Travellers' tales

The poor, unfortunate players aren't the only ones to experience the horrors of Carnoustie. Just getting to the seaside links, especially by train or road, has so far proven to be an exasperating experience. . . . and one most people wouldn't mind being spared for another 24 years.

While Tiger Woods and his fellow high-flyers can simply take the chopper from their luxury hotel across the Firth of Tay in St Andrews, humble commuters have to avail of less fanciful means of travel.

Normally, no more than a handful of trains call at the local station, which is conveniently located a mere wedge shot away from the tented village. However, in attempt to cope with the huge numbers attending the British Open (attendance figures for the week are expected to break 250,000), ScotRail teamed up with commercial train companies - including Virgin, Great North-Eastern and RailTrack - to ensure that over 80 trains a day stop at the village station.

Trains don't always run on time, however, as even Mussolini discovered all those years ago. And they aren't always big enough to take the numbers who want to use them. Meanwhile, the road system has been altered dramatically with a number of one-way systems in operation. But even these are not exactly perfectly sign-posted as even a couple of highly-intelligent, streetwise hacks - no names given - discovered when chased by a siren-blaring police to enforce a U-turn.

Apart from Tiger and his pals, who can make the trip by helicopter, the only other people able to beat the traffic jam are those who avail of the 25-minute journey by hovercraft from the strand at St Andrews to the beach at Carnoustie for the pricely sum of £29 return.