This was my last weekend in Scotland until 2014. The time really flies by quickly! My friends and I decided to get out of town on Saturday and do something special and Scottish. Our original plans to go to the Highland Games near Loch Lomond fell through when the event was cancelled due to inclement weather and while Friday kind of rolled on by, we decided that rain or shine we would get out of town no matter what. Saturday arrived and was indeed raining. It wasn't a pouring rain, but it was more than a drizzle and pretty much constant throughout the day. Clearly, any outdoor activity was not going to be pleasant, so we drove an hour northeast of Glasgow to Stirling - the gateway to the highlands.
The Castle is situated on top of a tall ridge sitting high up over the surrounding valley. While most of the castle was built since the 1700s, a fortress or castle occupied the site for hundreds of years before. I am definitely not a historian, and cannot even attempt to get any of the factual details down here, so just understand that the castle switched occupation between the kings of Scotland and the kings of England for centuries. Famous battles within sight of the castle throughout the centuries saw victories for the Scottish heroes, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, and was home to numerous Kings James and Kings Edwards of Scotland and even Mary Queen of Scots was born here and later lived here with her son. The castle was the home of the Scottish Crown until the early 1600s when King James inherited the English Crown and moved the Royal Court down to London. Since then, additions to the castle were less defensive and more inhabitable and has even been used as recently as the mid 1900s as it was the home base of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Royal Regiment of Scotland. Now the entire castle is operated by Historic Scotland.
The castle and its grounds are beautiful. After paying a rather hefty fee (£13) you get all access to the entire castle (where it's open to the public at least) and can explore the many exhibits, renovated rooms, gardens, and any stairways or passageways to hidden rooms you can find. While it obviously would be better for a sunny day, it's a perfect way to spend a day in the drizzle as there are enough places to take cover if it rains a bit. We spent some time in a few exhibits of the history of the Royal Scottish families and the history of the castle, but then joined a guided tour with an awesome tour guide with one of the best Scottish brogues you might hope to hear! I wish I could keep details straight, but again, there was just too much to keep track of, so I'll get on to the photos!
Photos of Stirling Castle:
We left the castle mid-afternoon, and since we were in Stirling, we decided to drive over to the William Wallace National Monument to get a closer look. You can park at the bottom of the hill and either walk up or take a free shuttle. It was raining, so shuttle it was! At the top of the hill is this massive tower of a monument featuring a Scottish coat of arms over the front doors under a towering statue of William Wallace. William Wallace is probably best known to the rest of the world by Mel Brooks' portrayal of him in the movie, Braveheart. Wallace led the victorious Scottish uprising against the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Later in life, he was captured, brought to London, and hanged, drawn, and quartered for crimes of treason. To this day, he is one of the primary Scottish heroes for his unwillingness to allow Scotland to fall back under English rule.
There was a fantastic actor giving a great speech at the top of the hill, recounting the history and fame of William Wallace. When he was done, we got our photos taken with the many weapons he seemed to pull from his costume out of nowhere. He didn't have any left so he joked, saying he'd fight the English off with his teeth. A fun photo shoot with an English girl, the Scottish actor, an Irish girl, and me, the dopey American guy! It was still too cloudy, so we didn't think it was worth paying the £8 to get up to the top, and the shuttle filled before we could get in, so we walked down the hill back to our car and drove back to Glasgow.
We were wet, chilly, and starving, so bought some KFC and warmed up back in Glasgow. Sure, it wasn't as entertaining as the Highland Games might have been, but it was so great to finally be able to say that I've been to Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument, especially after driving past them at least three times by now!
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