The Blue Stane

When St Rule brought the relics of  St Andrew to Scotland, and with them the Christian religion, it is said that the Devil was enraged; so enraged, in fact, that he appeared on Drumcarrow Range or Blebo Craigs in the form of a giant, picked up a large boulder and threw it at St Rule's cell on the Kirkhill. 

His aim was bad, and the stone fell short.  Nobody knows exactly where the Blue Stane first landed.  It is supposed to have stood, at various times, in Double Dykes Road, by the West Port and in the middle of the road opposite Hope Park Church before  being moved to its present location, behind the railings at The Raisin in Alexandra Place.

The Blue Stane may have had some ritual significance in pre-Christian Scotland; there are certainly traditions associated with it.  Fairies were said to frequent the stone, and it was a favourite meeting-place for lovers.  Men would raise their hats as they passed the stone, and women would curtsey. It is reputed to have been the coronation stone of Kenneth MacAlpine in 843 A.D., and St Andrews pikemen are said to have touched the Stane for luck before setting off for the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and, until the early 20th, the Carter's Society of St Andrews would gather there before their annual races.

Nowadays it lies behind the railings and nobody pays it much attention...

 ... or do they?  What is the fascination with putting loose change on top of mysterious stones?  Perhaps stray golfers are hoping for help with their game but, given the Stane's history of falling short, perhaps not.