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From the outside, St Andrew's is very impressive. The Norman tower is exceedingly solid, and clasped by the aisles, so that the west face is positively mountainous. It's all embattled, and the porch is a big two-storey one. The church is built of rather grim stone, and on the overcast day when we visited it reminded me of a Scottish baronial castle, all forbidding turrets and grey masonry. Forbidding it may be, but such an exterior promises an interesting interior.
I was therefore a little disappointed when we got inside. The west end, at least, is interesting - the tower sits on massive arches, which makes the west end surprisingly airy. The whole church has a light, clean feel - indeed, so pristine is the whitewash that I'd almost describe it as sterile. Certainly there was little about the architecture that caught my eye.
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There are some interesting bits and bobs: in the chancel there is a nice pair of carved chairs and the dado of the rood screen survives and has some reasonably good carving, though it's rather sad and battered compared with some of the screens that can be seen in these parts.
The best corner of the church is the south aisle chapel - the altar looks to me to have been made from an old grave slab, and it has a sweet little piscina. Here also is the surprisingly ornate entrance to the rood stair - I bet there was a wonderful loft, once upon a time.
St Andrews was open when we visited.