St Andrews History Tours: Explore the Rich Historical Quarters with Historian Richard Falconer
4.9
36 Ratings
Fife
Join historian Richard Falconer on a captivating tour of St Andrews' rich historical quarters. Discover lost and forgotten history, visit Mary Queen of Scots' holiday locations, and explore the unique charm of this ancient city.
Duration:
1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- St Mary’s College - A haven off the beaten track. Learn about the 3rd college of the university built in 1538 to combat heresy.
- St Leonards School - Hear about St Leonards school, the top private school in Scotland and one of the top schools in the world where the Queen Mother attended primary school.
- The Pends - Learn about the only entrance to the city to St Andrews for the pilgrims and journey along the historic thoroughfare through the former priory precincts of the Cathedral.
- St Andrews Harbour Trust - Visit St Andrews harbour, an area of great beauty missed by many a visitor to the town.
- St Andrews Cathedral - Learn about the incredible history of the former seat of the Catholic Church in Scotland.
- St Andrews Castle - The was the Bishops Palace from the 13th century. For the most part there was spiritual peace here but it has a fascinating history that culminated in the Scottish Reformation.
- University of St Andrews - Explore all the historic quarters of Scotland’s oldest University around St Andrews, with its amazing architecture and unique history.
What's Included
- Guided tour with Richard Falconer, professional English-speaking guide and historian.
Additional Information
This tour operates at 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 5:30 p.m., 7 days a week (exceptions can be found on the booking calendar). Tour guide Richard Falconer is both an author and historian specializing in the history of St Andrews and leads all historical tours himself. After six decades of extensive research into the history of St Andrews, Richard has unearthed a wealth of lost or overlooked historical facts about the town.
The tour includes all the historic sections of the city except the golf course—that’s a separate tour! You’ll visit two sites associated with the vacation retreats of Mary Queen of Scots while in St Andrews.
Get ready to discover the ancient city rich in history with a touch of spirituality and traces of brutal occurrences.
St Andrews holds its unique place being frequently visited by eminent golfers, Hollywood celebrities, and dignitaries.
- Participants must understand English well
- Under 5s free, not suitable for under 2s
- Not suitable for those with walking difficulties (walking slowly)
Location
The Bothy St Andrews
All tours meet opposite the Bothy Restaurant in Church Square, behind Holy Trinity Church (formerly the Dolls House Restaurant).
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(36 Ratings)
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Gentry_w
Sep 7, 2023
St Andrews: More than Golf - Richard was a great tour guide and answered any question that was thrown at him. St Andrews is a can’t miss.
Review provided by Viator
Nancy_s
Jul 20, 2023
Great tour - guide wonderful - Our guide, Richard, was a wealth of information! Made the tour wonderful! Highly recommended to all age levels.
Review provided by Viator
760bt
May 10, 2023
What a very informative, interesting and fun tour! - It was an excellent, fantastic and most enjoyable tour. Richard Falconer was very knowledgeable, professional, friendly, helpful and always came up with suggestions/ideas to enable me to make the most of my tour as well as to plan my tours effectively. For example, Richard was with a tour group when he bumped into me in St Savlatore Hall and he suggested I join them there and then to go into the St Salvatore's chuch as it would be closed by the time I did my evening tour. Also when I was booking my tours, Richard pointed out that I was booking more tours than I needed and advised me which tours would already cover everything I needed. And during the tours, Richard was a superb tourguide, making my day so interesting, informative, fun and enjoyable too! I highly recommend Richard and his tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarah
Apr 27, 2023
Lovely tour through St. Andrews - This was a great informative tour of St. Andrews. We learned so much from Richard about the long history of the town. Would highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sally_w
Apr 22, 2023
Superb history tour - Richard was a superb guide. He truly brought the history alive and we enjoyed speaking with him and learned so much. The cathedral history was especially fascinating.
Review provided by Viator
Linda_carlotta
Apr 15, 2023
Excellent! - I received this tour as a gift and my husband and I were lucky with the weather as it turned out to be cold but sunny. It was February and we were fortunate enough to be the only ones on the tour! Our guide Richard was very welcoming and cheery and engaging and not above cracking the odd joke or too! Richard is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about his subject matter and the tours themselves. We thought we knew St Andrews but Richard’s tour took us to places and views we had not seen before. Although ours was a historical tour Richard , when appropriate shared some of his broader knowledge about St Andrews, the golf and inevitably William and Catherine! This was an excellent tour and I would highly recommend it. Thank you Richard!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gregorj_13
Apr 10, 2023
Excellent - A hugely informative and enjoyable tour of the highways and byways of St Andrews. Our guide, Richard, was engaging, with a wry sense of honour. His knowledge was comprehensive and, as a local, he gave us insights into St Andrews from ancient to modern day times. Thoroughly enjoyed the 90 minutes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
George_d
Mar 16, 2023
Amazing - We loved this tour! We took the ghost tour the day before, so it was so cool to learn more of the history behind different parts of St. Andrews in addition to that tour. Our favorite parts of the tour included learning about the St. Andrews Cathedral while walking though the Cathedral grounds, learning about James Gregory, discovering what buildings were originally constructed for, and so much more!!
Review provided by Viator
Margaretr530
Mar 13, 2023
Perfect 1 Hour tour of St. Andrews - This was the perfect history tour of St. Andrews. It was around one hour, and it was an efficient way to learn and see all of historical St. Andrews, and it is so much more than just the home of golf. Richard provided his unique perspective on the city’s history with his deep knowledge and fun facts that only a long-time local of the city would know. I especially enjoyed seeing the beautiful campus of St. Andrew’s and learning about Prince William’s experience there as a student.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Natalivogue2
Oct 28, 2022
St Andrews guided tour - Our guide Richard was very knowledgeable and funny, the tour is just for 2 hours which covers all of St Andrews attractions and is a nice walk.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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