St Andrews

I spent the day after our arrival in Scotland lying miserably on the couch. The illness that had swept across our family had finally reached me, turning my day into a nightmare of pain and fever. However, as is often the case with these things, the next day I felt fit as a fiddle, and ready to explore St Andrews. We had morning tea at the cafe where Kate met Prince William, while they were students at St Andrews, before walking down to St Andrews Castle. Although now mostly ruins, the castle had a fascinating history that I loved learning about. The best part was the mine and countermine. During a castle siege, in the 16th century, the besieging forces had decided to dig a tunnel under the castle walls, and mine it with gunpowder. However, the forces under siege started digging countermines, trying to cut off the mine before it reached the castle. After three failed attempts, eventually their plan succeeded, and the mine was intercepted. We got to walked down into the mine through the countermine, and explore the old tunnel. The countermine was very claustrophobic, only 3 and a half feet square, with a steep and uneven floor. The mine itself was more spacious.

Inside the countermine