No, not Mel Gibson, his character...William Wallace. He really existed and was very important to Scotland! Even today, they refer to him as the Guardian of Scotland! And there are statues of him all over. There is a really big one right in front of His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen, right off Union Street.
The top is called The Crown, due to its magnificient architecture.
The "spiral" on the right is the staircase to the top. The slits are for airflow. It is quite a windy walk up...
Sir William Wallace (1267-1305) is considered Scotland's greatest freedom fighter. This Victorian Gothic tower was opened in 1869 to commemorate him and all that he did for Scotland. It is 220 feet high and has 246 steps in the tower to get to the top. There are three different chambers, which you can stop off at along your journey up...helps to break up the 246 steps with little kiddos. :) The monument is on the Abbey Craig, a rocky crag from which Wallace watched the English army gather on the South side of Stirling Bridge.
This is our walk/hike up....the guy, who shuttles people to the monument from the bottom of the crag, was at lunch! :)
Foxglove growing wildly all along the winding path up the hill.
Statue of Sir William Wallace on the outside of the tower. It is made of solid bronze and is over 15 feet tall!
One of the three chambers where you can learn lots more about Sir William Wallace. Cameron loved seeing REAL chainmail (we had studied about it...)
The Wallace Sword is said to be 700 years old and is 5 feet 4 inches long! Can you imagine coming face to face with that!!! Can you imagine picking it up, for that matter?? I think this was high on the "coolest things", according to the boys!
This view is from right outside the front door of the monument entrance. So, it's at the top of the crag, but not yet the view from the top of the tower. That is even more amazing!! The "hill" you see, is the closest of the Ochil Hills.
This is the winding waters of the River Forth. Stirling is the lowest ancient crossing point of the river. There is evidence of a fortress there, since prehistoric times. Whoever controlled the "fortress", effectively controlled Scotland!
Looking WAY down...no crazy guardrails either, so a bit scary with little ones!
Our Family Photo (notice Landen is missing??)...that is Stirling Castle in the distance on the right. (The guy who took the picture didn't even get Landen in it...he is right in front of Trevor!)
The Spiral Staircase...narrow steps...makes you kind of dizzy walking down them. :)
Actor performing as William Wallace. Gave an cool, acted out, single person "play". The boys loved his sword and shield!
The walk DOWN was much easier! Landen had it the easiest...he "hitched" a ride on Daddy's shoulders!
The journey continues....
1 comment:
i like your blog.very good!i am a chinese!
Post a Comment