Winter at the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral. Building started in 1158 and continued for over 100 years and was in use until the reformation in 1559.

When intact it had 6 turrets, two of which are visible in the above photo, they stand 30 meters (100 feet) high. The top of St Rules tower (the square tower) can be seen in the distance.

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The tower is part of the church that was built in 1127AD to hold the relics of Saint Andrew, Saint Rule (aka Saint Regulus) is said to have brought the relics of Saint Andrew to the area. The tower is pretty much all that is left of the church and stands next to the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral.

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This is part of the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral.

The sun was very low in the sky and I kinda shot this without looking through the viewfinder trying not to blind myself in the process. (wish I had live view!)

Caught a nice lens flare though.

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Sitting outside Madras College, Blackfriars Chapel is all that remains of a once large monastery on the site. The Blackfriars were established in St Andrews by Bishop William Wishart and were known for their white robes with black crosses and a fanatical desire to root out "heresy".

There is no evidence that St Andrews was ever a walled city, but in the troubled times around the 16th century the outer extremities of all streets and wynds were closed by ports or gates.

The West Port (port is an old word for a gate) was originally built in 1589, and is one a few surviving ports in Scotland.

This is the only port to remain in St Andrews today, however, it was extensively remodelled in 1843.

St Andrews Harbour viewed from the beach at low tide.
I’m lucky enough to work down at the East sands in St Andrews and have views like this everyday. This morning the sun had just come up and it was beautifully clear. The tide was pretty much as far out as it goes so I quickly grabbed my gear and hurried off down to the beach.
Getting this reflection in the water did entail getting my feet wet and I was glad when I got to my computer and was able to see that it worked out and was indeed worth sitting around with cold wet feet for the rest of the day.

This HDR was shot at night on 3 long exposures. Luckily no cars wanted to come down the road while I was taking them So I got it done in one go, without being run over.

My HDR tutorial is nearly finished, hope to have it up on the site by the weekend.

The sun setting behind the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral. Building of the Catherdal started in 1160AD. The work took nearly 150 years to complete. It was ruined after the reformation in 1559.

The Pends in Standrews is believed to be one of the gateways into the monastery. This is an HDR taken during a five minute interval in the rain that seemed to be falling all day.