Stirlingshire 4 - Stirling - The castle , the Stirling Heads/ washing the car and riding the bike

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Gabby the motorhome was still parked up on the park and ride as we the driver and navigator were just about ready to walk into the castle grounds at Stirling . It was uphill all the way as you would expect with a castle and the sun was beating down on us. We were greeted at the gate . Masks on . Hands sterilized . The routine began as it always did. We told the guy in the wooden hut that we had tickets and were told to walk up and pick them up at the next gate . Masks off as we walked up . Masks on as we were approached . "Can you come with me " We were nudged towards a desk where our hands were sanitized again and our tickets were printed out . "Welcome to our castle " " It is a one way system , easy to follow , the arrows will direct you around " " You can go to the left and see the gardens first . Which is what we did .

The garden was small and walled . Roses were flowering along the walls. Yellow modern versions of grannies bonnets were flowering in the flower beds. It was an attractive little space and we almost had it to ourselves thanks to Covid . The flags of Scotland were picked out in coloured stones . We walked to the steps and followed the one way system up to the castle courtyard . There were a large number of guides spread about the courtyard .

"Welcome to the castle ." "Have you been before ?" I had many years ago but could not remember much. I remembered the architecture which was a mix of French, Scottish baronial and even a touch of Spanish . It was a fussy castle with its stone blackened with age . The only relief was the buttermilk yellow Great Hall . " Sterilize your hands again , keep to the one way system " We walked in and were then greeted by another guide " This is the entertaining chamber where the monarch would meet his subjects " " You could tell him or ask him anything as long as you didnt mind the whole of Stirling knowing your business " The guide pointed up at the tapestries . They were copies . The originals in the Museum of Modern Art in New York . A group of experts had gone over to the states to see the originals ., to copy them and come home to produce them again . They certainly looked the part and also enhanced the room giving the appearance of what it might have looked like . The castle had had a massive overhaul recently and what we saw was nothing like I remembered it .

The castle is one of the largest and most important castle in Scotland sitting as it does atop of Castle Hill . Looking at the size of the rooms it was not hard to see why it was so important. Most of the castle buildings date from the 15th and 16th centuries although a few structures remain from the 14th. It was one of the most used of the royal residencies and was both a palace and a fortress . Mary Queen of Scots was crowned here in 1542 which shows its importance .

We moved on to the next room which was the withdrawing bedroom where the more secretive of meetings took place . The rooms were filled with large fireplaces and more tapestries on the walls . The unicorn being a feature of many of them. It wasnt hard to imagine that eight sieges had taken place around the castle . The last in 1746 when Bonnie Prince Charlie unsuccessfully tried to take the castle . We walked from room to room and each had a fantastic ceiling . Brightly coloured they featured heads . Heads that we would hear about later in the tour . The colours were either vibrant or garish depending on your taste. We left the main castle and re-entered the courtyard where we were greeted by another guide . "Would ou sterilize your hands again and would you mind waiting " she said . "You are going to see the Stirling Heads but there are too many inside . " We had to wait a few minutes for the group inside to move on and allow us space to climb the stairs and view the heads .

Not real heads - but wooden plaques . It appeared that these or at least some of them were the real heads that had once graced the ceilings in the castle until the ceiling collapsed in 1777. Some of the heads were original and not painted . Others were unpainted modern copies . Kings , queens , roman noblemen, fools , jesters , gentlewomen and courtesans . We stopped by one which was Margaret Tudor . Well we would have to stop by the welsh connection .

Across the courtyard was the Great Hall . Again more handwashing , mask wearing and a quick talk on what we could see . The Hall had been completely renovated with its hammer beam roof looking stunning . I imagined the weddings that would go on here . All the good and great of Stirling even up to date would want to share their wedding breakfast in this room . Outside more handwashing - we were nearly washing our hands away . The guide described the Chapel Royal to us . It was rather a plain building with little decoration inside . It was not the best room of the castle . The guide pointed us past the Victorian additions . "Go through the alley .............you will see ............." He reeled off things we could see through the passageway , a hole in the wall where Mary Queen of Scots once as a child watched the joisting on the field below . The block of stone where the carver had carved in the name of Victoria . We found the hole in the wall . The Victoria stone was easy to find . The carvers art was clear to see . The letters of her name were all there in a complicated pattern .

Above the castle were the battlements - another one way system in place . We had the walls to ourselves and made our way out of the castle and walked down into the new town . That was not as impressive with the usual collection of charity shops , independents and larger chains . It was a busy street scene and we had to find our bus stop home . A street collector admitted he did not know where the bus stops were but there were police about to ask . He told us you couldnt miss the bobbies on the beat until you wanted one . We guessed where the bus stop might be and headed up the street . Banks and five story houses lined the streets . Shops on the ground floor and the house complete with garret above .

The bus arrived on town and took us back to the old town around the narrow streets and eventually to the park and ride . The bus was almost empty . ARriving back we saw the oddest of things . A couple parked up with their seats outside their car . They were busy washing their car . An older man was riding his bike around the car park . Round and round he went until finally he got off the bike and loaded it back on his car . Its odd the things you see in a car park .

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