Returning to St. Andrews

All hoomans and doggies were so excited to be going to St. Andrews! The thought of running on the vast sands and playing with each other!

We checked into the ever so dog-friendly Hotel du Vin.

The view from our room of West Sands beach was spectacular!

We couldn’t wait to get to the beach. We were all smiles as we made our way …

As soon as we were let loose, we ran, we chased each other and we played – on miles and miles of sand.

and the hoomans had the biggest grins on their faces.

Of course Mum was determined to create this video … because it was on this beach where they had filmed the iconic scene for Chariots of Fire.

We ran like crazy and the hoomans had the best laughs! That was Mum running last – pre-knee op!

The rest of the time, we walked around St. Andrews, discovering shops and sights.

Besides dining at the hotel’s very dog-friendly bar,

we found a few places in town where dogs were welcomed. There were a few others but due to the time of year, many were closed.

We had dinner at The Saint Bar & Kitchen – 170 South St, St Andrews KY16 9EG

And lunch at Lupo’s – 119 North St, St Andrews KY16 9AD

We celebrated Hogmanay at the hotel.

I tried staying up … but with all that playing on the beach, I could hardly keep my eyes open.

The hoomans didn’t try staying up either and had scattered to their own rooms. But at the stroke of midnight some of us watched the fireworks together from our window.

And of course we danced!

Early next morning as the sun rose, like in previous years, Mum was able to walk the beach on the first day of the year, this time with just me.

Remembering last year in Sennen Cove when we were all together.

All too soon, we are into Day 2 of 2023. It was time to head back to the city and to reality. Our journey home involved first a mini van that fitted six humans and seven dogs to Leuchar station. The hour long train ride to Edinburgh was crowded with passengers as earlier trains were cancelled. And the final train back to London was over four hours! All dogs were on their human’s laps – including Zac, the Irish Doodle! LOL!

May’s comment: The dogs did incredibly well and so did the hoomans. The many concerns before the journey were dealt with and together we managed any issues that came up. In a way it was easier travelling with other dog owners – we were able to assist each other. After five days of train journeys, lugging pieces of luggage, city tours, walks on the beach, we arrived home in London – remembering that as one of the best New Years ever!

For me, it was always my plan to return to St. Andrews one day. Darcy had her first ever beach run on the first day of 2012 on that very beach. Still a pup at 10 months, she ran like the wind. I hadn’t expected to experience the joy myself of seeing her run so freely and happily on the vast sandy beach of West Sands.

That was when I decided that it would become our New Year tradition – to find new and different beaches each year so Darcy could run to her heart’s content and together we would look out at the horizon just as the new year stretched before us. And the ocean’s water symbolised cleansing. So year after year, we travelled to different beaches near and far.

I wanted so much to bring her back to St. Andrews for her last beach run but we never made it because she had become so tired. It would have been a trip too far. So it became a mission for me to bring her back in some manner. And so i did.

We created a time capsule. We buried it on the beach on the last day of 2022 – to close a chapter and put an end to a year we will remember with sadness.

On the 1 January, eleven years since Darcy was there, a rainbow appeared.

I have sometimes doubted if there’s an After Life, but time and time again, she sends me messages to reassure me that she is there waiting for me beyond the Rainbow Bridge.

When you’re next on West Sands and want to find Darcy’s time capsule, you’ll see a ‘D’ marked on one of the posts.

We have scattered Darcy’s memories in ten different places, one for every year of her life. Will share the others in another post.

I felt at peace for finally having done this.

Thank you to Ju-li, Fiona, Alison, Martine, Zeina and all the doggies who were with me and George as we said a final goodbye to 2022. Life did go on for George and I but it is inevitable that we will always recall the year with a tinge of sadness.