📍 Photo via Google Maps

St Andrews Castle

📍 Fife, Scotland

4.2 ★★★★ 2,560 reviews

About

St Andrews Castle is a ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger (1189–1202), son of the Earl of Leicester. It housed the burgh’s wealthy and powerful bishops while St Andrews served as the ecclesiastical centre of Scotland during the years before the Protestant Reformation. In their Latin charters, the Archbishops of St Andrews wrote of the castle as their palace, signing, "apud Palatium nostrum."

Getting There

🚌 Stagecoach 99

Regular service from Dundee and Edinburgh via Leuchars. Alight in St Andrews town centre, 10 min walk to castle.

🚂 Leuchars Station

Nearest rail station (5 miles). Regular buses and taxis to St Andrews. On the Edinburgh–Dundee line.

🚗 Drive via A91

From Edinburgh: 1h 20min via M90/A91. From Dundee: 30 min via A91.

🅿️ Town Parking

Pay & display car parks in St Andrews. No parking at the castle itself. The Scores car park is closest (5 min walk).

Terrain & Accessibility

♿ Partial Access🏛️ Underground Tunnels🌊 Coastal Cliffs🚶 Uneven Ground

The castle grounds are partially accessible but uneven. The famous mine and counter-mine tunnels require stooping and are not accessible. The bottle dungeon can be viewed from above. Stunning clifftop position overlooking St Andrews Bay. Joint ticket available with St Andrews Cathedral.