From Edinburgh to Aberdeen- driving the east coast of Scotland

After a day in a half alone in Edinburgh and being finally joined by my friend Erin, it was time to hit the road. We were first heading from Edinburgh to Aberdeen- driving the east coast of Scotland.

The day begins…

After enjoying a full Scottish vegan breakfast, we took the nearby tram to the airport. Edinburgh has excellent transportation by the way, the busses through town only require a tap from a credit card. The trams, however, do require a ticket, and can be bought at the stations on the street or on an app. At the airport, we went to the rental car area the area to get our cute car for the next two weeks- a Fiat. Successfully driving stick on the left side of the road (“stay left, stay left” is my mantra the next few weeks) was my new life endeavor.

Kirkcaldy

Our first stop of the day was the town of Kirkcaldy. We drove through town to check it out, but ultimately headed towards Ravenscraig Castle.

Ravenscraig castle & beach

Ravenscraig Castle was built in 1460 as a home for the wife of king James II.  It was one of  the first Scottish castle castle to be built to be able to withstand cannon fire. The king died before the castle was ever finished so it never was a royal home. In 1650 it was invaded by English forces led by Oliver Cromwell and damaged. It was also used as an ammunition depot during the First World War. Visitors cannot visit it currently as it is undergoing some construction to make it more safe for visitors.

We walked along the Ravenscraig Park and beach for some glorious views. Along the sand, over stones, up a hill, it was all so beautiful. 

Wemyss Caves

Looked at Google Maps and saw there was a place nearby called Wemyss Caves as well as MacDuff castle. We couldn’t find the castle but parked and walked a short distance to the caves, located right off a beach.

A man was walking his dog, and I asked him about the caves. Since I don’t like to plan out my trips, talking to locals is a must! He gave us a quick rundown of the caves, telling us that pigeons nest in the caves (which I found out first hand – giving me quite a fright!).

There are actually 6 caves along the coastline to the east of the village of Wemyss. These include Court Cave, Doo Cave, Well Cave, Jonathan’s Cave, Sliding Cave and Gas Works Cave. The caves are between 5,000-8,000 years old! Inside some are carvings, believed to be from the Bronze or even Pictish ages.

He told us there were more caves further along the beach, and showed us how to walk to them, along a narrow concrete strip. From there I explored a bit further along the rocky beach seeing the remains of the Victorian gasworks.

MacDuff castle

After walking along the beach, we took the steps up the hill to see the MacDuff castle, which dates as much as 500 years old, and was built by the earls of Fife.

The castle is in ruins, but it was cool to walk up into and around it, seeing what I imagined to be a moat.

St Andrews

Continuing from Edinburgh to Aberdeen- driving the east coast of Scotland, we next drove into St Andrew. St. Andres is known for having the oldest university in Scotland, as the home of golf, and now I also believe ice cream. We parked across from Jannetta’s Galeteria which had a line out the door. Since we needed change for parking I decided to take one for the team and order some ice cream. it was delicious.

St Andrews Cathedral

We walked to St. Andrews Cathedral- another place that was closed for construction. This cathedral ruins was THE center of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Built in 1158, the ruins indicate it was 390 feet long, making it the largest church to have been built in Scotland. During the Reformation it was ransacked and destroyed and by 1561 it was left to ruin. The cemetery next to the cathedral holds the remains of many important men.

St Andrews castle

St. Andrews Castle is also in ruins, and is also closed for construction. However, the visitor center is open and free for visitors.

There has neen a castle on the site (overlooking the North Sea) since the late 1100s, and housed the wealthy & powerful bishops of the burgh. During wars of Scottish independence it changed hands between the English and the Scottish many times, during which time the castle was destroyed and rebuilt. It was a prison, birthplace of James III, and the site of murders. And this is all explained in the informative museum.

Golfing and university

The friendly man in gift shop told us to walk to the golf course and university. We walked about 7 minutes and arrived at the St Andrews links. Did you know that Saint Andrews links is 600 years old and is the largest public golf course in Europe?

St Andrews links was busy prepping for the British Open, which is the 150th anniversary. There were statues of golf bags scattered across town to mark the occasion.

On our way back to the car we walked through St Andrews University. St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland, founded in 1413. It is also the third oldest in the English speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. Notable alumni include Prince William and Catherine.

Arbroath

Our last stop of the day on our way from Edinburg to Aberdeen was Arbroath Abbey. it was ALSO closed for construction, which is fine because we arrived after hours anyways.

This Abby was found it in 1178 by King William the Lion. The Abbey is famous for being the richest in Scotland and also for being the place where the Declaration of Scottish Independence was believed to have been drafted in 1320. The infamous Stone of Destiny, which disappeared from Westminster abbey in 1950, was found lying at the Abbeys alter in 1951.

As we were snapping pictures, this older gentleman, Billy, approached us. He explained that the Abbey was closed, but then walked us around the small town, to the cliffs and told us history of Arbroath.

Have I mentioned that the people of Scotland are so kind? That man was just on his way to his “local chip shop” but spent an hour walking around with us. A great memory I will always cherish.

After that we drove further north to our guest house for the night. From Edinburgh to Aberdeen- driving the east coast of Scotland- we made several stops. It was a very fun, unplanned day on the east coast, but we stumbled onto a lot of great things that i hope you can enjoy too. Stay tuned, more from Scotland soon! Thanks for reading this post, and if you haven’t read my first two posts from this trip, about my long travel day or one day in Edinburgh be sure to check them out

-Catching Katie