Stirling Castle

Two weekends ago I went to Stirling Castle. I went with two girls Melissa (a student here from WI) and Daniele (she is South African but has lived the last 3 years in Australia and is staying in Dalkeith with her grandparents who I met at church). We had a blast! We took the bus to get up there and it was a 2 hour ride. But we saw lots of really amazing things and met some really nice people. The city of Stirling is awesome! There is so much to see besides the beautiful castle. Because of the position of Stirling, it has been fought over a lot. Here is a link to find out loads more about it. http://www.visitstirling.org/

Stirling Castle!!!
Melissa at the top of a very long climb!
Up to the top!
In Scotland they have a very interesting way setting up the parking on grass. They put little concrete knobs and let grass grow back around them. You see these quite a bit. It really looks neat.

The Wallace Monument dedicated to William Wallace. Here's a link to learn more. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/independence/features_independence_wallace.shtml




Isn't the view great! The day was really nice too!
Robert the Bruce. His heart is the one buried in Melrose Abbey. Here's a link. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bruce_robert_the.shtml






Look at how thick the walls are.


It is so massive but yet very decorative.












This was the tunnel to get from one side of the castle to the other. It reminds me of the basement here.
The Courtyard!
The Tapestry Hall
The Great Hall

The Lion is England
The Thistle and the rose
The Great Hall. JK Rowling held an event here.







The Tapestry Hall
It took 3 women/ 7 days a week/ 3 years to make this. It has 110 different colors.






Melissa and I
Danielle and I


That chimney looks like a t shirt.

These are the Great Kitchens. They have it set up as it would have been back then.






This was very cool. Rain came down the rain pipe and went into the gutter and down the drain so the pavement stays somewhat dry.
The castle well



This is one the oldest and most medieval churches.


















Robert Burns: Scotland's national bard
Rob Roy


a glimpse of the castle
Down town Stirling
I LOVE Cornish Pasties (the a is a short a)!





We stopped and ate lunch at Nicky Tams. A nicky tams is a thin leather strip that the farmers used to tie around the bottom of their pants to stop the rodents from running up their pants leg.
A bothy is when the pubs used to rent out rooms on the top floor. A traveller could get a pint of ale and a bed for £1.
The reason the glass looks odd is that it is bullseye glass. It is a really common thing to see in older buildings.
Melissa is sitting next to me and Danielle is across.
This is Irn Bru (Iron Brew). It is the most popular soft drink in Scotland. It way out sells Coke every year. It tastes like Juicy Fruit gum.
Danielle eattting ice cream. After lunch we got ice cream. Look at the spoon. It is really a small little beach shovel.
Me shovelling (ha pun intended!) in ice cream! It was sooooo good!
We took the train home. It was only a 59 min ride. The public transportation is fantastic!!!!

Danielle and Melissa
Me with my ticket. It is as easy as using a vending machine to get a bag of chips as it is to get a train ticket.