On the Braveheart Trail

Our visit to Stirling was somewhat unexpected...literally days before when we were trying to book hotels in Edinburgh we discovered that there was a big rugby match on and all of the hotels were sold out.  Trying to find an alternative we decided to head to Stirling for a day before then going to Edinburgh, and boy did we make a great decision.

Upon arrival in Stirling we began the very steep walk up to the castle.  Desperately needing a rest before we made it up there, we stoped to have a look around the churchgrounds of the Church of Rude.  Unfortunately this beautiful church was closed to visitors because of the time of year when we visited.  The churchyard offered some amazing views of the castle and a really strange history of the city.  It must be the oldest graveyard in the city because many of the headstones were so old and weather beaten it was extremely difficult to even read the dates.  What was also interesting was that the men who were barried, bore the name of their profession on their headstone.

where William Wallace fought the English, where countless lives were taken

We then finished the long, steep trek up to the castle which offered incredibly rewarding views of the countryside. A countryside that was steeped in history, where William Wallace fought the English, where countless lives were taken.  It really is spectacular views.

The castle itself, although important to Scottish history, was just an OK castle to visit and look around.  We took the guided tour which offered some interesting insights, but much of the castle is closed for restoration work and will remain so for at least another year.

Stirling is quite a small city and lacks things to do in the evening.  However, the hotel we stayed in was incredible and I would highly recommend it to any other travellers.  We stayed at a B&B called Castlecroft, which is on the back side of the castle and offers some nice views.  There is also a back pathway that allows you to walk into the center of town without hiking back up to the castle.  The woman who runs Castlecroft is extremely proud of her Scottish heritage which she was happy to share and made for some interesting learnings.  She was also very helpful.

On day 2 in Stirling we headed out on foot and walked from the B&B, across the Stirling Bridge, which is on the site of one of Braveheart's greatest battles to the William Wallace monument. The monument is a recent creation - a tower high up on a hill - that has splendid views of the highlands in the distance and the rolling green hills of Scotland all around it.  From the Wallace monument you get a nice viewof Stirling and see the spectacular Stirling Birdge.

I definitely see a return trip to Scotland in our future.