Today it was off to St. Andrews and Fife which meant crossing the Firth of Forth estuary near Edinburgh via the Queensferry Bridge and parallel to the iconic Forth Bridge, which was opened in 1890, and is one of the most recognizable in the world. This railway bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, had the world’s longest spans (541 m) when it opened in 1890. “It remains one of the greatest cantilever trussed bridges and continues to carry passengers and freight. Its distinctive industrial aesthetic is the result of a forthright and unadorned display of its structural components. Innovative in style, materials and scale, the Forth Bridge marks an important milestone in bridge design and construction during the period when railways came to dominate long-distance land travel.” https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1485/
St. Andrews is known for the ruins of the St Andrews Cathedral and, of course, the St. Andrews golf course. The cathedral is unsafe to wander around too closely and there are barriers throughout the property to keep visitors safe from any falling stones. Nevertheless, the majesty of the remains of Scotland’s largest and most magnificent medieval church are a site to behold. The cathedral was begun in 1160–2 by Bishop Arnold. Work continued over the next 150 years, but was stalled by a storm in 1272, which blew down the west front, and by the first War of Independence against England. When the cathedral was finally dedicated in 1318, in the presence of Robert the Bruce, it was the largest church in Scotland.