Description: St Andrews castle was originally a bishop's seat, and there has been a castle on the site since the 12th century. At the time of the Wars of Scottish Independence, the castle was demolished and rebuilt a few time, to be then destroyed by the Scots in 1336-1337 to prevent the English from using it. The castle was rebuilt around 1400 by Bishop Walter Trail and was used by Bishops, Scottish royal family and also as a prison.
During the Reformation, the castle was a centre of major controversies and conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants Bishop David Beaton imprisoned and then burned at the stake the preacher George Wishart, and in turn was himself murdered by the protestants who gained entry disguised as masons. After this, the castle became the location of the first Protestant congregation in Scotland, which, in 1546, was subjected to a siege by the Scottish Regent, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. It was during this siege that the now existing mine and counter-mine were cut through the solid rock.
St Andrews castle is one of the two main historical attractions in St Andrews, the second one being the ruins of the abbey with St Rules tower. Both sites are managed by Historic Scotland and both can be visited on a joint ticket that offers a significantly better value than single entries (but is still fairly steeply priced, at over 7GBP for two entries).
There is a well presented exhibition on the history of the castle (and thus, to some extent, history of St Andrews). It's done in the modern child-friendly, wax-work like style, but provides some interesting information.
The castle itself is approached via an attractive bridge and a impressive gatehouse/wall combination (this is the best preserved part of the structure and you can walk on the battlements above and around the gate).
The inner courtyard is pretty much empty, with some display boards showing what the original building might have looked like.
Towards the sea there is a couple of god towers, and from the cliffs, great views towards the St Andrews harbour, cathedral and the beach below. One of the towers houses the entrance to the bottle dungeon, a terrible prison hole deep in the bowels of the castle, with access only allowed through a small "bottleneck" opening in the ceiling.
One of the most interesting parts of the site is the entrance to the tunnel (a mine and counter-mine) that was used to try and enter the castle during the time of a siege.
All in all, St Andrews castle is a decent if not spectacular Scottish castle, and worth visiting if you have some time spare in St Andrews (you'd need at least an hour to do the site – and your entry ticket price – justice). The best part is probably the location on the edge of a cliff and the resulting views, the bottle dungeon and the mine and counter-mine
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