Stirling Castle and a lot more

First the small world: On our bus tour today we enjoyed talking to fellow travelers. Anna Lee was talking to one woman and sharing past histories. She is from Montana now but it turns out they were both at Colorado University, Boulder at the same time. While waiting for our bus tour, we wandered into a cemetery near the meeting point. This tribute to Lincoln is prominent among the centuries’s old tombs many going back to the 1600s.

We boarded our bus for our first tour of the trip. Our first stop was to view the huge and magnificent Kelpies, a tribute to the horses who hauled the boats along the Queen Elizabeth II Canal.

Loch Lomand is a popular boating destination and the largest lake in the UK. The fault line that runs through it goes all the way to North America.

A large memorial near Stirling Castle is erected to William Wallace (Braveheart) who was a national hero for his efforts to defeat the British. He was a giant of a man standing about 6' 10" at a time when most Scottish were around 5' 6".

Our major stop was Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s leading destinations.

Started over a thousand years ago, built and rebuilt, it overlooks the River Forth and dominates the area below. Typically, many battles were fought, many lives lost, and many changes of leadership occurred, you know normal history. Among the rulers were William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots, (the Scots use the term ruler “of Scots”, meaning equal to the people and not over them). It became a garrison after the rulers moved out. We visited the Great Hall, Kings & Queens bed chambers and the rooms where subjects could address the monarchs.

One unique part of the castle was a view of the Stirling heads which line the ceiling of the chamber.

The ones in the chamber are reconstructions but we were able to see the originals. The wood carving is unique and unbelievable.

The Queensbury Bridge is the longest in the UK. Three bridges span the Firth of Forth. The far one is a railroad bridge dating to the 1800s, next one for traffic in the 1900s and a second built in 2017. We stopped there for a quick photo stop on our way home.