Saturday, August 1 – day trip to Stirling Castle

“Slept in” a bit today, making our way out of Marietta’s at 11:30. After a short 40 minute train ride, we wound our way up the cobbled roads to the castle, and had a very Olde World feeling to it – stucco buildings, cast iron fences, walled driveways and the occasional painted sign hanging over a doorways to announce the contents. It’s a picture takers heaven, and it’s a good thing the road is steep because it gave me many opportunities to stop (with Emma!) and take a snap. Stirling Castle is so far my most favorite of the castles we’ve visited. There are so many different nooks and crannies, peaks and walls for which to frame a panoramic of Stirling City below. The hills seem to go on forever and you can see the rain moving across the land, allowing you to predict just how long you have until you need to pull out your umbrella.

There is a lot of history at the castle, and the debate among some Scottish is that Stirling Castle, and not Edinburgh Castle, holds the true heart of Scotland. William Wallace, of Braveheart fame, fought and won the battle of Stirling; I’m going to watch Braveheart as soon as I get home! The Palace buildings are currently under restoration, so we couldn’t go inside, but the outside had amazing statues that at one time were painted with bright colors and gold paint, carved during the reign of Charles the 4 (or 5th, not sure…anyway they’re REALLY old!) The castle has only been under restoration for the past 40 years, which sounds like a long time but is merely a second in the history of the castle. There is a current exhibition showing the weaving of tapestries that will eventually hang in the Palace when completed. It is a fascinating and amazing undertaking – each tapestry, made as a replica of the ones that hung in the Palace, will take 4 years to complete. WOW! There is a series of 6 tapestries, with 4 finished tapestries currently hanging in the Great Hall, awaiting their new home when the Palace restoration is complete. We watched the weavers on the giant loom, and the tapestry is actually made from left to right, on its side, and not top to bottom or bottom to top like I'd assumed.