TRAVEL: A trip through Scotland's Best - St. Andrews Town, Pg. 3 |
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WHEN I got back to the hotel room, my girlfriend was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the TV playing a subdued British game show. She had spent the first couple hours of a vacation in a new country cooped up in a room, albeit a spectacular one.
Looking out the window, it's clear the Rusacks hotel is the ideal place to stay while in St. Andrews. When the Open Championship does come to town, every five years of so, most of the professionals stay at The Old Course Hotel, which juts out into the 17th fairway (the Road Hole) of the Old Course. The Old Course Hotel was bought by the Kohler family in 2004, and is an outstanding five-star resort, gym and spa included, with many different dining options.
The Rusacks, on the other hand, is on the road to the right of the Old Course’s 18th fairway, closer to the green than it is the tee. The room we had was on the third floor, the Jack Nicklaus suite. It looked out over the gorgeous opening-and-closing scene of the links, an expanse of green grass, with little toy golfers walking to and fro, the beach in the distance and the rest of the links stretching out into the North Sea. Many times I had to be pulled from that window, just watching golfers hack their way over and around the Swilcan Burn, putt up the Valley of Sin, and hug each other as they start or finish one of the most memorable rounds of their lives. When staying in a room at the Rusacks that overlooks the golf courses, it’s hard to think there is any better view anywhere in the Old Course hotel, and people we talked to throughout the trip confirmed that sentiment.
The Rusacks is in a great location for non-golfers as well, as the street it abuts on the town side, called The Links, turns into North Street and you head, well, north. The town, which has been a hub of Scottish culture for a least a millennium, is easily divided by three north-south streets: North Street, on the western side; Market Street, down the middle; and South Street, on the eastern side. All three come together as you head north, and they converge at the Cathedral ruins, at a point looking out over the sea. The Cathedral of St. Andrews was completed in 1318, and from all the old drawings, looks to have been one of the most majestic Cathedrals in the British Isles. While here, it’s necessary to climb St. Rule’s tower – a harrowing climb of 150 or so spiraling steps – but the view from up top is breathtaking. The tower stands in the middle of the graveyard where you can find the resting places of Old Tom Morris and Young Tommy, along with the first pro at St. Andrews, Alan Robertson, and the writer James Milton. Walking south down East Scores Street, just west of the Cathedral and following the coastline, there are the ruins of St. Andrews Castle. On a cliff that hangs out into the water, the castle ruins are still enough intact that you can climb them and peer through lookout holes, gazing at the horizon in every direction.
After this quick first exploration, we decided to stop for a pint. There is no shortage of pubs anywhere in Scotland, and St. Andrews has many which to chose from. Because it is essentially a college town – the University of St. Andrews is the third oldest in the world, dating back to 1413 – the vibrancy of the social life is omnipresent. The college buildings are everywhere you look, and college-aged kids walking around with backpacks and loafers mix with the tourists quite easily. So we stopped at a place called the Cross Keys Inn. It was a local pub – very local, as we found out later – and it was carpeted from wall to wall. It was a small place, with some short tables, a dart board, and the stools at the bar all filled with men speaking in heavy accents. Turns out the same building has been an Inn since the 1500s, and after the hotel part of the Inn closed, the current pub has been just about the same since the mid-1800s. By the look of the carpet, I’d believe it. Enjoying how nice the people were, I could’ve stayed until we knew each other’s family histories. I ordered two Guinesses and we savored them.
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