Sitting atop a rocky headland overlooking the ocean is the picturesque ruins of St. Andrews Castle, once the residence of Scotland’s bishops and archbishops.

St. Andrews Castle has been rebuilt and destroyed many times during the Wars of Scottish Independence when it changed hands between the Scots and the English. The castle that stands today was rebuilt in the 1400s by Bishop Walter Trail.

Bottle Dungeon – it gets its name from its shape: it has a narrow entrance neck at the top and a broader chamber below.

One of the most significant sieges at St. Andrews occurred in 1546 after Cardinal David Beaton, then the Archbishop, was murdered by Protestants who opposed Beaton’s actions against a well-connected Protestant preacher (George Wishart). Beaton had imprisoned Wishart before having him burned at the stake. The result of these actions led to Beaton being stabbed in his chambers and his body hung in public view from his window. His body was then stored in a chest of salt in the Bottle Dungeon pictured previously.

The Protestants then held the castle for about a year against the Catholics. During the Catholic siege, a tunnel was built to secretly enter the castle however word of the tunnel reached the Protestants and a counter-mine was dug. Actually, 3 counter-mines were dug before they managed to reach their attackers.

The countermines are open today to the public for exploration.

Yikes! There’s still a Catholic lurking in the tunnels!