Happy Holidays and (almost) Merry Christmas!

Cozy up with a hot beverage and cozy blanket (or a crisp summer refresher for my friends in the southern hemisphere), we’ve got a jam-packed blog installment this week: an exciting, exclusive announcement, several side quests around Scotland (Edinburgh, Eden Mill Distillery, wildlife, and more!), nature photos, and quality time with quality people.

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A few weeks back, we experienced St Andrews Day.¹ In the morning, festive markets shut down one of the three main streets, followed by a street ceilidh² until the sun down. In the evening, a torch walk occurs. I expected some sort of chanting or singing to accompany the torch-walking, but I guess this tradition does not include a musical component. Since you’re only in St Andrews on St Andrews day once in your life, we decided to overcome the (maybe distinctly American) intimidation derived from watching dozens of people marching with torches… we meandered into the hordes of people parading down South street, Greyfriars, North street, and the Old Course. The processional ended here with an impressive fireworks display from West Sands. How magical!

Now, I know I promised you stories of Edinburgh and distilleries, but I’ve decided to put this next part right at the front and center of this week’s newsletter because it is simply too big (literally 19,000ft+/5895m big) to get buried.

Coming into this year, my macroscopic guiding objectives were simple: fully embrace a new place and take advantage of the one-in-a-lifetime-opportunity afforded to me. So much of what drew me to apply for the Bobby Jones program in the first place was the commitment to global citizenship, integrity, intellectual & interpersonal curiosity, and excellence (athletic & academic) with St Andrews’ vibrant post-grad community as the set.

In the spirit of this, I’ve just committed to one of the biggest opportunities yet, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro this September! I am thrilled to announce that I’m hiking with a dedicated University of St Andrews cohort that works alongside Dig Deep, an organization that has maintained an incredible 10-year partnership with the university. In brief, Dig Deep is dedicated to transforming access to clean water, safe sanitation, and good hygiene (WASH) for the one million people in Kenya’s Bomet County, where two out of three currently lack these basic services. This crisis causes widespread waterborne disease, high poverty, and lost time for women and children who must collect often-dirty water instead of attending school or work. By collaborating with local communities and the Kenyan government, the organization’s work directly saves lives, improves education, and empowers women and girls to build stronger, healthier livelihoods.

This trek has been a “bucket list” dream of mine for years and would mark my very first journey to the African continent. To make it happen, the fundraising goal is £2,990 (although, I will be striving to exceed this goal to maximize my positive impact!). To be fully transparent about where your generosity goes: half of this goal directly funds Dig Deep’s life-saving hygiene and water projects, while the other half covers my expedition costs (I am personally covering my own flights and gear!). In the spirit of the holidays, it would truly be the best gift imaginable if you would consider supporting me in this journey! Any and every donation amount helps towards the ultimate goal.

To learn more: My webpage and donation link : https://dig-deep.enthuse.com/pf/elizabeth-martin

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Over the first few days of December, the masters students from last year returned for their graduation ceremonies! We enjoyed the company of the USA to Scotland Bobbys from 2024-2025  over sensational Italian food (shoutout, Zizzi). Deans Court hosted a reception for the former postgraduates, and the current residents (quietly) compared social dynamics and searched for the graduate who had their room the year prior.

I had previously thought that all of the random stuff in my room came from the previous Bobby Jones scholars, turns out yes, some items did come from the Bobby’s, but the most voluminous items (the excessive extra bedding and pillows) were Freddy’s (random PG student), and numerous other items had been attributed to random residents or untraceable. How exciting! Amelia was excited to see some of her old decor put to good use (I made a sunglasses rack with a cute flower glass piece). Freddy reunited with the seaglass he forgot that he had placed in the windowsill months ago – miraculous the wind hadn’t swept it away.

Speaking of reunions… Auntie Ginger and Uncle Dave popped up to St Andrews for the day! They are quite literate with the Scottish media, so they recognized many a famous site around St Andrews in selections like Karen Pirie. On this windy, rainy, quintessentially Scottish day, we enjoyed the cathedral, castles, gorgeous architecture, university quads, and a hearty meal.

A new find in a small town sparks a unique thrill.. just when you think you’ve discovered every spot or mapped out each road, a ~hidden gem~ pops up! This week’s small town find (well, at least for us first-time students) was the Balgrove Christmas market! The Bobby Mobile unloaded a clown car of students in a muddy, grassy parking lot – it really felt like a corn maze/fall festival lot in the Northeast.. or the Lancaster, MA Soccerween lots after a big tournament and rain. I sampled cauliflower crisps (better than anticipated), local rum (very smooth), imported South African wines (the UK is obsessed, rightfully so), and loaded churros. The market featured a wide selection of meats, cheeses, Christmas gifts, baked goods, steak barn, spirits, pig viewing, a live band, fire pits, food trucks, and artisan crafts.  

To keep our minds nimble during finals season and still wanting to have a wee bit of fun, a group of us broke out Trivial Pursuit. The only slight issue is that this version was that we chose the ‘best of the 20^th century’ set, which has probably been stored inside the Deans cupboard for at least two decades. Given that none of us playing had been alive in that century, the questions certainly challenged our knowledge bases. We managed better than expected. Bonus question: “what much ballyhooed Berkeley bistro charged $500 per person for a 30^th-anniversary dinner of roast lamb and ice cream cones?”

Dessert segue – on Lucas’s last night, we decided to bake up a storm. We learned that UK cookie dough pales in comparison to the US’s (surprise, surprise). Brownie batter tastes slightly worse raw, but if slightly undercooked, gooey in the center, and topped with frosting, they are sensational. Interestingly, vanilla crème betty crocker frosting is arguably better here than the States. I hate to admit it, but I feel like an authority on the matter since I used to eat that frosting by the tub.

Lucas and I elevated the basic chocolate chip cookies with vanilla frosting and decided to test our artistic skills. Luckily, Philip and Courtney happened to arrive on the scene right when the decorating began, so it became a group effort.

Deans Court had no problem devouring the brownies and the cookies were stored for the next night’s stiff competition. The next night, the Fog-King cookie-swap-extravaganza commenced. Our dear sugar cookies earned a solid semifinalist position (there were only 8 entrants), but I am proud of this performance since it is clear the original artistry, not the taste, carried us to moderate success.

Nietzsche’s Ecce Homo chapter titles – as an interlude and ode to finals.

Back to business, about a week after her visit to St Andrews, I had the pleasure to pop down to Edinburgh and visit in her neck of the woods. Shoutout David for the Leuchars drop off – I enjoyed the scenic train ride down the coast. We braved the wind tunnels and meandered around the Edinburgh Christmas markets. Luckily, we went in the morning of a weekday, so the crowds weren’t too hectic. That said, by the time we circled back around 12:30, the place was packed. Go early! Go on the weekdays!

I had the pleasure of playing tourist while Auntie Ginger showed me cute boutique stores, her favorite city passageways, and classic sights like the Royal Mile, Parliament of Scotland,  Master of the Universe Statue,³ the World’s End Pub, Queen Mary’s Bath House, Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the Balmoral Hotel.

You’d think a day in Edinburgh couldn’t possibly get any better… Auntie Ginger took me to an adorable restaurant called ‘The Painted Rooster” where we enjoyed lively conversation, alongside avocado toast and eggs benedict (the best I’ve had here!). Satiated, we walked back to the West End for the event we’d all been waiting for! With cute glasses (inspired by Nana) in hand we toasted to celebrate the flat and all the work that has gone into making this dream a reality! To a new chapter 💖 🥂 ⭐  

Left: Cheers to the new flat in Edinburgh! The ceilings and chandelier are simply spectacular.
Right: Interior of the Painted Rooster

The semester would not have been complete without another hiking expedition. Julia, David, and I set out in the early morning to tackle Ben A’an. This 320 meter ascent can be done in 45-60 minutes at a moderate pace, making it an ideal sunrise hike destination. We didn’t want to get up at 5am to drive two hours, so we ‘summited’ around 10:45am – which is practically the sun’s highest point considering the average sunset looms around 3:30pm.

We cherished the breathtaking views of Loch Achray and Loch Katrine (broader geographic context: located just north east of the famous Loch Lomond). For how quick this hike is the payoff in scenery is incredible.

We zoomed back to St Andrews with just enough time to shower and change for the Masquerade Ball. Shoutout to the Deans Court Committee for organizing and executing a wonderful winter celebration at the Old Course Hotel. Unlike Welly ball, this was a post-grad only, Deans Court-centered event, so much smaller scale. Before taking taxis down the hill, we enjoyed a special-catered Christmas dinner and festive dining hall setup. I pulled my first Christmas Cracker and danced the night away…

Capping off the weekend, Isaac and I reserved tickets at the Eden Mill Distillery. Located in Guardbridge, but known at St Andrews’ hallmark distillery. We embarked upon the single malt whiskey tasting experience. Upon check-in, they whet our palate with two samplers: one whiskey and one gin. Excellent hospitality. Our guide Matthew oriented us to the history of the distillery and local area

Major history points from the tour include: Bishop Henry Wardlaw built the ‘Guard Bridge’ over the River Eden (and also established the University of St Andrews in 1413). Fast forward to 1810, William Haig opened Seggie distillery which stayed in the family for half a century. They moved distilling operations elsewhere and converted the building into a papermill starting in the mid 1870s. The plant remained operational until 2008. Purchases, investments, yadda yadda yadda… until 2023 when construction commenced on what we know of today as Eden Mill. this distillery location became officially operational in April 2025!

Eden Mills partners with local artists to create fresh, new packaging and labels!⁴

This is for my memory more than it is anything else: I learned the whiskey basics: barley (cereal grains), water, yeast, casks, and time. Single malt = indication of where the whiskey was made (surprise, single means it was made at one distillery and with just barley).

We walked up to where the pot stills were located. They say that the gin ones are 1/3 of the size, but you only really see what that scale looks like in real life. Brilliant copper color. It’s hidden in the picture below, but we also got to see the wheel that is cranked to add more steam to make the liquid frothier!

Above: Whiskey pot stills
Below: An excellent educational graphic of the whiskey distillation process

We looked at the whiskey barrels, briefly (very cool). Once again, I knew nothing about whiskey beforehand – including the bare minimum of 3 years of aging (Wiley, don’t laugh at me)… the more you know.

Our tour ended with the most highly anticipated part of the experience, the tasting. In great company and conversation, Isaac and I tasted the whiskey, sherry, and gin rainbow. It’s a miracle we made it up to the bar/restaurant area for the post-tour drink. Usually, guests sit in this huge, open area hanging over the lobby and looking out on the Eden River. But, uh, it’s December in Scotland and the sun had set at least four hours prior, so all that was there was a pitch black vastness. The good news, however, was that after 11 different samples, you can imagine any view you want.

We ended the night at the St Andrews student steal of the century: 50% Brewdog sunday dinner. I’m pretty sure we sat in silence chowing down on wings for a good ten minutes. Heavenly.

In tamer news, did you know that reindeer actually exist!? In scotland?! Euphoric from finishing finals and craving some critter companions, Courtney and I trekked to the Scottish Deer Centre in Cupar. For those of you who visit in the future, I share this with you so you can avoid the awkward conversation with the cashier – be wary there is no technical admission price, they just have a recommended donation of ‘pay as you wish’ & reindeer food is £3.50.

The Scottish Deer Centre is truly wonderful and bizarre. You must walk through a large, unsigned wooden warehouse to enter the outdoor habitats (from sleuthing around afterwards, we found gigantic seasonal decorations stored behind the wooden paneled walls).  Once outside, you pass the vacant ‘education bus’ that looks like a rusted London double-decker bus from the 1970s which has been neglected to be brought into that warehouse for many winters. You pass by an antler display, which you’re encouraged to touch (very cool). Then, you’re flanked by multicolored overground trampolines (think the combined color scheme of elementary school parachutes in gym class and carnival) and massive beach chairs (think the chair outside the Cape Cod Beach Chair Company off Old Queen Anne Road).

We said hello to reindeer, normal deer, Moose, cows, stags, falcons, owls, cows, capybara, ants, and the world-famous haggis.⁵ Once again, the deer center décor did not fail to amaze me. They displayed some sort of plane alongside several tractors painted like cows.

Alas, the days in Sem 1 St Andrews are dwindling… most of the post grads are long gone. On my last night just a few of us remained, so we pooled our resources to make dinner. I must appreciate the multicultural-ness of it all. The nationalities represented at dinner: American, British, Canadian, German, Greek, and South African. In the wise words of my dear friend Dora, “Wow, you got the whole UN together!” We made excellent pasta (no Italians there to verify).

That’ll do for this installment… many exciting travels on the horizon. Write Soon!

Photo Coda

French Toast with David, Lucas, and Lydia

Lucas, Henrique, Hanno, Charles, and I enjoyed the Cheesy Toastie Shack. Their £1 ‘Seagull insurance’ always gives us a good laugh.

Gorgeous Café sells Echinacea tea… it’s sweet, fruity, and herb-y all at once

SPACE is decked out in its holiday garb

Behind-the-scenes mulled wine and German sweet treats

aaaand one more scenic picture to wrap us up

1. https://www.visitscotland.com/things-to-do/events/st-andrews-day ↩︎
2. a social event with Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling. ↩︎
3. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/8953  ↩︎
4. https://scottishgrocer.co.uk/2025/12/18/eden-mill-unveils-new-art-of-st-andrews-whisky/ ↩︎
5. https://petapixel.com/2025/01/29/ai-images-haggis-scotland-prank/ ↩︎