St Andrews Castle

Highlights include the Cathedral ruins and St Rule's Tower, the Castle with its bottle dungeon, the Old Course and Swilcan Bridge, the West Sands beach, and the British Golf Museum. The medieval streets of the old town are a pleasure to wander too.

The castle was besieged and damaged repeatedly. It saw the murder of Cardinal Beaton in 1546 and the Protestant siege that followed, then fell into ruin after the Reformation and has stayed that way since the 17th century.

Founded in the late 12th century as the home of the Bishops of St Andrews, its standout features are the bottle dungeon, a pit prison cut from solid rock, and the counter mine, a tunnel dug to intercept the besiegers' mine in 1546.

There's an admission fee, run by Historic Environment Scotland at around 8 pounds per adult. A combined ticket with St Andrews Cathedral saves a little, and HES members go free.