The St Andrews Heritage Trail.

Once the largest and most magnificent cathedral in Scotland, now a breathtaking ruin overlooking the sea.

Begun in 1158 and consecrated in 1318 in the presence of Robert the Bruce, the cathedral was the centre of the medieval Scottish church for 400 years. It fell into ruin after the Reformation of 1559, when reformer John Knox preached a sermon so fiery the congregation stripped the building of its 'idolatry'. Climb St Rule's Tower (the 33m square tower beside it) for the best view in Fife.

The oldest building in St Andrews, predating the cathedral itself.

This 11th–12th century tower is all that remains of the earlier church of St Regulus (St Rule), the monk who legend says brought the relics of St Andrew — the apostle — to Scotland. Those relics gave the town its name and made it Scotland's most important place of pilgrimage. The 157 steps to the top are worth every breath.

Clifftop ruin with a grim bottle dungeon and a secret siege tunnel.

The castle was the palace of the bishops and archbishops of St Andrews. Its bottle-shaped dungeon, carved into solid rock, is one of the most infamous prisons in medieval Scotland — once you were lowered in, there was no climbing out. During the siege of 1546–47 attackers and defenders dug counter-mines through the rock; you can still walk through the mine and counter-mine today.

A stone obelisk on The Scores remembering the Protestant martyrs.

St Andrews was the front line of the Scottish Reformation. Patrick Hamilton (1528) and George Wishart (1546) were among those burned at the stake here for their Protestant beliefs. The monument on The Scores honours them, while their initials are still set into the cobbles where they died.

The beating heart of Scotland's first university.

The University of St Andrews was founded in 1413, making it the oldest in Scotland and the third-oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. St Salvator's College, founded in 1450, gives the town its iconic tower and cloistered quad — the backdrop to graduation processions and the famous red undergraduate gowns.

Initials in the street marking where Patrick Hamilton burned.

Set into the cobbles outside the chapel are the initials 'PH', marking the spot where 24-year-old Patrick Hamilton was burned over six agonising hours in 1528 — the fire kept going out. Students avoid treading on them. Those who do are said to be cursed unless they run into the North Sea at dawn on May Day to cleanse themselves — the origin of the May Dip.

The medieval marketplace, still the town's commercial spine.

St Andrews was laid out in the 12th century on three parallel streets — North Street, Market Street and South Street — all funnelling pilgrims towards the cathedral. Market Street was, and still is, where the town trades. The medieval street plan is almost perfectly preserved.

A vaulted medieval gateway to the cathedral precinct.

The Pends is a magnificent ruined 14th-century vaulted gatehouse that once formed the main entrance to the cathedral priory. South Street, the grandest of the three medieval streets, is lined with merchants' houses, the old Town Kirk, and Queen Mary's House, where Mary Queen of Scots is said to have stayed.

The Home of Golf and its most famous little bridge.

Golf has been played on these links since at least the 15th century — so much so that in 1457 King James II banned it by Act of Parliament because it distracted men from archery practice. The ban was lifted in 1502 when James IV took up the game himself. The Swilcan Bridge on the 18th is the most photographed spot in golf.

The imposing home of the game's governing body.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, founded in 1754, built its famous sandstone clubhouse in 1854. For centuries the R&A wrote and guarded the rules of golf for the entire world (outside the USA). It stands sentinel over the 1st tee and 18th green of the Old Course.

Two miles of golden sand — and a film legend.

The vast West Sands beach is where the opening scene of the 1981 Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire was filmed — the runners pounding along the sand to Vangelis's score. It's also the site of the students' May Dip, a tidal playground, and one of the great Scottish beach walks.

The ancient harbour and the famous Sunday Pier Walk.

St Andrews' harbour has sheltered fishing boats and pilgrim ships for 800 years. The stone pier is the stage for the Pier Walk — a tradition where students in their red gowns process to the end of the pier and back after Sunday chapel, a ritual dating back centuries. End your trail here, where the town meets the sea.