Stirling

I stayed with some friends from church for a few nights out in Stirling for some more adventures. It was nice to get out of the Edinburgh groove, as nice as the city is, and it was a great opportunity to see more of Scotland and learn some history! Upon arriving on Wednesday night, we had a great meal, and I found myself with a tower bedroom, which had a great view of the city and the castle.

The next morning I woke up early and studied for my upcoming exams for a while. I eventually arose around half past 8, and went down to find the TV on, showing some pre-Royal Wedding material. We had some breakfast - I forgot how much I love oatmeal - and then went for a great morning walk.

The area of Stirling in which they live, Bridge of Allan, is quite beautiful. Apparently it used to be a resort town, with a silver and copper mine, and Robert Louis Stevenson visited a few times with his family. A lot of the buildings around used to be hotels, so they are all rather large, but some of them have been converted into flats. There was a lawn bowling club and a tennis club right across the street (tempting, yes), and a golf club nearby, so it seems to still have that spa feel, but I guess the presence of Stirling University down the street has given it new life as well.

Right behind our street are some woods, where we went walking in the morning. On the other side of the woods (a lot of beech trees, very nice) was a farm, and we walked down the road past fields and sheep, and right back into their town. Really a nice mix of urban, country and woodland.

We got back and ended up just watching the Royal Wedding. I found myself captivated by the pageantry of it all, so even though I hadn't really been interested before, I was drawn in when it came down to it. I really don't know much about the royal family and their doings, but it was interesting to hear the announcers and see the outfits. We then had a nice large lunch, and then off to Stirling Castle.

It is a very cool castle. There are a lot of nooks and crannies open for exploration, and I love that sort of thing, so that was a plus. It had a more medieval feel than Edinburgh Castle, so I enjoyed that a lot. It also had some really nice gardens within the castle, which added some color to all the stone. One was at the back, and you come into in through a narrow walkway, so it's like it's hidden away, this secret garden. The sign there announced that it was called the Douglas Garden, because the 8th Earl of Douglas was murdered there by King James II and his body was thrown into the garden afterwards. How exciting!

Afterwards we went to the approximate site of the Battle of Bannockburn, which was pretty neat. I don't actually know much about that era of Scottish history, but I knew enough to understand its implication. There was a nice statue there of Robert the Bruce, looking very medieval.

So a day filled with the Middle Ages and a Royal Wedding. Quite satisfactory, I think!