The North Sea

Living by the sea has its good and bad points. I find it annoying when a persistent 20mph cold wind races to shore from Norway, or some other frigid place. The water provides wonderful scenery and awesome displays of power, however. I decided to take a few pictures that show what I experience every day while walking along the North Sea.

This picture is of St. Anderws Harbour, which was once a bustling port.

These next pictures are of St. Andrews Pier. It is tradition for students to walk along this pier in their academic robes. When the seas are rough, it provides an exciting walking experience!

These are pictures of St. Andrews Castle. It served as a stronghold for the Catholic Church in Scotland until the Reformation, when Protestants destroyed the building in retaliation for fellow Scottish Protestants who lost their lives to the flames of martyrdom.

A few scenes from St. Andrews and Perth, Scotland

Hey everyone! I hope that those of you at home in America will get a little taste of what I'm experiencing here in St. Andrews, Scotland as you read. St. Andrews is an amazing town full of history. The town dates back to the 10th century and the University to the 15th (St. Leonard's College-- now the post-grad college-- has been in existence even longer). St. Andrews was the center of the Catholic Church in Scotland until the Reformation. There are accounts of some gruesome martyrdoms in Foxes Book of Martyrs that took place at the old St. Andrews Cathedral and Castle. These martyrdoms helped make St. Andrews so controversial that most of the Cathedral and Castle and many of the University buildings were destroyed during the reformation.
Some of the pictures I am posting show the original cathedral and castle in their present conditions.