12 May: Scone Palace

Our visit to Scone Palace (pronounced 'skuun') started with us admiring the estate's Highland Cows. I just love these cute, hairy creatures, so different from the cows at home. Once more I took a dozen photos of the cows and more or less ignored the peacocks; I've taken lots of photos of peacocks before, but these cows....

Scone Palace - the crowning place of Kings of Scots

Once the crowning place of the Kings of Scots, Scone Palace occupies a unique position in the history of Scotland. Directly opposite the Palace, standing on a tiny hill called Moot Hill, is the palace chapel. Moot Hill is the traditional home of the Stone of  Scone or the Stone of Destiny (the crowning stone), until it was captured by Edward I of England in 1296 and taken to Westminster Abbey. However, Moot Hill continued to be the crowning place of the Kings of Scots, even after the stone was removed. The famous Scottish king Robert the Bruce was crowned at Scone in 1306 and the last coronation was of Charles II, when he accepted the Scottish crown in 1651. See my blog post from Edinburgh for more details on the stone. 

A replica of the Stone of Destiny sits upon the hill, marking the site of the original. It's a rather rough stone, surprisingly unglamorous, considering its important role in the rulings of Scotland.

Anyway, at the palace I learned that there was an important difference between English and Scottish kings. English kings were kings 'of England', whereas the Scottish kings were kings 'of the Scots'. The important distinction was that in England you would inherit your title, the Scottish kings were elected by their people and needed their support in order to continue being their king. The same applies to the queens. To my romantic mind this sounds like a way of reducing the distance between the royals and the people they rule, but I might be wrong. The lives they lived certainly did not even remotely resemble the life of ordinary people.

Lunch for us - and the peacocks

Before entering Scone Palace, we explored the playground, the wood with its sculptures, the beautiful garden and the chapel (and in that order!). The weather was nice, though rather chilly (as usual), so at lunchtime we ate a packed lunch at one of the tables outside the castle. As we were eating, we were approached by one of the estate peacocks and he came very close. In the end our boys took pity on him and gave him some of their bread, so he ended up wandering around our table, almost like a dog begging for food.  

A family home

Today, Scone Palace is the home of the Earls of Mansfield, and a visitor attraction to visitors from around the world. The interior is fabulous, see their website for pictures from inside the palace. I've also added a very short video from the castle.

My favourite room was the State Drawing Room, with its royal blue and yellow carpet, magnificent furniture, huge windows and equally huge paintings. As in most family homes, Scone Palace has many pictures of the existing inhabitants, their family, and their ancestors. In this case there were both paintings and photographs on display, giving us a glimpse of the past and present.

The palace contains a large collection of exquisite china, and one of the guides/guards told me that the green colour used for one of the sets of china was made by adding arsenic. The china was beautiful, but drinking coffee from the cups could not have been very good for your health.

Enjoying the pinetum and getting lost in the maze

After we had finished our self-guided tour of the palace, we continued exploring the estate. Like a some of the other large estates we have visited, the palace had a pinetum, which I've learned is an arboretum of pine trees or other conifers for scientific or ornamental purposes. The oldest tree in the collection was the Douglas Fir, planted by David Douglas in 1826. It was huge and the boys enjoyed climbing onto its lowest branch, which was thick as a tree.

We had even more fun when we went to see the Murray Star Maze, a maze designed in the shape of a five pointed star that features in the Murray family crest. The maze is made from 2000 beech trees, half copper and half green, creating a unique tartan effect. At the entrance/exit there is a small viewing platform which lets you appreciate the beauty of the maze as seen from above. When you're in the middle of the maze you don't really see much and it's really easy to get lost, which of course is the purpose of a maze.

What fascinated us adults the most, were the two deer on the edge of the forest at Moot Hill, overlooking the palace. From a distance they looked like real deer, and you had to come quite close to see that they were made entirely from twigs. As far as I could see there was no steel frame, just twigs all the way through. I was impressed by the craftsmanship of the artist who made these extremely beautiful sculptures.

Scone at Scone

By the time we had finished exploring the castle and grounds, we needed some more food. The natural choice was eating in the Old Servants' Hall coffee shop, and finishing off the meal with scones. It just had to be done!

11 May: Falkirk Wheel and Culross

The first weekend of May we traveled to Norway to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday, the third weekend we went to Norway to celebrate my father-in-law's 70th birthday and the last weekend in May I traveled to London with my friends from university. This left only one weekend in May to travel around Scotland. This weekend we chose to see the Falkirk Wheel, Culross and Scone Palace.

Falkirk Wheel

We arrived at Falkirk Wheel on a grey and cold day, which meant few other visitors to this magnificent piece of engineering. Being an engineer myself, I love things like this.

The Falkirk Wheel  links the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal, and it is the only rotating boat lift in the world.  Historically, the two canals had been joined at Falkirk by a flight of 11 locks that stepped down across a distance of 1.5km, but these were dismantled in 1933 after years of disrepair, and thus the link was broken.

The concept of a wheel to act as a boat lift was first seriously considered as a solution for Falkirk in 1994 and this resulted in the Millennium Link project. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight. Designs were submitted for a boat lift to link the canals and the Falkirk Wheel design won. The Falkirk Wheel was opened by the Queen in May 2002.

How does the Falkirk Wheel work?

The Falkirk Wheel lies at the end of a reinforced concrete aqueduct that connects to the Union Canal. Boats entering the wheel's upper gondola are lowered, along with the water that they float in, to the basin below. At the same time, an equal weight rises up, lifted in the other gondola.

This works on the Archimedes principle of displacement. That is, the mass of the boat sailing into the gondola will displace an exactly proportional volume of water so that the final combination of 'boat plus water' balances the original total mass. The wheel rotates through 180° in five and a half minutes while using very little power, approximately the equivalent of boiling eight kettles of water.

The Falkirk Wheel website gives more detailed information on how the wheeel works and in the right hand column you can see a very good video which describes in a very comprehensive way how the wheel works. The boys and I did our homework, we had seen the video a couple of times before visiting the wheel because we enjoyed it so much.

The boat trip - 24 metres higher up in five minutes

Having admired the big wheel, the natural next step was to go on the boat trip that would allow us to be lifted 24 metres up to the aqueduct towards the Union Canal. The Union Canal is 11 metres higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel, and boats must therefore pass through a pair of locks to get from the aqueduct at the top of the wheel to the Union Canal. Our boat trip did not include going through the locks, but that was not the main attraction anyway.

While our boat entered the lower gondola, were were shown a video which described how the wheel worked. With a limited number of fellow boat passengers, we got great views from our seats inside the boat.

When the gondola with our boat was lifted it was fascinating to see how the water on all sides of the boat suddenly 'stopped' at the edge of the gondola, and outside there was just air. The feeling was even stronger when we had traveled up the aqueduct and turned back again. As we were entering the second gondola, it was like sailing into a canal that suddenly disappeared into thin air in front of us, almost like being at the top of a waterfall, except without the spray at the cliffs edge.

Lots of fun for kids of all ages

At the lower half of the Falkirk Wheel there is a visitor centre and a nice green area with benches where you can sit and watch the wheel. Unfortunately the weather was too cold while we were there, but I imagine I could sit there for quite a while on a warm, sunny day. Next to the benches there was a childrens playground, where our boys played for a little while.

The best part, however, was the aqua park next to it. This was not a park with slides and the other activities you normally find in a aqua park. In this park there were different tools to lift water from one level to another, where you had to play an active part in order to achieve this. In addition to the traditional water pump, there was a pump where you cycled to generate the necessary energy, locks where you could lift a boat from one level to the other and many other things.

What fascinated me the most was the Archimedes screw, a machine historically used for transferring water from a low-lying body of water into irrigation ditches. This is, of course, a really old invention, but to me this was something new and I marveled at the creativity of the person who invented this. It's quite simple, but such a brilliant invention. In the version at Falkirk Wheel you had to run on a contraption fitted at the base of the screw. When you had been running for a little while, the water started to spill out at the top - it was great!

In my blog I only use my own pictures, but in this case I make an exception as I forgot to take a photo of it - I had too much fun playing around with it.

More fun for the boys

Next to the wheel a company was offering 10 minute rounds of 'water walkers', which are inflatable 'water-walking' balls. This is something that really appeals to kids, so both our boys wanted to have a go. After watching another lady inside one of the balls I decided it was not something I was to keen on doing. The kids are so much better at keeping their balance and managing challenges like this one. As expected, the boys had a great time!

Culross

We spent a few hours at Falkirk Wheel and with the activities next to the wheel. We even got to see a river boat going through a lock to get from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the bottom of the Falkirk Wheel, before being lifted up to continue its journey through the Union Canal. In the end I was frozen stiff and the family was dragged back to the car and we drove to see Culross, a beautifully preserved 16th- and  17th century village.

When we got to Culross, we drove through beautiful, narrow medieval streets, before finding a car park and getting out to stroll the cobbled streets of the small village. The National Trust for Scotland began restoring the village in 1932 and wandering around the streets we felt the atmosphere of ancient times had been retained in a very good way.

We arrived a little to late to be able to go inside the Culross Palace, but we did manage to see the ruins of St Mungo’s chapel, the abbey, the old monastery and the West Kirk. Equally fascinating as these buildings was the cemetery outside, with its headstones pointing in all directions. I was almost expecting the living dead to come out any moment, but I guess it was a bit too early for that, we probably should have stayed the night.

After soaking up the peaceful atmosphere of Culross, we decided to have dinner in the village. The Red Lion Inn was our only option for dinner, but this turned out to be a great option. The food was lovely and nicely presented, and the atmosphere was relaxed and laid-back. We enjoyed it so much we wanted to stay the night too. Unfortunately the Inn did not have any rooms, so we had to leave Culross and try our luck elsewhere.

18 - 21 April: A long weekend in Edinburgh with childhood friends

On 18 April I caught the train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh to meet two of my childhood friends for a long weekend. The main purpose of this weekend was to have fun with my friends, but we did manage to get some sightseeing done too.

One thing that surprised me when I came to Edinburgh, was how touristic The Royal Mile was. After having traveled to many different parts of Scotland already, I've always felt that what we've seen has been genuine, like the kilt shops in Inverness etc. The same was not the case on The Royal Mile, where you could buy tourist versions of kilts and they had all the tourist stuff like mugs, T-shirts etc., just like the stuff you find in tourist shops in London or similar cities.

I found it a bit disappointing that this was how my friends were greeted when they came to Scotland, but once outside of The Royal Mile the atmosphere was very different so it was OK. I must add that Edinburgh must be one of the most beautiful cities in Scotland, with it's fantastic architecture and all those hills. It was even more beautiful than I had expected.

Friday morning we ate a late breakfast at a nearby café and then walked the short distance to Edinburgh Castle. 

Edinburgh Castle

Sited on top of an extinct volcano, Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle offers stunning views across the City of Edinburgh. Castle Rock offered the ultimate safe and defensive position in Edinburgh and there is evidence that Bronze Age people built homes on Castle Rock as far back as around 900 BC.

The City of Edinburgh grew outwards from Castle Rock. The first houses in Edinburgh were built on the area in front of Edinburgh Castle, and then the house building continued down High Street and Cannongate towards the Royal Palace of Holyrood House. These streets collectively form a single street known as The Royal Mile. The Royal Mile acquired its name over the ages as Scottish and English kings, queens and royalty in general, travelled to and fro between the Palace of Holyrood House and Edinburgh Castle; hence the name The Royal Mile.

Fierce Iron Age warriors defended a hill fort here, and the nation's oldest poetry tells of a war band feasting here for a year before riding to their deaths in battle. However, the oldest part of the existing Edinburgh Castle, St Margaret's Chapel, was built in 1130 by David I, son of of Saint Margaret of Scotland.

Centuries of fighting for control of the castle

The tensions between the English and Scottish monarchies nearly always centred on Edinburgh Castle. He who held the castle held rule over the city of Edinburgh and, therefore, over all of Scotland. Consequently, the castle was almost constantly under siege.

The first major battle the castle witnessed was during the late 13th century when Edward I of England attempted to seize the then vacant Scottish throne. From 1296 to 1341, the castle bounced from English to Scottish hands several times during the First and Second Wars of Scottish Independence.

In 1571, English forces laid siege to the city of Edinburgh in an attempt to capture Mary, Queen of Scots. The siege lasted for two years and ended when all of Mary’s supporters had surrendered to the English.

In 1650 Oliver Cromwell executed Charles I, which led to an invasion of Scotland and once again Edinburgh Castle fell into English hands.

Several times during the Jacobite Risings (1688-1746), the Scots attempted to recapture their castle, but they were never able to overpower the English. The final attempt was in 1745. Although the Scots were able to capture the city, they were never able to lay siege to the castle. In November that year, the Jacobites were forced to retreat.

Royal palace

The castle has sheltered many Scottish monarchs, including Queen Margaret (later St Margaret) and Mary Queen of Scots. The castle  continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603.

A key attraction within the castle is the Scottish Crown Jewels. The crown, sword and sceptre are amongst the oldest regalia in Europe and are displayed with the Stone of Destiny.

The Stone of Destiny, also commonly known as the Stone of Scone, was used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. It was originally kept at Scone Abbey, but in 1296 the stone was captured by Edward I of England and taken to Westminster Abbey. It remained under the coronation chair, on which English and subsequently British sovereigns sit during their coronation, for the next 700 years. The last time it was used was at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. In 1996 the Stone of Destiny was finally returned to Scotland. It is now displayed in the Crown Room.

From Royal palace turned to military prison

From the late 18th century to the early 19th, Edinburgh Castle was used to hold military prisoners from England’s many wars. The castle became a national monument in 1814 after a mass prison break proved that the castle could not hold prisoners. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the castle was slowly restored. Military ceremonies began to be held there and, in 1927, part of the castle was turned into the Scottish National War Memorial.

Lunch in royal surroundings

After all our sight seeing it was time for afternoon tea. I opted for soup followed by a scone, but my friends both had afternoon tea and were very pleased with their choice. After lunch we focused our efforts on Princess street, the main shopping street in Edinburg. And we were quite successful too. A fair bit of Thornton chocolates were exported to Norway after that weekend.

Calton Hill

 After a late breakfast Saturday morning, we headed for Calton hill, unmistakable with its Athenian acropolis poking above the skyline. The acropolis is in fact an unfinished monument, originally called the "National Monument". Initiated in 1816, a year after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, it was meant to be a replica of the Parthenon in Athens, as a memorial to those who had died in the Napoleonic Wars. Building began in 1822, but funds ran dry and only a facade of the building was completed. It was dubbed "Edinburgh's shame", but is now a popular landmark.

We enjoyed the short stroll up to the top of Calton hill on a sunny, though rather windy, day. It was a quiet place where we enjoyed the National Monument, Nelson's Monument and the City Observatory. But most of all we enjoyed the panoramic views of the city, including Edinburgh Castle,  the ruddy-coloured cliffs of Salisbury Crags, Arthur's Seat, and the undulating slopes of Holyrood Park. 

An early return Sunday morning

After our sightseeing we returned to get some more chocolates, gifts etc., before returning to our flat briefly before we went out for another late dinner. My friends had a red-eye flight the next morning and had to get up at 03:30, so they didn't get many hours of sleep that night. After they left I was really happy to go back to bed for another 3 hours before I had to get up to catch my train back home. I arrived home not long after lunch, with my modest sized cabin bag and the three bulky bags of shopping that did not fit into my cabin bag.

13 -14 April: A sample of Glasgow

After our visit to Sterling Castle, we were ready to explore Glasgow, which I expected to be a rather grey and dull industrial city. I was so wrong! We soon discovered many beautiful buildings and the city also had a charm of its own. Suddenly our two days dedicated to exploring Glasgow seemed rather meager and we had to make some tough priorities.

Glasgow Cathedral

Our first stop in Glasgow was the Glasgow Cathedral, also called the High Kirk of Glasgow or St Kentigern's Cathedral.

In the picture to the right you can see the Glasgow Cathedral and the Glasgow Necropolis, a Victorian cemetry on a low but very prominent hill to the east of the cathedral. Fifty thousand individuals have been buried in the necropolis. Only a small percentage are named on monuments, typically for the period, and not every grave has a stone. Approximately 3500 monuments exist here.

The scaffolding on the outside of the cathedral was not a very pretty sight, but I was mesmerised by the cathedral's beautiful interior and the atmosphere inside. I felt we were extra lucky; the organist was practicing while we were there, adding to the magical atmosphere. For a moment I just sat down on a bench, blocking out all sounds except the music, including nagging from the kids, and just enjoyed the serenity. It's moments like these that give me energy.

The history of the cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral is built on the site where St Kentigern, or Mungo as he is more affectionately known, the first bishop within the ancient British kingdom of Strathclyde, was thought to have been buried in AD 612. The present cathedral was built during the 13th to 15th centuries and is the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the 1560 Reformation virtually complete.

The Protestant Reformation of 1560 did away with the need for bishops answerable to the Pope. Although bishops did continue in the established church in Scotland until their final abolition in 1689, their role was greatly reduced. Their cathedral was ‘cleansed’ of its Catholic trappings and put to use as a parish kirk – in fact, three parish kirks. The choir housed the Inner High Kirk, the west end of the nave the Outer High Kirk, and the crypt the Barony Kirk.

However, a growing appreciation of the qualities of medieval architecture led to another change. By 1835 both the Outer High Kirk and the Barony Kirk had vacated the premises, leaving the great medieval cathedral to return once more to something approaching its former glory.

The present cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral, unlike most other historic buildings, is Crown property and is cared for by Historic Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers. During all these years the cathedral has continued to be a place of worship and it still has a regular and active congregation.

The cathedral contains some beautiful stained glass windows and on parts of the ceiling there are really beautiful carved stone bosses, shaped as floral decorations.

Beautiful stained glass windows

In what I believe was the vestry of the cathedral, the stained glass windows had an interesting twist. The top part of the stained glass windows were traditional religious motifs, whereas the bottom part contained the coat of arms of those donating the windows. At the very bottom of the window were inscriptions of who donated the windows and who they were in memory of.

The crypt

Underneath the cathedral floor is a magnificent crypt. It has a high, vaulted ceiling and most of the crypt is painted white, giving it a light and airy feeling. The crypt was contructed in the mid -13th century to house the tomb of St Kentigern (Mungo).

In addition to the size of the crypt, I was impressed by the beautiful carved stone bosses in the ceiling in the Blackadder Aisle, built around 1500 by Archbishop Blackadder.

Lunch at The Willow Tea Room

After our visit to Glasgow Cathedral, it was time for lunch. I wanted to see the Willow Tea Room in Sauchiehall Street, created by the Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904.

The Willow was the only tea room building where Mackintosh had complete control over every aspect of the design. He modelled the exterior as well as the interior of the building, and even designed the cutlery and waitresses' dresses.

It's a good thing we had the exact address, as the entrance to the
tearoom is not very clearly marked. We walked past the tearoom without noticing it and even when we turned around and started to look for the specified number in Sauchiehall Street, we still had trouble finding it. In the end we decided to have a look at a jewellery shop around the correct address and it turned out we had to go through the jewellery shop to get to the tearoom. But it certainly was worth searching for.

We had lunch/afternoon tea in the 1904 Room de Luxe, a magnificent room sparkling in mauve and silver furniture, mirrors and coloured glass. The atmosphere in the room was great, the food was more average. However, the atmosphere of the room more than outweighed the quality of the food and I certainly was tempted to go see more works by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, like the House for an Art Lover. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to cover it this time, but maybe next time?

Tenement House

After lunch we went to see the Tenement House, the house lived in by Miss Agnes Toward from 1911 to 1965. More a time capsule than a museum, the Tenement House is an almost undisturbed record of life as it was in a modest Glasgow flat on a tenement estate in the early 20th century.

The house remained largely unaltered during the more than 50 years that Miss Agnes lived in the house, as she threw very little away. The rooms of this Victorian tenement flat also retain many of their original fixtures and fittings. Clues to how people lived are dotted all around, from the coal bunker to the jars of homemade plum jam dated 1929 on the larder shelves. The kitchen sink (or ‘jawbox’) still has the washboard and wringer where small items of laundry could be washed.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos inside the house, but The National Trust for Scotland offer a virtual tour on their website so you can see what it looks like.

A relaxing afternoon in Glasgow

After lunch we just had a stroll down Glasgow's Style Mile, including spending lots of time at the largest Waterstone's bookshop in the Northern hemisphere, if I remember correctly. It certainly was huge!

Eventually we ended up having dinner at a restaurant called Cook and Indi's World Buffet, which served a Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Indian buffet, including a dessert buffet with ice cream. The restaurant was chosen by our children during our stroll down Glasgow's Style Mile. and we all ended up finding plenty of food to our taste. And just for the record: I was not the only adult thrilling at having the opportunity to help myself to as much ice cream as I wanted from the dessert buffet!

Riverside Museum

Sunday morning we went to see the Riverside Museum in Glasgow and we ended up spending the whole day there. The museum focuses on transport and is crammed with locomotives, trams, cars, motorcycles and bikes of all styles and vintages. The use of interactive and audio-visual features enhances the experience greatly and contributes to bringing the past to life.

12 April: Sterling Castle

After a small birthday celebration for our youngest son, we set off for Sterling Castle. Once inside the castle we discovered that there would be a guided tour of Argyll's Lodging soon after our arrival. This house is not open except for through guided tours, so we decided to go there before we took a look at the castle.

Argyll's Lodging

Argyll’s Lodging is the most complete 17th-century town house surviving in Scotland, and an important example of Renaissance architecture. The oldest part of the present house dates from the mid-16th century; a two-storey dwelling with a hall on the first floor above a kitchen, built for John Traill, a wealthy burgess. This was soon extended to form an L-shaped tower house.

Keeping close to the King

Many nobles who owned nearby estates built town houses near the castle to be close to the King's Court at Sterling Castle. Argyll's Lodging was bought and extended by the Earl of Stirling in 1629. Anticipating a visit by Charles I, he created a private palace, with fine suites of public and private rooms and a lavishly decorated exterior. The architectural finesse is a reflection of Stirling’s wealth and political ambitions. Sadly, he died insolvent in 1640.

The house stood empty until the 1660s, when the 9th Earl of Argyll negotiated purchase. Argyll extended Stirling’s building to north and south, and enclosed the courtyard behind a screen wall with an elaborate Tuscan entrance gate. New domestic accommodation was added, but the principal rooms of the house remained unchanged.

Despite many alterations over the years, the original crow stepped gables, dormer windows, round towers with turpike stairs and intricately carved stone windows and door frames, were kept unaltered. Argyll's Lodging is one of the most important 17th Century town houses to survive in Scotland today.

A journey back in time

Thanks to the Earl of Argull, we also got a pretty good impression of how it must have been to live and work at such a house. Argyll had drawn up a full inventory of the contents of his Stirling townhouse, which now provides an invaluable insight into the contents of an aristocrat’s house in the 17th century.

We had a great guide who involved the kids in a very good way. Our oldest son was especially keen on answering the guide's questions.

And unlike most other historic places we visit, we were allowed to take photos inside the house, so I've added photos of the High Dining room and the Drawing Room, in addition to a picture of the beautiful royal purple bed. I'd love to have a bed like that, it was such a magnificent purple colour.

Sterling Castle

After our tour of Argyll's Lodging, we had a look around Sterling Castle. It's such a large castle, so we focused on the Royal Palace, the Castle Exhibition and the Stirling Heads Gallery.

The gallery displays the original Stirling Heads. Each oak medallion, or roundel, was hand-carved by skilled craftsmen who created vivid images, some of which may be careful portraits of real people, or representations of past kings and queens of Scotland to emphasise the power and lineage of the monarchy.

It is not known how many roundels were made originally. A total of 34, some a metre across, have survived the centuries since their creation some time after 1530. The largest of the roundels is a metre in diameter. They are deeply carved from oak and are up to 7.6 cm thick, weighing in at around 40kg. There is nothing quite like them anywhere else in the world.


The copies of the Stirling Heads can be seen on the ceiling of the King’s Inner Hall.

A fortress since Roman times

Stirling Castle towers above the river and the medieval bridge. Stirling Castle rock has been used as a fortress for centuries, probably since Roman times. The castle is well defended by cliffs on three sides. The earliest buildings upon it mentioned in surviving records are the castle and the chapel dedicated by Alexander 1 in 1120.

A home for Kings and Queens

From the 12th Century Sterling Castle became one of the principal royal strongholds in Scotland.It was the favoured residence of most of Scotland’s later medieval monarchs and most of them contributed to its impressive architecture. King James IV spent much time and money making the castle fit for a European monarch, chiefly to impress his queen, Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England.

His legacy was continued by his son, James V, equally determined to impress his second bride, Queen Marie de Guise. Their daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, was crowned at Sterling Castle in 1543, and Mary’s own son, the future James VI, was baptised at the castle in 1566. The celebrations culminated in a fireworks display on the Esplanade, the first seen in Scotland. In 1594, James VI hosted a great three-day celebration at the castle to mark his own son’s baptism.

A castle worth fighting for

Throughout the Wars of Independence with England (1296–1356), Stirling was hotly fought over, changing hands frequently. The castle also towers over some of the most important battlefields of Scotland’s past including Stirling Bridge, the site of William Wallace’s victory over the English in 1297, and Bannockburn where Robert the Bruce defeated the same enemy in the summer of 1314. This last battle secured Scottish independence. Bruce then destroyed the castle to prevent it falling into enemy hands again.

The present castle

The Castle that stands today is recorded to have been built between 1370 and 1750 in various stages by the numerous occupants of the stronghold. Below I have embedded a video from Historic Scotland, to give you an impression of what the castle looks like inside and the efforts that has been put in to restore it to its former glory.