stirling

Day One - Stirling Castle

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southern Scotland

Detailed Itinerary - on the map, look for Stirling, where we stayed the first two nights. Then we headed to Scotland's west coast, and took a ferry to Rothesay, on the tiny Isle of Bute, for one night. The following day we returned to the mainland & drove south, staying in Tarbolton, near Ayr, for a night.

From there we headed south via Dumfries, Scotland, to Carlisle, England and then drove off the map, to the Lake District in England.

A week later we returned, entering Scotland to the east, heading north through Jedburgh to Melrose, in the Scottish Borders. We stayed at nearby St. Boswell's for two nights, a tiny town, not shown on the map. Neither is Linlithgow, our final stay for three nights, located 20 miles west of Edinburgh.

Leaving DUB - A bus dropped us on the tarmac for a 6:50 am flight to GLA. About 25 people waited to board, in a light rain. It was dark & cold, with swirling winds carrying jet fumes. But soon we were aloft in a comfortable turbo-prop flight, looking down on the Irish Sea from 25,000 ft. We flew NE out of the storm system & it became sunnier as we approached GLA, an auspicious start to the journey.

Glasgow, Scotland

On a cold & sunny Monday morning, around 8 am, we crossed the tarmac to the main Glasgow Airport (GLA), a small, sleepy airport, and our first stop was at Starbucks. After acquiring a rental vehicle, we were on the adjacent freeway headed north to Stirling, about 20 miles away.

We stopped a few miles south of Stirling at the tiny village of Plean, to drop off luggage at a country B&B. Then we drove into the historic town and parked near the Castle.

STIRLING CASTLE

gateway to the Highlands (web photo)

Stirling Bridge, which crosses the River Forth just below the Castle, has historically been the main passage-way between the Scottish Highlands & Lowlands, which gave the Castle a strategic role to play. Being on an impressive geological promontory makes this the strongest castle in Scotland.

Important Scottish-English history occurred here, for instance, in 1297, when two of English King Edward I's leading Earls were soundly defeated by a ragtag group of Scottish warriors, at Stirling Bridge, a victory that propelled Scottish Knight Sir William Wallace (1270-1305) to short-lived fame.

Later, in 1314, Scottish King Robert Bruce was victorious over the forces of Edward II, at nearby Bannockburn.

Edward I & II had won other battles (or skirmishes) against Scottish forces, but after Edward II was defeated from trying to take Edinburgh Castle in 1322, the English turned their attention to fighting the French (in France) to defend England's hereditary territories, soon igniting the Hundred Years War, an awful period of conflict between Protestants & Catholics, where completely innocent people like city merchants & dwellers, and small farmers, suffered the most.

From the Scottish perspective, a military standoff with England was a gift that ushered in 300 years of peace, from 1300 to 1603, when Stirling Castle hosted the Stuart Family's court & power base. Successive Stuart Kings of Scotland (named James) built the fine buildings that visitors see today. The most famous resident here was of course Mary, Queen of Scots. More on her later...

After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, King James VI of Scotland moved to London and became King James I of England (the Bible guy). These things came to pass following the death of England's long-reigning Queen Elizabeth I, in March of that year.

Our first stop in the Castle was the Unicorn Cafe, with rock walls & arched ceilings. Having been up since 3:30 am, it was great to have a 10 am lunch. This charming bistro-type cafe gets great reviews online & in travel guides, for a good reason, we found.

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

another impressive promontory, see note 1		Wm. Wallace Monument from Stirling Castle		Wallace Monument at the Castle		The Guardian of Scotland, once upon a time
	the gate house w/Queen's garden to the left		Unicorn Cafe		patio view of the monument
the Palace, built by James V		nearby Kirk Yard		tour groups forming near the Great Hall		our Docent was entertaining
	the Great Hall, built by James III		impressive 1500's ceiling		Chapel Royal, built in 1594 by James VI
in search of....		Castle north wall		the walkway has an unprotected 8 ft. drop at left		...the Lady's Hole, see note 2
present day view			Royalty's staff dwellings		< Unicorns in the ceiling & in tapestries >
			the Queen's Garden, see note 3 (way below)			heirloom or antique rose
general view beyond the wall		a showy Sedum		interesting door >

note 1 - Legend says that Wallace was looking down from the promontory (where the Monument now is) when he observed a definite military advantage developing on the banks of River Forth, as English forces began to cross narrow Stirling Bridge and walked into a huge bog, a tactical disaster, the English being apparently unfamiliar with the terrain. Wallace made the fateful decision to commit all of his troops to battle, and was victorious. (There's more Wm. Wallace info below.)

note 2 - Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was born in 1542 at Linlithgow Palace, another Stuart stronghold, about 30 miles away. Her French Mom, Mary of Guise, moved her to Stirling Castle (where there was less palace intrigue) when Mary was less than a year old. When Mary was 3 & 1/2, she asked if a hole could be cut in the north Castle wall, at her height, so she could look out at the Scottish Highlands, which (as the map above shows) begin just north of here.

Before the tour began, I asked our Docent if the tour included seeing the Lady's Hole. She gave me a compliment, saying "no one ever asks about that anymore" and she wanted to know my info-source. The problem was, I could not recall the source and said I had looked thru all my mainly written sources for it in vain, right before the trip. She looked at me like I was lying.

(After the trip my wife ordered an online Stirling Castle brochure which turned out to be from 1995, and, the Lady's Hole was a standard part of a tourist visit, with no stated restrictions, so tourist groups or soloists could walk there and back freely. But that's nearly 30 years ago, and awareness about public safety & especially about liability has changed a lot. Well, and maybe someone fell into the garden & won a lawsuit.)

After the tour, our Docent took six of us (six was the max, we learned) including a young couple who overheard my request, on a short walk to the north wall. She gave us a clear verbal warning about a falling hazard, consisting of an unprotected eight-foot drop into a garden, on the interior side of the walkway along the North Wall, which admittedly was narrow.

Each of us had to look at her and acknowledge that we understood. In the end, it was a short walk & none of us fell into the garden, and limiting visits to six made a lot of sense to me.

note 3 - there's a healthy looking Palm tree, to the right, near the person coming down the stairs. Um, palm trees in Scotland ?

HOLY RUDE

From the Castle we walked downhill through the old Kirkyard to Holy Rude Church, a 1500s structure. "Holy Rude" is a classical term that refers to a relic from the True Cross. The importance of this Church grew alongside Stirling Castle's history as the seat of power for the Royal Stuart family. This is where Royal ceremonies like Baptisms, Coronations, and Funeral services took place, over centuries.

It might be an understatement to say that Holy Rude Kirk is 'atmospheric'. It had another amazing ceiling or roof, in splendid condition, an architectural gem.

We milled about, mostly looking up. I saw the my three travel mates just sitting & looking around as I walked around to get photos and realized it was just the kind of beneficial 'quiet place' to be, especially for travelers freshly out, like us.

There was no guide or docent so we left after 20 minutes & went next door to the historic Portcullis Hotel & Tavern, for a draft brew and snack. Having woken up in Dublin, it was a pretty good first day out, which we toasted to, although it wasn't over yet.

		competition to the last breath...		Celtic Cross.		Holy Rude kirkyard
			Holy Rude interiors...		anther amazing roof
WWI memorial				Martin Luther, see below		King James VI of Scotland & James I of England
	Gutenburg & the literacy revolution		old Pub w/rooms		getting a brew
goes well with a Guinness		B&B for 2 nights at Plean, a few miles south of Stirling		the 'back walk' at Stirling, see note 1

Holy Rude Church had a small display concerning the 1611 publication of the King James Bible. James I of England, the Protestant son of Mary, Queen of Scots (a Catholic) was responsible. Printing copies of the Bible in native languages like Italian, German, French, and English, helped Protestant Christianity spread far & wide.

In Germany, Martin Luther had proposed this radical departure from Catholic Papacy-controlled Bible access, where anyone could read & understand Biblical lessons for themselves, in their own homes. Johannes Gutenburg had, of course, in the previous century, made printing possible. Thus was a widespread incentive to learn to read born.

note 1 - the 'back walk' is said to be a walker's expressway from the Castle, downhill to the heart of Stirling, with no other turnoffs. Supposedly, in summer the trees' foliage is dense such that a walker would be isolated from the sights, but not the sounds, of the surrounding City. I had seen it in advance on online maps, and found it interesting.

William Wallace Monument - We ran out of time & did not go there. It is a solemn place, having visited there with my sister Doris & Paul, in fall 2013. Here are photos & comments from that trip: William Wallace Monument 2013.

We had a 5:15 pm dinner at The Birds & Bees restaurant, the same place where Doris & Paul & I had dinner, 6 years ago, at the same time of year.

Once back at the B&B, after dark, we played cards in the downstairs breakfast room & chatted a bit with the owners, who were friendly and low key, mostly watching TV in a huge living room, with a fire going. The husband chatted with us a little and was generous with his Bordeaux red wine.

Four of us crashed around 9 pm. The B&B was out in the country, on a minor road, with no evident houses around, and it was completely quiet at night.

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Postscript - On the first night in Scotland, I slept well, but my body clock had me awake at 3 am. I had a good book so I made coffee in the en suite & sat by the window reading with a head lamp, under a blanket.

Outside, I could hear a fierce wind blowing and even opening the crank-out window a tiny bit brought in an amazing volume of cold air. Wind gusts outside had to be 40-50 mph.

The 2nd floor picture window looked SE, over miles of open farmland. In the far distance, the cloud cover reflected the amorphous City glow of Edinburgh.