Spotlight on St Andrews

Today we’re visiting St Andrews, named after the apostle and with a history stretching back to before the 8th Century as well as being home to Scotland’s oldest university and renowned as the “home of golf”.

The first shot is from the Lammas Market in South Street in 1969 on a glorious August day.

Part fun fair and part continental trade market, the gathering comes to St Andrews for five days every summer. Traditionally marking the first harvest festival of the year, it’s the oldest surviving medieval fair in Europe.

The next photo dates back 54 years and shows youngsters having fun on a raft in the sea water Step Rock Pool. This used to be a popular spot for holidaymakers but closed down in 1978.

Below, a fascinating aerial shot of St Andrews looks out over the Old Course and West Sands beach in 1957, during the Open Golf championship.

It was long before the university buildings appeared on the North Haugh and the Old Course Hotel was still just a twinkle in the architect’s eye. If you look carefully you can see railway sheds on the hotel’s present day site.

The crowd at Craigtoun Park for 1988’s Fife Aid are determined to enjoy themselves despite the miserable weather.

The two-day event, running in July, was inspired by David Bellamy and organised to raise environmental awareness, with some of the best known names in rock music performing (Van Morrison and Rick Wakeman among them).

Unfortunately, due to unexpectedly terrible weather and a complete lack of TV coverage, attendance was only a fraction of what had been hoped for and the festival organisers lost a great deal of money.

The caption on the last picture reads: “The house Tom Morris lived in with his parents in 1841.”

Unfortunately it doesn’t identify which house but the area is instantly recognisable as the end of South Street, looking towards the Cathedral ruins.

The golfing icon would have been 20 when this photo was taken and perhaps his relatives are to be seen tending to their baskets of fishing equipment.

Recognise any faces? Let us know at

The Old Course Hotel was a twinkle in the architect’s eye

The fun of the fair at Lammas Market, 1969.

Having a dip in the Step Rock Pool, 1963.

Old Tom Morris’s South Street, 1841.

Rocking in the rain, Craigtoun Park, 1988.

An aerial shot of town, 1957.

with Caroline Lindsay Traces through time