Breakfast at Ferrymuir Stables....we are to be the only breakfast guests during our visit. There is another guest, but he is here on business and leaves before we get up. We particularly enjoy the lemon water with fresh mint added
Just makin' sure you see that gorgeous etching in the glass doors!
Didn't even notice this table of thriving orchids yesterday! You would go nuts, Kathy Wilson!
As you see, the home is ultra contemporary....mostly white and very starkly decorated. This rocking horse was Mary's. Her Mum had it painted all black. When Mum died, Mary inherited it and paid someone to take off all the black....here is what is underneath. Don't many of us have something from our childhood so very special?
After breakfast, Mary brought out these pictures to share with us about the history of the stables. The land was sold to a developer to build approximately 200 houses.....but this parcel and the decrepit stables were listed as "B Property", which is historic and cannot be torn down. Mary and her husband bought it....with a vision.....gained council approval.....and did all the conversion in only 9 months! The builders, the painters, the carpenters, virtually everyone told her it could not be done. Her husband, John, enjoyed it for only 6 months. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer throughout his body. She nursed him at home for 6 months. He died 13 months ago. She is continuing with the bed n breakfast to stay busy, to have a reason to get up in the morning, to meet people....but, she quietly adds, "it's not fun anymore"...
The walls were standing, but the roof had been long gone.
These are just a few of the new homes on the Ferrymuir Stables property. They are very large homes.
We are on our way to spend the day in St. Andrews, Scotland, only 8 miles from Cupar.
A flowerful entry to the city...
Driving around we find the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral.
The cathedral in St. Andrews was started in 1158 CE and construction continued for more than a century. It became the centre of Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland.
At nearly 400 feet long, it was the biggest church to have been built in Scotland.
It fell into disuse in the 16th century after the Catholic Mass was outlawed during the Scottish Reformation when the Protestants took over.
Now much of it has fallen. But it was massive and quite an architectural / engineering feat for the time.
Don't we all even if its not much.
The Cathedral is surrounded by cemetery. Some up to modern times and some very old.
A view of the Firth of Tay from amidst the tombstones.
The doors were pretty small in those days -- Tom has not really gained that much weight.
The vehicle passageways were pretty small, too.
Below are some sightings as we wander further around St. Andrews, beyond the Castle/Cathedral, in search of what St Andrews is most noted for: golf.
We just happened on an open gate and were able to enter the quadrangle of the University.
This is a dormitory building just outside the quad.
Down a few streets, around a few corners is this sign
I only caught a quick picture....no wonder it is hidden! Can you imagine this freakish modern building stuck in the midst of all this history????
The area just outside the walled quadrangle is beautiful tree-lined streets, sidewalks and primarily residential.
Remember the movie "Chariots of Fire"?
We had lunch at the Links Clubhouse and watched the golfers on the 18th hole of the "New Course".
Then went for a walk.....All of these historic golf courses are public....and the land they are on is public as well. There is a sidewalk which bisect/disects #18 and #1 of the Old Course which lie side by side...
Look closely in the bottom left corner of this picture....that is the sidewalk we are walking across. #1 tee is on the left in front of the smaller building and #18 green is on the right....totally bizarre!!!!!
Teeing off on #1
Finishing up on #18
We sat on steps in between both #1 and #18 and watched the golfers of an hour or more. We don't play, but nonetheless it was great fun. By the way, the greens fees for the Old Course were £160 (approx $225) and your required caddy is additional. The newest course, the Castle Course, is only £30 (approximately $50). In the world of golf, at least at St. Andrews, old is better! We took a different route back to our car.....below are two of the oldest, most historic hotels next to the Old Course...The Rusacks and The Hamilton Grand.
Another block up is this one....where we are certain many a beer and many a score are shared!
And next door to that, appearing as an afterthought, is the home of the "Ladies' Putting Club"
Away from the world of golf, some other sights in St. Andrews
There really are 32,000!!! pieces
Once again we miss the first 2 turns for getting back to Ferrymuir Stables and end up on the single track Drum Road again.
But we make it back and the flowers are still pretty.
But soon we are back out in search of dinner -- food again? This time we are armed with "can't miss it" instructions on how to find the Bougingait Inn in Cupar. Well we don't see it on the way in to the Car Park but are sure we can find it in a short stroll. We not only didn't find The Bougingait we didn't find anyone serving dinner.
Forty-five minutes and 2.5 miles later we stumble on to a food store that supports independence.
A nice food store. Where we pick up a few things for our dinner.
And start the way back to our parked car. On the way, Kathy picks up some referendum campaign propaganda.
Back at our room, we enjoy our dinner.
Good night.
