Most people visit St Andrews to go golfing but we had an alternative plan. We went out into the surrounding countryside and visited Scotland’s Secret Bunker, which is 100 feet underground beneath an innocuous looking farmhouse in the middle of the fields. It was the potential government nerve center in the case of a nuclear attack. As a group of baby boomers who grew up with nuclear drills in school, it was a somewhat creepy, yet fascinating, reminder of the threat we all lived with then, and unfortunately perhaps again?

While we were down there, we became fascinated with an old movie of some sort they were playing on monitors in several of the rooms. It was basically about the drama of the people working one of these bunkers during an actual nuclear attack. Even creepier! Creepiest yet was that just as we were back topside and walking back to our car, somebody set off the air raid siren. That was just a touch too real.

We talked Lisa into posing

Mike has had an ice cream fetish on this trip, though is wondering why this cone has a cigar – photo by Julie

While in St Andrews, we also visited the ruins of both St Andrews Abbey and the castle, but as each site charged at least five pounds entrance fee, our visits consisted of circling the outside, reading the signs, and snapping some pictures. How quickly we become immune to the charms of yet one more ancient medieval ruin. It had better be worth our time and pounds!

Abbey

Arch by the abbey

St Andrews castle, less impressive than the abbey

We stopped into the coastal town of Arbroath to hunt down some of their famous smokies, which are smoked haddock. In fact we learned that Arbroath smokies is a copywrited term, so to be called that, they have to be smoked within 8 km of Arbroath. We were not quite sure what to do with them or how to eat them, so we decided just to take them along with us and figure them out later. With our bundle of smoked fish in hand, we then found a lunch with by far the best fish and chips we’ve had on this trip, also haddock.

Boats in Abroath

The shop where we got our Arbroath smokies

We pulled into Stonehaven, where we are staying the night, with time to spare to walk along the waterfront boardwalk and enjoy the views with the setting sun. We found some wine, Tucs crackers, pate, olives, and cheese to go with our smokies for dinner. Yum!

Tide is out

Scenic boats

Sculpture along the waterfront

Goin fishin!

Our guesthouse

We seemed to have gotten the Scotish lodge room