University of St Andrews campus tour: quads, traditions and the sea

The University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and the third-oldest in the English-speaking world, after Oxford and Cambridge. Teaching began around 1410, and the papal bull that confirmed its foundation followed in 1413. Six centuries later it still shares a small town on the Fife coast with a ruined cathedral, a cliff-top castle and the most famous golf course in the world. This guide explains how the university and the town fit together, and what makes student life here unusual.

A university without a campus

St Andrews has no separate campus. The old town is built on three roughly parallel streets, North Street, Market Street and South Street, which run east towards the cathedral. University buildings are scattered along all three and along the Scores, the road that follows the cliff edge.

The exception is the North Haugh, on the western edge of town, where most of the sciences and medicine are taught in modern buildings, about ten minutes' walk from the centre.

St Salvator's Quad

St Salvator's Quad, on North Street, is the centre of university life. St Salvator's College was founded in 1450 by Bishop James Kennedy, and its chapel and tower, facing the street, are among the oldest university buildings in Scotland. The lawn behind, surrounded by later stone ranges, is where students gather on graduation days and for the foam fight that ends Raisin Weekend each autumn.

In the cobbles outside the tower are the initials PH. They mark the place where Patrick Hamilton, a young Protestant reformer, was burned in 1528. Student superstition holds that anyone who steps on them will fail their degree.

St Mary's College

On South Street, an archway leads into the quad of St Mary's College, founded in the 1530s and still the home of the School of Divinity. It is the most peaceful corner of the university: a lawn, a spreading holm oak, and a thorn tree said to have been planted by Mary, Queen of Scots. Along one side is the King James Library, the university's historic library.

The cathedral and the castle

At the east end of town, the three streets meet at the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral. It was once the largest church in Scotland, and its surviving gables and the older St Rule's Tower still dominate the skyline. A short walk along the cliffs is St Andrews Castle, the former stronghold of the bishops, with a notorious bottle-shaped dungeon cut into the rock. Both are cared for as historic sites and are normally open to visitors; check the current opening arrangements.

Traditions: gowns, the pier and the May Dip

Few universities keep their traditions as visibly as this one.

Red gowns: undergraduates wear scarlet gowns for chapel, formal dinners and other occasions.
The pier walk: after the Sunday service in St Salvator's Chapel, gowned students walk in procession along the stone pier at the harbour.
Academic families: older students "adopt" first-years as academic children, a custom that reaches its peak on Raisin Weekend.
The May Dip: at dawn on the first of May, students run into the North Sea.

West Sands and the Old Course

North-west of the centre, West Sands is a wide beach backed by dunes that runs for about three kilometres. The opening scene of the film Chariots of Fire was shot here, and students use it for running, walking and bracing swims.

Right beside it is the Old Course. Golf has been played on this ground since the 15th century, and the stone Swilcan Bridge and the clubhouse behind the first tee are known to golfers everywhere. The course lies on public land, and it is traditionally closed for play on Sundays, when people stroll across it.

Halls, libraries and daily life

Most first-year students live in university halls. Some, such as St Salvator's Hall, are in the heart of the old town; others are larger, more modern residences on the western side, near the North Haugh and the sports centre. The main library is on North Street, a few steps from the quad.

In term time students make up a large share of the town's population, so the university sets the rhythm of the place: cafés fill between lectures, societies take over halls and pubs in the evenings, and the streets are noticeably quieter in the holidays. Among the university's best-known recent graduates are the Prince and Princess of Wales, who met here as students.

Seeing the university for yourself

Since the university is the town, most of it can be seen simply by walking around. The quads at St Salvator's and St Mary's are generally open to walk into during the day, though they are working parts of the university and may close for events. The university also runs events and tours for prospective students; dates and booking arrangements change, so check its official visitor pages.

Getting there and around

By train: St Andrews has no railway station. The nearest is Leuchars, a few kilometres away on the main line between Edinburgh and Dundee, about an hour from Edinburgh. Buses and taxis cover the last stretch in ten to fifteen minutes.
By bus: direct buses run from Edinburgh and from Dundee.
By car: about an hour and a half from Edinburgh, crossing the Firth of Forth. Parking in the old town is limited.
On foot: once you arrive, you will not need transport.

Where families usually base themselves

The old town: small hotels, guesthouses and bed-and-breakfasts within a few minutes' walk of everything. Rooms are limited, and they fill early around graduations and major golf events.
Near the Old Course and the Scores: sea views and a short walk to North Street.
Dundee or the East Neuk villages: sensible alternatives when the town is full, with a bus or a short drive in.

Many families combine St Andrews with other Scottish universities. Our guides to the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow cover the two big-city options, and where to stay in Edinburgh helps if you are basing yourself in the capital.

A good route for a first look

Start at St Salvator's Quad, then walk down to South Street for St Mary's College.
Continue east to the cathedral, follow the cliffs past the castle, and return along the Scores.
Finish at West Sands and the Old Course. Allow half a day, and bring a windproof layer: the sea breeze rarely stops.

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Cover photo: gordon.milligan from Dundee, Scotland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons