StAndrews has played a significant role in the history of Scotland since at least the 6th
century. It is so called because the relics of the Apostle St Andrew were brought here
from Constantinople in the 8th century by a monk called St Regulus or St Rule.
Best known today as the
birthplace of modern golf, St. Andrews offers much more. It is home to Scotland's oldest
university founded in 1411 and is the oldest in Scotland, and the third oldest in the UK
after Oxford and Cambridge. It now has 7000 students and an international reputation.St
Andrews also has a magnificent castle and is one of the most picturesque towns in
Scotland, with its beautiful coastline.
The city was founded by King David I in 1140 and the cathedral was built around 1160.
Throughout the Middle Ages St Andrews was a religious centre visited by many pilgrims.
From mediaeval times until the Reformation, St Andrews was the
ecclesiastical capital of Scotland: its bishop being the primus of the
Scottish church. Today, its historic cathedral lies in ruins. However,
more recently, the town has achieved fame as the "home of golf". This is
in part because the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754,
exercises legislative authority over the game worldwide (except in the
United States and Mexico), and also because the famous links (acquired
by the town in 1894) is the most frequent venue for The Open
Championship, the oldest of golf's four major championships. Visitors
travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst
the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches.
St Andrews has a temperate maritime climate, which is
relatively mild despite its northerly latitude. Winters are not as cold
as one might expect, considering that Moscow and Labrador in
Newfoundland lie on the same latitude. Daytime temperatures rarely fall
below freezing and average around 4 °C. Nightime frosts are not
uncommon. The lowest winter temperature recorded in St Andrews is -14
°C, but this is exceptional. Summer temperatures are normally moderate,
with daily upper maxima rarely exceeding 25 °C. Being on the east coast
of Scotland, it is often subject to the fog, or “haar” which rolls off
the North Sea and can linger for several days at a time.
