Doune Castle

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Ever seen the movie "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail"? Well some of the scenes from the movie were shot at Doune Castle which is located just outside of Stirling. Since the fine ladies at Stirling University move at a snail's pace when it comes to getting chapbooks for me to use, I decided to take a morning and head on over to Doune to check things out. My Scottish tour guide had told me that they give out free coconuts for you to bang (if you've seen the film you should understand the reference) which in all honesty was reason enough for me to go check it out hahaha

Caught the bus from downtown Stirling - rickety old thing and filled with old people. I was the only person on the bus under 65 which had me worried for a little bit, especially once the equally old bus driver told me that I couldn't buy a return ticket from him. Things made a little more sense when we drove towards Callander and Doune and picked up more old people and were greeted by signs warning of "Elderly Crossings". Seemed like the entire area was one big retirement settlement. Though I must say the Elderly Crossing sign was a hoot. I wish I'd taken a picture. Imagine a typical triangular red and white road sign with a shadowed picture of two elderly people hunched over canes. I should also point out that the gentleman in front of me sneezed a grand total of 27 times during out 20 minute bus ride. TWENTY SEVEN TIMES! At first it was funny, but after 10 it just got annoying. Poor guy must've had an allergy or something...

Got dropped off at the driveway to Doune castle and trekked the rest of the way by myself which wasn't too bad. It only took a few minutes and then I was basking in Doune glory. The ladies working in the shop were super nice and even offered to take a picture of me with the coconuts hahaha. There aren't any guided tours at Doune but they have a really handy guidebook and little signs everywhere telling you what everything is.

It was such a confusing layout - it's easy to see how someone could get lost walking through all those corridors. The doorways were something else. People must have been barely five feet tall back then because even I had to duck to get through them. I felt like I was walking through a house designed for little people or something. Also found it a bit strange that every window had stairs leading up to it - which I guess makes sense for look out purposes. The castle was apparently a strategic point so defense was understandably important.

Took about an hour to get around the entire castle, up the battlements and around the different rooms. Quite the cool place! Even checked out the photo album to see all the Canadians who'd been married there hahaha. There weren't too many other tourists milling about so the staff were really friendly to chat with. One of them even suggested I publish my research hahaha too cute 😊

Went for a bit of a tour around the grounds as well. The River Tyrne (I think that's how it's spelt) was right behind the castle so I took a stroll down there and got some really nice nature shots. The landscape is just breathtaking. At that point I realized that I could most definitely move to Scotland and live there quite happily for the rest of my natural born life. Really just a beautiful place.

After Doune headed back into town to catch the bus - missed it by a couple mins so was stuck for an hour waiting. Got a scone with jam at a little shop along the road (mainly so I could use their bathroom but it's considered bad form to do so without buying something first...). Eventually caught the bus back home - it was packed with teenagers coming home from school. Actually heard one girl say to another classmate that if you don't cover your mouth when you cough/sneeze the Devil jumps in (no joke). She was dead serious as well which was a little disconcerting.

Eventually made it back to Stirling though, got some stuff done at the library and dragged my body back to the hostel for a much needed nap. All in all a pretty fantastic day of exploring. Hoping to do the Wallace Monument or Stirling Castle first thing in the morning before catching the train to Manchester.

Till then!

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Photos

Doune Castle
In all its regal glory

Coconuts!
I was pretty excited about banging them together haha

The Yard
Inside Doune. Those stairs lead up to the Great Hall.

What Could Have Been
Apparently these stones jutting out of the wall indicate that there was still more castle to build.

Gate
Leads to the residential quarters - kept separate from the rest of the castle for security reasons

Monty Python Woot!
Proof that the movie really was shot here ;)

Cobwebs
I wonder if they're as old as the castle too hahaha

Neat Shot
Well at least I thought so anyway. The windows were really strange - not even at all so they made really cool light patterns on the floors and stuff

For Little People
I can't emphasize enough how small these doorways were

A Loo!
A real old school loo - I rather enjoyed the tiny window

The Grounds
Pretty nice eh? Very green!

Peephole
I shot this through one of the spy holes on the battlements used for shooting arrows at enemies

The Back
Peering at the castle through all the flowers at the back

Along the River Tyrne
Really beautiful landscape along here

Path along the river
There were tons of purple flowers everywhere - and dogs too. Must've run into about six dogs along here

The River Tyrne
Very calm, even at the parts where there were small rapids.