Advertisement
Published: April 4th 2015
IMG_7300
Stirling Castle and a bonnie lass We've taken these two days to go back and cover some ground that we really wanted to see.
Highlights have been Stirling Castle and the Falkirk Wheel, the old Closes of Edinburgh and Edinburgh New Town.
Stirling Castle and the surrounding region were put in our minds by Mel Gibson in Braveheart, but to the Scots the tussle with the English over the centuries and events like the Battle of Bannockburn are etched in their minds like it was yesterday. The grand hall has been renovated to replace the original style hammer beam oak roof structure and return the palace to the way it would have been used by King and Queen. The Historic Scotland guide could tell us all about its history, even down to the pride he had over James V in 1528 as the first king of Scotland and England, the fact that for a period Scotland ruled England and that he said he would return to Stirling Castle every three years - but "he never did..." - these guys never forget!!!
The Falkirk Wheel deserves a special mention for me, another Scottish engineering feat. It joins the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union
IMG_7303
Grand Hall of Stirling Castle Canal that are 35 metres different in elevation. It does it one step, instead of about 11 with old school locks. Bring in one enormous gear wheel and two buckets and voila!! Old canals are cool again.
Before we left Edinburgh I made sure that I caught up with some old Scotch friends, Jura, Auchentoshan, Cragganmore, Hazelburn and Glen Dronach.
For Tess this has been a great taste of what Scotland has to offer, we'll plan our return but probably in summer for some Highland Games. Next stop France, a fitting transition considering the connection between the two countries in history, a very specific relationship with the English.
Aurevouir Scotland
Advertisement
Tot: 0.264s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0407s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
