Happy New Year from St. Andrews

St. Andrews Cathedral

New Year, pleasantly old town.

Before the Reformation, [St. Andrews] was the centre of religious life in medieval Scotland, with the bishops wielding great influence over both church and state. St Andrews is also famous as a place of learning. The university, founded in 1410-11, is the third oldest in Britain.

The first Culdee Church is said to have been erected on Lady Craig's Rock at the end of the pier in the early years of Christianity in Scotland. Next came the Church of the Blessed Mary of the Rock at Kirkhill above the harbour, the foundations of which can be seen today. Then came the Church of St Rule, built on the same site as the Cathedral - St Rule's Tower remains the most intact structure within the grounds. The Cathedral itself dates from around 1160, and was consecrated in the presence of Robert the Bruce in July 1318.

Visitors to the Cathedral today will enjoy the dramatic setting of the ruins - the Cathedral was destroyed by a mob roused by the preaching of John Knox in the town during the Reformation.

Happily, the only mobs out today are those in the coffee shops and pubs celebrating another day off for Hogmanay.