A Week of Castles.....Stirling

Welcome to Travelling Woman, a new blog which I have set up to share photos from my travels and musings on where I have been. I hope that you enjoy reading along !

Last week I was travelling in Scotland. It was the first time that I had ventured north of the border and I can only wonder why it had taken me so many decades to do so. I have always loved visiting new places and Scotland had been up there on the 'wish list' for some time. 

After much arguing debate we decided to fly up and then hire a car. A decision prompted as much by the fact that we didn't have a reliable car at the time as one based on time saving. We were only planning a trip away for a week. Scotland has 33 counties and we had chosen to base ourselves in Fife.

That's the green section just underneath the central one of Perthshire. 

Many of Scotland's castles are looked after and managed by Historic Scotland-an organization worth joining if you are planning to tour around as entry fees can be quite steep. During our visit we went to Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, St Andrew's Castle and Broughty Castle (that last one was free entry !)

Out of the four my favourite was Stirling. Edinburgh as you might expect was very impressive but also very busy. As one of the premier cities to visit in Scotland, Edinburgh is as busy with tourists as London and Edinburgh castle as popular as the Tower of London.

Like Edinburgh, Stirling Castle stands on a volcanic crag and has long held an important strategic position, controlling the crossing of the River Forth which flows to the east of the castle. Used as a Royal Residence from at least 1110 it played an important role in the Wars of Independence and endured 15 sieges over the centuries. Known to many for its association with William Wallace (think Braveheart) and the part it played in two of Scotland's most important battles. Stirling Bridge (1297) and Bannockburn (1314)

If you visit the Royal Lodgings today you will find them presented as they would have been during the time of James V and his wife Mary of Guise-parents of Mary Queen of Scots during the 1530s.
 The Chapel Royal was built by James VI in 1594 for the baptism of Prince Henry Frederick (older brother of Charles I)- the boy who would never be King.

Rather typically the day that we chose to visit was the wettest day of our trip. We drove inland following the Forth river and watched the river narrow and the mountains grow closer. We arrived and managed to take the last remaining space in the car park and headed off to buy our tickets.

A large statue of Robert the Bruce stands guard outside the castle and across the valley you can see the William Wallace monument, marking the place where he won a decisive victory against the English.

 Looking down on the city of Stirling watching the 'Scawtish' weather drift across the plain.

First priority after purchasing the tickets was to visit the restaurant. You cannot sightsee on an empty stomach ! Once fed and watered, we set off to explore the castle.

On the south side of the castle lie  the Queen Anne gardens, once used as a bowling green. The tree is a 200 year old beech. The arches lead into the former casemates which now host an exhibition detailing the castle's history through the ages. It makes sense to visit this first.

The Unicorn tapestries were woven by textile students at West Dean college near Chichester-not far from where we live ! The colours are vibrant and really give a sense of how luxurious the Royal lodgings would have appeared in Stuart times. Throughout the castle are costumed stewards which add to the atmosphere. In the King's bedchamber one was playing a musical instrument.
 The Royal lodgings have vibrantly painted ceilings such as the one below.

There is an exhibition of the Stirling 'Heads' which are a series of painted wooden and plaster ceiling roses which once were found throughout the castle. Here are a couple of images that I found on the Internet. They represent royal ancestors, important figures at court and a variety of mythical characters.

The souvenir guide is worth buying as it is only £5 and full of information. If you have time the guide also covers two important houses in Stirling town, Argyll's Lodging and Mar's Wark two grand residences occupied by major nobles which are just a short stroll down the hill from the castle.

The castle precincts also house the Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders which was closed for refurbishment during our visit.

If you enjoy visiting castles then you'll love wandering around Stirling. It's a very good day out in a beautiful location.

www.historicenvironment.scot/membership