St Andrews link with Loches in France
UNDER DEVELOPMENT
The relationship between St Andrews, in Fife, and Loches, in the Indre-et-Loire département in central France, began in the mid-1990s, when contact between the towns, initiated by Loches, was made through the Franco-Scottish Society. Exchanges of delegations followed in 1996 and 1997 and these visits confirmed the mutual compatibility of the towns – each with its prominent medieval heritage. The outcome was the development of a flourishing cultural partnership aided by the creation of a charitable trust in St Andrews, the St Andrews-Loches Alliance, dedicated to promoting a closer relationship between the two communities. The trust raises funds to facilitate the growth of educational, cultural and sporting links.
Over the following years, many school exchanges, visits by sports teams and a range of cultural interactions, all served to deepen the relationship between the two towns. Many visits also took place on a purely social basis. This successful cultural partnership became formalised into a twinning agreement signed during ceremonies in St Andrews in 2015 and in Loches the following year.
The twinning link with Loches is recorded on a road sign on the approach to St Andrews, which also displays the historic designation of the town. A road in a modern housing development on the outskirts of the town is named Loches Drive.
Inevitably, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted twinning activities but contacts were reestablished in June 2023 when a delegation from Loches visited St Andrews with a view to fully restoring the relationship.
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St Andrews-Loches Alliance Facebook page
Nouvelle Alliance Loches-St Andrews Facebook page
English Wikipedia page for Loches
Loches coat of arms image © Spedona, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Road sign image © Paul Vyšný, CC BY-SA 4.0
