Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The Open at St Andrews: First look at tented village set to become home to thousands of fans

A view of The Open camping village. Picture Steve Brown/DCTMedia.
A view of The Open camping village. Picture Steve Brown/DCTMedia.

A tented village with beds for around 3,000 people has sprung up on the edge of St Andrews ahead of The Open Championship.

The campsite on the Madras rugby fields will become home to many of the golf fans and volunteers heading to the town next week.

The traditional tents and tee pees are hosting accommodation, entertainment, food and drink for the duration of the tournament.

There are hundreds of tents at The Open camping village. Picture Steve Brown/DCTMedia.

And they are a more affordable option for families and young people than many of the nearby hotels and guest houses.

It’s not the first time event organisers the R&A have provided the camping option.

But it’s still a talking point for locals and visitors.

Tents range from small two-people affairs for £50 a night, right up to luxury bell tents complete with lights, proper beds, pillows duvets and a personal shower.

And there is a bar, catering and live entertainment every night.

This video from the 2019 Open in Portrush in Northern Ireland shows off the campsite.

That event had more than 700 tents but there are even more in place for The Open at St Andrews.

And every place is sold out.

Other Open Championship preparations almost complete

The campsite isn’t the only change to the town as the final touches are put to preparations for the 150th anniversary event.

The main spectator stands are up at The Old Course, along with hospitality tents, platforms for TV cameras and barriers for queueing round.

Road signs advising of park and ride arrangements and road closures are also in place.

And a one-way system has been put in place for cars in some streets to keep traffic moving.

There are even a couple of temporary bridges to help spectators across the road without holding up vehicles.

Photographer Steve Brown went along to St Andrews for a look.


Some of the tents at Madras rugby fields.
Some of the larger, luxury bell tents.
Mobile phones can only be used in certain areas.
The scoreboard is ready.
The spectator stand at the 18th hole.
And hoarding is up.
Some roads are already closed.
Visitors flock to the iconic Swilcan Bridge.
A platform for TV cameras is being erected in the foreground.
Signs directing ticket-holders to the correct car parks.

Conversation