Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle

Today we drove to Stirling castle, the medieval and renaissance palace of some of Scotland's most famous kings and queens. As we drove towards the town of Stirling we saw it slowly rise out of the mists rolling down from the East, standing huge and proud on its hill, surrounded by sheer cliffs. On a nearby hilltop was the Wallace monument, a 220 feet tall sandstone spire, constructed to commemorate William Wallace's victory here, at the battle of Stirling bridge in 1297.
Upon arrival we began to explore the royal palace of the Stewart dynasty. Women in costume were quick to answer our questions about the life of the famous Monarchs of Scotland, and later, England.
Afterwards, we joined a guided tour of the castle, where we learnt much about the fascinating castle's history.
In my book, "The History of Scotland," I had read that in the outer walls of Stirling castle, a tiny peephole was built, a little over a foot above the ground. It had been used by Mary Queen of Scots when she was only a small child. I was anxious to see it, and asked a staff member for its location. As it turned out, it was located at the back of the castle, near Douglas Garden.

Me at Mary Queen of Scot's peephole

On the way home we stopped over at Dunfermline Abbey, an abbey established by Saint Margaret, wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland. Later it was transformed into a palace for some of the later monarchs.

Dunfermline Abbey