The Open Championship golf tournament returns to St Andrews for another year this month, and many Edinburgh residents will be heading through for it.
Also simply called The Open, the championship is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and among the most prestigious. It was founded in 1860, and this year the winner will take home $14,000,000 in prize money.
Being one of the biggest sporting events in Scotland, people from across the country will be heading to St Andrews between July 10 and July 17. However, with the ongoing ScotRail strikes have called into question how travellers are meant to get to the tournament.
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In light of the significant disruption, with ScotRail continuing to run only a limited service, organisers have warned the public against travelling by rail.
Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said: “Due to circumstances out of our control, we have no choice but to urge fans to not travel by rail to The Open and to use alternative means of transport to get to and from St Andrews next week. There is a risk that fans who travel by train may find there are no services to get them home.
“We appreciate that fans will be frustrated by this and share in their disappointment that the enhanced rail service planned for The Open will not operate. We want to reassure fans that we are doing all that we can to make their experience of attending The Open a memorable one and have contingency measures in place to manage the situation.”
Meanwhile, ScotRail head of customer operations Phil Campbell said: “We’re doing absolutely everything we can to support travel to the historic 150th Open at the fantastic Old Course at St Andrews. However, we urge fans to plan ahead and consider what alternative transport is available.
“Regrettably, our temporary timetable will still be in place throughout the Championship, which means there will be a very limited number of trains to and from Leuchars – the closest station to the course.
“Space on board these trains are limited, so I’d urge fans to consider alternative modes of transport as there will be significantly long queues at stations and we may not be able to get you to the course."
Here is a roundup of the travel options for people from Edinburgh to get to and from The Open in St Andrews.
Train
While fans have been urged by organisers not to take the train on account of the ScotRail strikes, the limited timetable will continue to run.
According to ScotRail, trains between Edinburgh and Leuchars — the nearest train station to St Andrews — will run approximately every sixty minutes between Sunday and Thursday. However, there is no guarantee that you will get a seat on the journey there or back, potentially leaving you stranded in St Andrews.
Those who do arrive and depart by rail will be able to use the local 99 bus service operated by Stagecoach from Leuchars station to St Andrews and back.
The full timetables can be viewed here and here.
Bus
The X59 is the bus service that runs between Edinburgh and St Andrews.
On the way to its final destination of Dundee, the bus makes a stop at the St Andrews Bus Station, which is just a five-minute walk from the course.
Multiple buses run throughout the day, and the full timetable can be seen here.
Car
While driving may seem like the simplest method of transportation if you have access to a car, there are some things you need to be aware of.
Most importantly, there is no public car parking at St Andrews Links or in the immediate surrounding area. Instead, public parking will be located at The Open Park & Ride facilities — where dedicated buses will be available to transport spectators to and from the course.
Overnight parking is not permitted at Park & Ride facilities, and so if you are planning on staying over you will need to find somewhere else to park your car.
You can purchase a Parking Pass, which start at £10 per day, here.
According to The Open website, here are the directions for those driving from Edinburgh:
- Follow the A90/M90 to the Forth Road Bridge (Queensferry Crossing).
- Continue to follow the M90 and leave at junction 2A to join the A92 towards Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes.
- At the Preston Roundabout, turn right onto the A911 then continue straight at the next roundabout to pick up the A915 towards St Andrews.
- Continue along the A915 and follow signs for The Open Park & Ride
Taxi
If you have the money to spend, or require a taxi for any reason, there will be a designated taxi rank and private hire drop off/pick-up area in operation for The Open.
This is located in the Yellow J Car Park, which is approximately 150-200m from the main venue entrance.
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