St Salvator's Chapel

St Andrews Cathedral was built around 1158 in the Norman style and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland. Towards the end of the 16th century, the central tower collapsed, taking the north wall with it. Much of the ruins were then removed for re-use in construction and nothing was done to preserve them until 1826, after which the cathedral was scrupulously maintained.

When stepping up to Canongate Kirk you may be excused for not quite knowing what the building is. The front is unusual with its flat facade, heavy Doric porch and strange Dutch style gable, topped by a set of real antlers.

St. Giles Cathedral was founded in the 11th century but the original cathedral burned down in 1385 and was rebuilt shortly afterwards. In 1466 St. Giles became a collegiate church and around 1490 the lantern tower was added. In the 16th century, the reformer John Knox became a priest of St. Gilles and was buried there, making the cathedral the mother church of Presbyterianism. He is commemorated by a 19th-century stained glass window in the south wall of the church and, since 1904, by a bronze statue on the north side.