Stirling Castle Adventure

We made an impromptu trip up to Stirling on the weekend via train. I love the train that was actually my main motivation for the trip. Stirling has a population of about 40,000 and is surrounded by farms. The River Forth runs through the city and passes close to the castle. This river opens directly into the Firth of Forth, which is essentially the North Sea. It is easy to understand why the site for Stirling Castle has been a strategic strong hold since the stone ages. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the castle or a view of the river but the good news is that we will be going back for a second look soon. I was having some camera troubles as well therefore some of the piccies are a little blurry.

This is a little garden area situated within the castle walls. Most of the castle buildings are from the 15th and 16th centuries, although some walls are as old as the 12th century. The castle and grounds are in good condition becuase it was used as army barracks until 1964. These doors open into a display area which explains what they know about the castle's history as well as their continuing efforts to restore the castle and uncover its mysteries.


This picture was taken inside the building shown above. I would have been a giant in medieval times. I don't think the cushy leather head-injury-protector is original.

The process of removing modifications made to the castle by the army have revealed some interesting features including this stone head which would have been used to hold up wooden ceiling beams back in the day.

Of course no castle is complete without some canons. The canon balls that go with these canons are about the size of a grapefruit.

A few castle rooms have also been outfitted with addtional displays about the craftsmen that would have been employed by the court. This dress, owned/worn by Mary Queen of the Scots, is displayed in the tailor's workshop. The neckline and V-shaped belt are heavily jewled. The display says that she loved fashion and owned a ton of clothes. Personally, I'm not sure why there is an obsession with her, she basically turned Scotland back over to England and then got herself beheaded. Perhaps it is because she was attractive and her position made her a bit of a celebrity. I think her parents, son and English and Irish contemporaries (Elizabeth I and Grace O'Malley) were far more interesting.

This is a statue of Robert the Bruce (aka Robert I) located outside the castle walls. I thought the restoration of the statue was cool because one can clearly tell the difference between the restored bits and the original. Robert the Bruce was king until his death in 1329 after freeing Scotland from England through winning the 'wars of independence' which ended in 1306.

This is a piece of more modern Scottish history. It is the house in which Arthur Conan Doyle lived as a kid. This pic is orange becuase of the sodium lamps lighting the area. I have pics of this house in an earlier blog but the vegetation hid most of the house. The brush has since been cleared away and I'm not sure what they are doing with it. The house was delisted (de-protected as a historical building) in 1997, I'm not sure if it has been relisted since. Stay tuned.