often when the All blacks were playing there, I liked between games ot get out of the big cities and explore all the countries had to offer, be it castles and historic sits or just heading ot to rural areas and seeing life there

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The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people ( @shiftrox ) sharing the post on LeoThreads.

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(edited)

This place is incredible and I really enjoyed the photos and your post itself! A beautiful place with a theme that seems to come from movies from an ancient era! Thanks for sharing!

Ah, one detail, I shared your post on Threads: https://alpha.leofinance.io/threads/view/shiftrox/re-leothreads-2rmss6jvm

!PIZZA !CTP

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Magic, thanks for threading this!
Yeah you could imagine it being a film set!
Glad to see you are enjoying threads, I will pop over there ina wee bit!

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(edited)

🍕 PIZZA !

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It's an impressive place and one can imagine how stunning it was before it was left to decay. It's also a bit spooky with all those graves around 🙂

Great post! Thank you for sharing!

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Ah I am used to the graves and decaying churches, but this one was a beast of a building, it was huge.
Thanks for visiting :)

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That is absolutely so incredibly awesome! We have nothing like that, and definitely nothing that old, in either the US or Canada. What a fantastic place to visit! It's a shame you weren't able to climb the tower, but seeing everything else must have been incredible.

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It's a shame you weren't able to climb the tower

Actually it gives me an excuse to go back, but it was a shame, as the views would have been glorious.
Yeah the history we take for granted, but it is mind blowing!

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Wow. That is totally awesome! I love the look and feel of all of these pictures. I also think it is really cool that you all can get together with your Hive friends like that. I have a couple Hive people I would love to meet one day, but the distance and schedules would probably be impossible to match up. What a beautiful area! I hope I get to visit Scotland one day.

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Sometimes gloomier weather lends to pictures that brings out more of a historical feel! Yeah first time I have met Hive friends, and coming from different continents that was pretty cool!
Never say never is my motto, you might meet up with those Hive people and you might get to bonnie Scotland one day:)

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Sounds like a dream come true!

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And what about the photos of Dreemie and Sam modeling there? hehe.

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hehe I have another couple of the models that I will put in another post next week😎

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The history is fascinating, and that place is full of it. 😍

What a great stroll, and it must have been more than great to meet that trio of dreemers in person.

Haha! Matilda's ancestor, lol. I'm sure there is more than one of her ancestors buried there;)

By the way, the picture of Pen in the grave gives me chills, hehe. One of my fears is to be buried alive...

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Yeah then from the cathedral I took them to the castle but it started to rain so we went elsewhere.
hehe you are right I think there are a few of Matilda's ancestors in there!
Ah it would have give me the chills. Funnily enough I read a post from riverflows today in which she mentioned snakes and that made my skin crawl!

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That is great news, salamat @ybanezkim26

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You're welcome!

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Haha! What a great post for #WedensedayWalk! I am sure enjoying reading about the visit! I thought it was just going to be my Tootsie Roll-loving friend! I didn't know Sam was going to be there!

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ah Tootsie Rolls, been a while since I have had one of them. Yeah Sam was the awesome chauffeur!

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Great idea to take them there - its such a lovely site. It must have been an amazing building in its time, as its quite a large area !
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Yea they wanted history,and I know that area well. Yeah the size is pretty amazing, I had forgotten just how big an area it was!

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I imagine you four having a fluffing time as you explored the Cathedral grounds. It is indeed filled with history! It's pretty amazing that the structure still stands today.

!LUV

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Yes even the big ruins have been untouched since 1560 is that not mental that they are still standing, it shows how well made things were back in the day!

Hehe a fluffing time, you got it CJ :)
!LUV
!PGM

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Oh that's true Tito Ed. The structures of many centuries ago are well made.
Thank you and you too 💪

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Wow, I didn't really know about this one. Will have to take the kids up for a donner. They live done old ruins and if it's near a sandy beach all the better!!

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Oh you have the Castle about 400 years along the road too. Kids would have loads of fun then tire themselves out on the East or West Sands, huge they are!

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It's sad how churches are amongst the most frequently met ruins when it comes to history. I mean there are also citadels and other such buildings but when you see a religios place being close to destruction, makes me sad

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Yeah it happens all too often, but at least they did not destroy it in the 1500's but just stopped using it.

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a very special place that I did not know thanks for sharing it

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A bonnie place and my pleasure.

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Looks like a good and holy place :D

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I think it was, thank you!

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Wow amazing! Such historical places always fascinate me. The cathedral looks very impressive, I hope it will be preserved for many more years...
The shaft in the ground looks a bit scary, why are they throwing coins down there, for good luck?😊 Great post Ed! 😊

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Thanks Jelena, it is an impressive place, and let's hope they stop the decay and it does not worsen.
The coins, yes people make a wish.

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I think that hole on the floor is a well. This cathedral is massive. The cemetery gives me the chills.. haha.
What an adventure this must be. Going to the many sections of the ruins.
Those seagulls are probably happy seeing curious people exploring their territory.😍

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It could well be an old well although it was quite large in diameter!

haha yeah I think you are right with the seagulls.

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