Stirling Castle

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Continuing on with the castle theme from yesterday, today I caught the train from Edinburgh to Stirling to visit Stirling Castle. This is a castle that is steeped in history - politically it was one of the most important castles in Scotland and has been the site of many battles. Stirling is in the middle of Scotland, just before the highlands - so it was seen by many invaders as the gateway to Scotland - if you held the castle, you held Scotland.
My train trip to Stirling lasted about an hour. It is a pretty little town and I made my way up the hill to the castle entrance. On my way, I stopped in at Argyll's Lodging - a nobleman's residence that is on the road to the castle. This mansion has been restored to its original state and the rooms have had their original furnishings recreated. I really enjoyed wandering through the rooms and imagining how the lords and ladies once lived there.
After Argyll's Lodging I went on to the castle. I spent a good couple of hours wandering through the castle grounds and buildings. Part of this time was spent on a guided tour, which -although the weather was miserable (it rained almost the entire time I was in Stirling) and a considerable amount of the tour was about the exterior of the buildings - was extremely informative and entertaining. I really enjoyed the time at the castle and would recommend a visit to anyone that is into castles - it is definitely one of the best castles I have visited to date.
I made my way down through the old town stopping whenever I saw a site that captured my eye. There are a lot of romantic old buildings in Stirling - it is definitely a very pretty town. I continued wandering until I came across the Stirling Bridge - this used to be the only entrance into the Scottish Highlands in the days taht the castle was a significant fortress. It is a very pretty sight these days too.
In the countryside nearby is the Wallace Memorial - I managed to take photos of this magnificant structure - but did not make it out there. It was a bit far to walk and the weather was not exactly encouraging. It is a definite must for my next visit to Scotland.
After exploring Stirling, I caught the train back to Edinburgh and finished off my souvenir shopping before having a Scottish dinner of fish and chips, deep fried mars bar and a drink if irn bru.

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