Fife

Fringed with Gold

In St Andrews, history rises from the well-worn cobbles, escapes from the candlelit pubs and sweeps across the golf links, carried by a sea breeze. With The 150th Open being played upon the Old Course, St Andrews, Robin Barwick visited the “Home of Golf” in February—not to play golf or to follow the well-trodden path, but to look beyond the famous highlights of golf’s most ancient town

PHOTOS: Iain Struthers

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King James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England in 1603) is thought to have been the first to describe the Kingdom of Fife as “The beggar’s mantle fringed with gold.” It is a curious, poetic phrase. If Fife is a mantle (or cloak) it belongs to the beggar because the ragged coastline of Fife leaves the mantle frayed. Yet the mantle’s fringe of gold represents the string of picturesque fishing villages that decorate the shores of Fife.

Scottish artist Clive Ramage has painted many Fife fishing villages, and he writes: “The gold lining perfectly captures the beautiful fishing villages that fringe the East Neuk [the most easterly part of Fife], especially when the phosphorescent orange street lamps are aglow and the houses are lit up and cosy on a cold winter’s night.”

The fishing villages of the East Neuk are linked by the Fife Coastal Path, which starts at the Tay Road Bridge at Newburgh on the Firth of Tay—a water’s edge that serves as the northern boundary of Fife—and runs just over 80 miles around to the Forth Road Bridge at Kincardine. Crail is one such classic and unspoilt Fife fishing village—10 miles to the south of St Andrews and Fife’s most easterly village—with a small yet robust harbor that has withstood all the North Sea could muster since the 16th century. Scotland is full of fascinating medieval history and Crail is no different, having been declared a royal burgh by Robert the Bruce in 1310.

Crail is a very long walk from St Andrews via the coastal path (or a short drive), and between the two lies the ancient farming village of Kingsbarns. The nine-mile stretch of coastal path between St Andrews and Kingsbarns provides one of the world’s more life-affirming walks if you have the energy for a day’s trek, passing by rock-strewn, sandy beaches, through untouched woods, past rolling farmland and across breezy clifftops that rise up to offer panoramic views over the “Auld Grey Toon.”

Intrepid visitors who venture along the Fife Coastal Path will forever identify with the fringe of gold, and as well as to the villages, you might wonder if the “gold” from the old saying refers to Fife’s chain of sandy beaches or to the golden hues of the fields of swaying barley in summer.

“The Fife Coastal Path is absolutely spectacular,” starts Louise Turner, commercial manager at Rufflets Hotel, St Andrews. “In addition to all the great pubs and restaurants in St Andrews, the obvious pleasure here is to be by the sea. Many of our guests enjoy heading out to the East Sands and West Sands, or down to Kingsbarns. It was down at the West Sands where they filmed Chariots of Fire.”

East Neuk by Scottish artist Clive Ramage (cliveramage.com); approaching St Andrews via the Fife Coastal Path [below]

The old fishing village of Crail [top]; Rufflets [above] is an idyllic country house retreat

It was in the garden of the Rufflets hotel that Jack Nicklaus celebrated his 1978 victory in The Open

Rufflets is an elegant country house hotel tucked behind pine trees on a 10-acre property, yet just a mile inland from the heart of St Andrews. Built as a private residence in 1924, it was converted into a hotel in 1952 and has welcomed some of St Andrews’ most discerning visitors since. Jack Nicklaus always stayed here on his numerous trips to the town, and it was in the hotel garden where he celebrated with friends after winning The Open on the Old Course in 1978. Tom Watson is among many of the world’s very finest golfers to have favored Rufflets too, and Tiger Woods has stayed here.

Rufflets is the ideal base for visitors looking to retreat from the bustle of the town at the end of the day—albeit a pretty understated bustle (unless it’s Open week)—and for those who want to wake up with views over beautifully manicured gardens that lead down towards a wooded glen and gently flowing river.

“Couples who come to stay here are often just looking for a little time away from their usual routine,” adds Turner, “looking for some time to enjoy a change of scene and relax as much as possible.”

Just don’t expect to stay here during The Open. That week has been fully booked at Rufflets for years.

Local Dram

Kingdom readers will know of the famous Kingsbarns Golf Links—which lies firmly among the world’s very finest modern links—yet also garnering a reputation in the village is the Kingsbarns Distillery, which is more or less next-door neighbor to the golf club. Owned by the Wemyss family, who have been age-old Fife landowners, the Kingbarns distillery resides in a renovated farmstead, where whisky has been distilled since 2015.

In fact, the distillery was the brainwave of a Kingsbarns caddie, Doug Clement, who saw an opportunity after so many visiting golfers had asked for local distillery recommendations, only for Clement to direct them down to Edinburgh or across to Perthshire. Clement took his idea to the Wemyss family in 2012, who already ran an independent drinks bottling business, and so the extension from bottling to distilling was a giant leap but not made without some knowledge of where they would land.

A decade after the idea took hold, the Kingsbarns Distillery offers an exceptional visitor tour and tasting experience, while its flagship Dream to Dram single malt has won numerous awards as one of Scotland’s most popular younger malts. Aged in ex-bourbon and first-fill Portuguese red wine casks, Dream to Dram is a distinctly light and fruity whisky, floral, balanced and approachable, with an impressive flavor profile for its age.

“Our inaugural release, Dream to Dram, is full of character and it is turning heads all around this industry,” says Kingsbarns’ director of European sales, Ben Stewart. Kingsbarns whiskies are already on sale in 46 countries, with arrival in the United States slated for 2023. DISTINGUISHED STRANGER

If you would like to know the preferred drinking spot of St Andrews legend Old Tom Morris, it was in the window of the lounge of the New Club, overlooking the 18th fairway of the Old Course. Morris was a founder member of the club in 1902 and was named its first Honorary Member. Club rules state there can only be one Honorary Member at a time and that they must be a “distinguished stranger” (Not sure how Old Tom qualifies here as everyone in St Andrews knew him). Each Honorary Member has also been an Open champion. Subsequent honorary members have been Sandy Herd, Bobby Jones and Arnold Palmer, while the current “HM” is Tom Watson.

The New Club lounge [above]; the original cask of whisky distilled at the Kingsbarns Distillery

Pie & a Pint

“People don’t get a proper feel for St Andrews until they put on their walking boots and walk around the town,” starts Graeme Pook, founder of travel company, Executive Golf and Leisure, and a former European Tour pro. “That is the fun of it; to go and explore up the wee nooks and crannies and wee alleyways and you think, ‘Gosh, I never knew this was here.’”

We took Graeme’s advice, and went in search of a classic Scottish pub. The Dunvegan is just a wedge from the 18th green of the Old Course and is a popular, famous haunt, while the Jigger Inn at the Old Course Hotel is a modern pub pretending to be the old caddies’ lair. Nope, we wanted to find a pub that provides authentic Fife hospitality, and after much walking, ordering of drinks and sipping of pints—in the name of research—we found the place we were looking for on South Street, less than a 10-minute walk from the flagstick on 18, and it’s called The Criterion.

The building dates back to 1874 and it originally housed a bootmaker, although by the mid-1880s it found its vocation as a public house. The Criterion is a genuine town pub that doesn’t differentiate between tradespeople and students, or between locals and wanderers; it is down-toearth and welcoming to all.

During an era when family-run pubs are increasingly few and far between, The Criterion is owned and operated by husband-and-wife Steve and Hazel Latto. The Criterion features beautiful bar stools upholstered in dark red leather

“Go and explore up the wee nooks and crannies and wee alleyways and you think, ‘Gosh, I never knew this was here’”

A flight you’ll be happy to book at The Criterion

and booths in leather and the pub’s own authentic tartan. Ingredients for the pub’s food menu are locally sourced and this pub’s “Cri pies” are so good that a recent American visitor asked if they could be shipped to the States.

Then there are the drinks: 170 whiskies (including a batch from Kingsbarns), 82 gins, more than 30 rums and six cask ales. The well-lit, mirror-backed bar shelves are bursting with bottles of all shapes, sizes and colors—such a seductive sight—and the pub will serve flights of different whiskies for those looking to experiment.

Oh, and The Criterion welcomes dogs, as all the best pubs do.

There is so much to love about St Andrews, and not just for the golfer. Given more space we would take you to the castle, to the harbor and go for fish ’n’ chips. If you are coming over to Scotland for The Open it will be an occasion you’ll never forget, but perhaps try to schedule a visit out of season to get a true feel for the “Auld grey toon.”