Stirling

“Where is the coward that would not dare to fight for such a land as Scotland.”

— Sir Walter Scott

Doune Castle

Mercifully, the drive from our Hobbit hole to our next place in Stirling was short, and the drive was even easier with a stop at Doune Castle.

Doune Castle as Outlander’s Loch Leoch set in 1743 (notice the lack of CGI to “fix” the damaged roof; compare with below).

Another view Doune Castle as Outlander’s Loch Leach set in 1743.

Claire and Frank visit the "picturesque ruin" in 1945. Soon after Claire mysteriously travels back in time to 1743 and is taken to the same castle by Jamie and his clan.
In these shots, they had to add 200 years of CGI neglect (not shown above) to give the castle an aged appearance.

The delightfully rough shinty game between Dougal, Jamie, and more of the clan during “The Gathering”—filmed right in front of Doune Castle.

Standing where the shinty game was played.

The inner courtyard all dressed up as Loch Leach.

The stairs in the background are the same ones Amanda is standing on in the photo below.

This was the amazing kitchen at Doune Castle and quite possibly the largest fireplace we’ve ever seen.

Looking from the kitchen to the food service windows. Because the castle is so old, they were unable to use this kitchen for filming. They wanted the authentic feel, however, so they created a full-scale version of this kitchen in a studio and used that for filming of Mrs Fitz’s kitchen in *Outlander*.

My how people have become taller over the centuries.

The Banqueting Hall. The small room on the left is a privy for the laird of the castle so they didn’t have to leave the hall when nature called. Some poor sod then had to empty the privy later. 🤢

In this room, the Duke of Albany conducted business, administered justice, and received his most honored guests. Albany would have governed from a chair of state, framed by hangings bearing his coat of arms. His unusual double fireplace perhaps allowed him to choose between one fire or two.

Medieval lords like Albany oversaw local justice. People were brought before the duke, evidence was presented, and sentence passed. The guilty could be lowered through this trapdoor into the pit prison below. (Possibly the inspiration for Jabba the Hut’s lair in Return of the Jedi? You decide.)

Long before *Outlander* filmed at Doune Castle, way back in 1973-4, another famous film was made, right here behind this now crumbling parapet. I’ll give you a hint:
“I fart in your general direction.”

Yes, *Monty Python and the Holy Grail*. In fact, during filming breaks at Castle Doune, the cast and crew from *Outlander* would recite lines from Holy Grail.
By the way, did you know that Holy Grail was partially financed by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson? Crazy!
“Now, go away, or I shall taunt you a second time.”

Despite touring Doune Castle, we still arrived in Stirling on July 6 at 1 pm, which left us two hours to kill before we could check-in to our new flat.

Of course Amanda’s pastime of choice was to explore the many charity shops on offer in a new city. I chose a more practical option: HBW Coffee. Order up for a mocha and a thick slice of toasted sourdough bread with avocado and pan-fried mushrooms, topped with pomegranate seeds. Yummy! Now let’s update that blog!
We checked in at 3 pm on the dot. You would think we were settling into the Taj Mahal we were so giddy!
Oh! A super-king bed!
Oh! A washing machine!
Oh! A refrigerator!
Check out our palatial mansion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPu6PfN36NU

Here is a map pinned to our apartment:

For dinner we literally walked across the street and into Green Gates Indian Restaurant. We started with samosas, of course. Toward the top, Amanda had chana aloo masala and I had aloo gobi mutter. We were lucky to have such a great restaurant so close to our place.
So happy to be in Stirling!

Stirling Castle

On our walk to the castle we passed this building. Made me think of all my years in Scouting, and Erica’s recent years with the organization.

It must be other-worldly to witness Scotland in Autumn.

**King Robert the Bruce** (1314) stands guard outside the castle gates.

Looking down a canon with the Wallace Monument faintly visible on top the green hill in the distance.

Standing in the Outer Close looking at the **Palace** (left) and **Great Hall** (right).

Today, the number one question asked by visitors is, “Why is that building yellow?”

Today, we largely see grey stone castles. However, when castles were first built, they were nearly always “rendered”—covered with a coat of plaster to prevent water from passing through the porous stones.

Because render does eventually wash away, it had to be renewed occasionally—which is why very few examples have survived.

While the render was essential to keep the castle dry, it was frequently used as a statement through the addition of color to the render. That color depended on what was available locally.

At Stirling Castle the craftsmen added ground yellow ochre to the lime harding mix, which gave the buildings their yellow color.

In their heyday the grey stonework of the Great Hall, Palace, and Chapel were all rendered in “King’s Gold.”

The exuberant gold would have gleamed upon the hilltop from miles around. It was a statement of power and prestige, intended to be seen from a long way off so that nobody could be in any doubt who was the most important person in the neighborhood.

After hundreds of years of seeing castles with no rendering, we wrongly assume that a colorfully plastered castle simply looks wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Great Hall, completed in 1503 for James IV, was a royal hall—a place for ceremony and dance, for grand banquets and an impressive space for music and entertainment.
The hammer-beam roof was painstakingly recreated by traditional methods in 1997, requiring the timber of 350 Strathyre oak trees, pinned together with 4,000 handmade pegs.
The minstrel gallery in at the back of the hall.

The sound of trumpets from this loft would have announced the arrival of the monarch.

From their dais, King Stephen and Queen Amanda preside over the festivities.

This **Chapel Roya**l was built in 1594 as the setting for the baptism of **Prince Henry** (named after Henry VIII), first-born son of King James VI and Anne of Denmark.
It took just six months to construct and was lavishly decorated with pictures, tapestries, sculptures, and a golden ceiling. In its center stood the font.
James was in line to succeed the childless Queen Elizabeth I of England. His son's baptism was stage-managed to proclaim the Stuart dynasty worthy of both countries' thrones.
Sadly, Prince Henry died from typhoid fever at the age of 18 in London in 1612. His death was widely regarded as a tragedy for the nation, and few heirs to the English throne have been as widely and deeply mourned.
His younger brother would go on to become Charles I, succeeded as the second Stuart King of Great Britain, in 1625.
Charles I would prove to be an ineffectual king who’s rein led to the English Civil War, his own trial and execution, and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell.
If only Henry had become king and not Charles I.
If only Arthur had become king and not Henry VIII.

On the left dormer: A Tudor Rose over a Scottish Thistle.
On the right dormer, a Scottish Thistle over a Tudor Rose.
All signaling King James V (Mary Queen of Scots’ father) as the legitimate ruler of England after his Father (King James IV of Scotland) married Margaret Tudor (sister of Henry VIII).

Inside the **Palace** of James V and the rich world of Scotland’s royalty in the 1500s, and childhood home of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The **Queen’s Inner Hall**: Queen Mary of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The King James’s bedchamber. Notice the bed is only a frame. This is because James began work on the Palace in 1538, but it was probably completed after his death in 1542 (age 31). As such, the bedchamber is symbolically left largely unfurnished.

Musicians play old instruments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcFKskReLvM

The William Wallace Monument as seen atop the small green hill in the distance, on the other side of River Forth from Stirling Castle.

The **National Wallace Monument** sits atop Abbey Crag, which gets its name from an abbey that once stood below the rugged cliff.

**Queen Anne’s Garden**
Mary Queen of Scots’ second husband was Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. They had James VI (of the King James Bible). James VI married Anne of Denmark—for which the garden is named.

A very Scottish wedding—notice the wee rain drops.

National Wallace Monument

The **Stirling Old Bridge** was built in the 1400s or 1500s, replacing a succession of timber bridges. (The Wallace Monument is just visible above the far end of the bridge.)

Undoubtedly the best-known of the wooden bridges was one that stood nearby in the 1290s, when Sir William Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray defeated Edward I’s forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.

Crossing the River Forth. The River Forth runs into the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh. Forth roughly translate as “slow running.”

On the bridge with Stirling Castle on the hilltop.
The bridge also played a part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745, when an arch was removed to forestall Bonnie Prince Charlie’s forces as they marched south.

Over the River Forth with the Wallace Monument in the background.
The bridge today remains one of the best medieval masonry arch bridges in Scotland.

The Scottish bakery I never knew I owned.

Very cool pub. Check out the massive broad sword above the door.

The dates are when Wallace was born and died.

The Monument was opened to visitors in 1869 and stands 220-feet tall.

A commanding figure of Wallace adorns the outside, overlooking the site of the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge.

One of Wallace’s warriors took us back 726 years to the Battle of Stirling Bridge and the events that led to Wallace’s rise to fame.

Battle of Stirling Bridge - 11 Sep 1297

Since the earliest times Stirling has been strategically important as a crossing point over the River Forth, and as the main route north and south through Scotland.

It all goes back to the last true king of Scotland: Alexander III. After an evening at Edinburgh Castle celebrating his second marriage and overseeing a meeting with royal advisors, Alexander ignored repeated warnings about traveling in a storm and rode off on his horse into the dark and stormy night. The king was found dead the following morning, less than a mile from home, at the bottom of a very steep rocky embankment in Kinghorn, having been thrown from his horse.

After Alexander’s death in 1286, the Guardians of Scotland were the de facto heads of state until a king was chosen.

John Balliol, a descendant of King David I of Scotland, was chosen and was inaugurated at Scone, on St Andrew’s Day, 30 November 1292. After helping make John king, however, King Edward I of England proceeded to progressively undermine John's authority.

In retaliation for Scotland making a treaty with France, Edward I invaded Scotland. In the most heinous act ever carried out on Scottish soil, Edward I’s troops took part in what has become known as the Sack of Berwick (1296):

“When the town had been taken in this way and its citizens had submitted, Edward spared no one, whatever the age or sex, and for two days streams of blood flowed from the bodies of the slain, for in his tyrannous rage he ordered 7,500 souls of both sexes to be massacred.... So that mills could be turned by the flow of their blood.”

Scotland in 1296 was a country oppressed by military occupation.

Out of this oppression emerged William Wallace, a young man from a minor noble family. He did not have great wealth, nor did he own lands or hold important office, but he did have skill, strength, and, above all, a desire to fight for justice for Scotland.

The first act definitely known to have been carried out by Wallace was his killing of William de Heselrig, the English High Sheriff of Lanark, in May 1297 (perhaps in revenge for William having killed Wallace’s wife).