A Solo Long Weekend in St Andrews, Scotland
Recently, I unexpectedly found myself on my own in St Andrews, Scotland and decided I had better make the best of the experience. First stop: shopping. Given St Andrews is a tourist destination, shops abound around town. I headed to a shoe store and was thrilled to find a humongous selection of boots in all sorts of styles. I zeroed in on lined boots with very low heels, which were easy to put on and would keep me warm. Given the favorable exchange rate, I was able to select 3 pairs for the price of 1.5 in the US. Score! I was also very excited to check out Seasalt. A local buyer in our town does a sample sale each year. Last year, he carried many Seasalt jackets, which a few of my friends purchased and loved. At the retail store, I learned they carry much more than jackets and found myself trying on sweaters, pants, and dresses. In the end, I reined myself in and left the store with a nice sweater and some cozy lined socks. Of course, I also purchased a tartan print wrap as my official souvenir before the trip was over.
Next stop: exploring. I had explored much of the town with my son on a previous trip. So, after visiting the beaches and shopping, I knew I wanted to take advantage of the time I had to see some other parts of Scotland. I reached out to St Andrews shuttle on a Friday evening to see if they had an availability for a Woodlands tour the next day and to my delight they were able to accommodate me. In fact, Gordon, one of the owners, picked me up the next morning in his electric VW and spent the entire day with me. He took me on two hikes to beautiful waterfalls, drove me through quaint villages, joined me for lunch in Pitlochry at the damn, showed me the iconic Queen’s View, and introduced me to Iain Burnett Highland luxury chocolates. All the while, he was my tour guide and travel companion, which was truly kind of him. You see, I’m not really a fan of this much alone time! I saw some beautiful sights and learned so much. Thank you, Gordon!
Of course, no trip is complete without some yummy food. Thank you to Taste for oatmilk lattes and delicious pastries – chocolate twists and chocolate croissants were my go tos, but I was told the almond croissants are the best. I am sure all of their pastries are delicious. I was fortunate that the caretaker at The Arran House made Taste pastries available each morning. (I won’t tell you how many I ate during my brief stay.) Speaking of the Arran House, I would highly recommend it. It is an “aparthotel,” meaning it is not staffed 24/7. Rather, it seemed kind of like an inn with several airbnbs. My room, the Arran Morris Suite was a newly renovated room with a modern en suite bathroom, large tv, refrigerator, kettle, and small sitting area. I had to work a bit while I was away and it had nice space for doing that. The room was quite reasonably priced, which I fear won’t last because demand in St Andrews never seems to end.
I can also highly recommend Tailend for very fresh, well-prepared fish. The takeaway scallops are pan seared with a small salad – so delicious and a great light lunch or afternoon snack. The brownie with salted caramel ice cream is yummy too. The chicken massaman curry at the Thai Pop-up is quite good. Northpoint has yummy breakfast options all day. The Bridge restaurant at the Rusacks Hotel has a limited menu, but everything is quite good. Bistro du Vin had very good gnocci and a delicious salad chock full of interesting vegetables. The mussels, snails and duck crosselet were good, but unfortunately, the tiger prawns were not. Management was very responsive and removed them from our bill without any issues. We had crème brulee, rum cake, and affogato for dessert and can highly recommend them all. And the decaf cappuccinos were delicious.
To ensure, I got the most out of this unexpected long weekend, I scheduled a massage at the Kinnettles Spa the morning I was leaving. Kinnettles is the only spa located in the center of St Andrews. I booked a back, face, and scalp massage and loved it. Oh, and spent the evening in Edinburgh before heading home, so made a return trip to The Ivy. Check out the pictures of their fabulous offerings for afternoon tea. Perfect way to end a trip!
I hope to visit St Andrews again in the future. It really is a delightful town.
