Day 29, October 14th, Trip to Stirling (pronounced "Starling")

Greetings to all our readers! We hope you are well.  On this day, we worked only a brief period of time in the morning so that we could train up to Stirling castle.  Stirling is a wonderful Scottish city about 50 minutes to the west and north of Edinburgh.  Stirling Castle is one of the most scenic and historic sites in all of Scotland. Like most castles it is built on a high spot; in the case of this castle it is located on a volcanic outcropping high above the valley.  To the north the Scottish highlands begin.  Some of the most famous battles in Scottish history took place on the valley below this castle.




Cathy is walking up Lower Castle Street.  By now our legs are beginning to ache.  It has a been a long walk to get to this point.

Looking north from the castle you can see the beginning of the Scottish highlands.  I wish you could see all the different colors in those hills which are about 2000-3000 feet high.  In the foreground, on another rocky outcropping, is the Wallace Memorial, a tribute to William Wallace of "Braveheart" fame.  He championed the cause of Scottish independence from England.  The battles of Stirling bridge and Bannockburn took place in the valley below the memorial.   

King Robert the Bruce defeated the English army at the Battle of Bannockburn in the 14th century.  The English garrison that held the castle at that time, ran for their lives.  I can see why.  He looks like a hard man and really tall!

Cathy is sitting in one of the gate towers.  At one time this castle had four tall, conical gate towers.  The upper parts of the cone tower were damaged in 1651 and subsequently rebuilt to form a more cylindrical look you see on most castles.  Do you see the tall, narrow open space behind Cathy?  It looks like a window, but it is not. Archers were positioned in these nooks in order to see and shoot at any enemy that might be advancing on the tower.  Every tower has numerous "arrow slits" pointed in different directions.

The next few pictures are of the Great Hall.  This has been reconstructed recently by Historic Scotland, an organization dedicated to preserving Scottish historical buildings.  The ceiling here is oak trusses which have been put together according to period technology.  No nails.  No screws.  But thousands of heavy wooden pegs hold the ceiling aloft.

The Great Hall is so great and Scotland is so cold in the winter that it needed 5 large fireplaces.  Here David is warming himself by the fire.

King David and Queen Cathy waiting for their subjects.

Another im- pressive building at Stirling Castle is the chapel.  Originally, it was the private prayer chapel (the privy chapel) of the king, but later  it became more public.  The current building was built by King James VI of Scotland in a  hurry for the baptism of his son, Prince Henry I, who later died in childhood.  Also baptized here was James VI's second son,  Prince Charles, who became King Charles I of England.

Scottish castles and palaces are full of tapestries.  Most are hundreds of years old, but Historic Scotland has commissioned that new tapestries be woven in the old style for Stirling Castle.  Here are three that have been completed.  We were able to go into a special room and saw two artisans weaving the fourth tapestry in the series. The colors are amazing.  They are trying to recreate known tapestries from the 14th-16th centuries. 

After an ex- hausting afternoon viewing castles, walking up and down these craggy hills, and taking pictures, we  had to take our customary mid-afternoon cappucino and scone break.  Yum!  Yum!

More on the rest of our day tomorrow.
Off you go.