He Who Holds Stirling....

Holds Scotland.

For years, Stirling Castle was a pivotal point in battle and politics.  It was far enough from Edinburgh, but close enough.  The castle sits high atop the town, and it simply put, amazing.  I remember visiting as a child, and just thinking "Oh yay, another castle".  Not this time, though.

There is something that is so cool about bringing your own children to places that you visited as a child.  Even better than that, is when you take your children to said places, and find that they have been painstakingly restored, and are not only beautiful, but now interactive. 

  

 Stirling castle has lovingly restored the inside of the Royal Quarters, and as you walk through, each room has a docent in there.  The docents are dressed in period costume, and will answer your questions, or even just tell you about day-to-day life in the castle.  This was so nice, as it kept my 10 year old completely engaged in what we were seeing, and made it realistic for her!

After wandering through the Royal Quarters, we found our way into the courtyard, where we found the Great Hall.

The Great Hall is the only buidling in  Stirling Castle that is lime washed.  In the day time it almost looks like it has a stucco finish, and was a huge show of wealth at the time.  Inside the hall, tapestries are hung along the walls as they would have been back in the 1500s.  (All the tapestries are woven on site in the Stirling Tapestry Studio - you can even watch the weavers at work until 4:30pm daily!) The wooden ceiling and all its beams are intact (restored) - it is beautiful!

When all was said and done, and we exited the Great Hall, Dusk had fallen.  We were near to, if not the last people in the castle besides the staff, and had the place pretty much to ourselves which made it SO nice!

An interior courtyard shot of the Royal Quarters.  At night all the pedestal figures are lit up beautifully.  It was explained to us that they are mostly Roman Gods, meant to show the wealth, health and prosperity that would follow.

This the the Chapel Royal.  In the 1500's the biggest threat to scottish life (besides repeated English attacks) was the change of religion.  The Monarchs of the time were Catholic, but there was a slow and steady wave of protestantism moving through the country.  In 1560, Scotland officially became protestant, and this was one of the first churches build for the newly Presbyterian nation.  It was also the last building to be build in Stirling Castle.

As we left the grounds, the castle was beautifully lit up.  In fact, the whole city of Stirling was beautifully lit up, to include the Wallace monument in the distance.

A statue of William Wallace, with the Wallace Monument in the background.

Thank you for reading about all of our wanderings!  I would love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment, ask a question, or share your own experiences!