The Swilcan
Swilcan Burn, that hazard to golfers playing the 1st and 18th holes of the Old Course at St. Andrews,
is a stream that, after meandering about the links, empties into St. Andrews Bay at the West Sands.
The rule for golfers is that shots trapped in Swilcan Burn can be lifted out
and dropped as near as possible to the point of entry into the water
but on the side furthest from the hole,
with the penalty of one stroke.
For over eight hundred years Swilcan Bridge over the burn has marked the pathway
that led from the old ecclesiastical town to the safe harbour at the estuary of the River Eden.
The burn and its banks were once used by the townspeople as a place to wash and bleach their clothing.
From “Scotland Dances”, by Eugenia (Jeannie) Callander Sharp
(Used by permission.)