At breakfast, we had a long talk with Leon, who serves us drinks at night and breakfast in the morning. Great guy, probably 23, who showed us photos from Ullapool, where he and his girlfriend took a winter holiday… very white with snow, and beautiful. The Lunan House, run by 20-somethings, was terrific—the location, the solitude, the beach and gardens, and our room! The breakfasts were great, but not the dinners. Turns out it is also the local pub, which explains the (poor) food, I guess.
We had no plan until we were on the road. Then John suggested the VA Museum in Dundee, just an hour down the road. You know you’re in Dundee when you start seeing the bay on the left and construction cones everywhere else. It’s been 13 years and every time we pass through this town, the roads are under construction. Luckily, the VA Museum turns out to be right next to the Discovery Museum, which is very near the Tay Bridge. And it comes with a huge sailing ship, the Discovery! With penguins out front, we knew we were in for an Antarctic expedition, so we chose that museum to start with. It was a fabulously photographed account of Scott’s expedition and other attempts to accomplish great things in Antarctica. We loved every display and film. On the dock, the ship looks 123 years old and in need of more repair, but it was nice to board it and walk through all the decks and check out the rigging — bunt, bunt, sheet, bunt bunt. Cool place.
St. Andrews is a lovely, friendly place with a website that is rubbish (Brit word). We had to go there in person to inquire about tee times. How fabulous to drive by all the stands left over from the Women’s Open just last week! This is way, way bigger than the Scottish Open. And the gal in the shop said she’d actually talked to Lydia Ko on the phone! We’re all so star-struck by these amazing players. Anyway, at the desk we got a tee time—hooray!! And for a course we’ve never played before, the Castle Course!
The Castle Course is right on the water and only a few miles from The Golf Hotel, where we are staying. Perfect. I also asked for a caddie, but so late in the day, the best the starter could do was ask each caddie coming off the course if he wanted another loop. At the last minute, we got the best of the best, Lance, a delightful man with course knowledge and optimism for my game. Thank you, Lance! John carried his own bag, Lance carried mine, and away we went.
The fairways were undulating and the greens, big and tricky. On every tee box was a great photo opportunity. On #6, we could see the ruins of St. Andrews Abbey, and so many holes, we could see the sea. It was my kind of course and the most beautiful of the trip, I think. John does not agree. He says it’s exceedingly difficult with punishing rough and fairways that are hard to read. To be fair, we were playing in 20+ mph wind, but that only made the skies more dramatic. It was a great day. I didn’t shoot a low score, but I played to my handicap, so it was fair.
And the Golf Hotel— so welcoming for a 400-yr old inn. They carried our luggage, made sure the kitchen stayed open for us, and smiled and chatted despite all the stairs. Good people, comfy place.
