Stirling Castle

Mark and I decided that on Saturday, June 28th, 2008, we would take a day trip down to Stirling. It is about a 2 1/2 to 3 hours drive, south of Aberdeen. As we have discovered, any drive in Scotland seems to be a beautiful one! We drove down the coast through the town of Stonehaven (a quaint little coastal town) and contiuned on, with the North Sea out our windows to the left. Amazing...

What a view...

Stirling castle is one of the largest and most important, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The Castle sits atop the Castle Hill, which is a volcanic crag. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it its strong defensive position. It has so much amazing history, I could sit and write about it for forever... but instead, I will give you the following links, which have lots of great, historical information and some more beautiful pictures. I know it is way different than seeing it in person, but I hope you enjoy "exploring" this castle, as much as we did!
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyabout.htm?PropID=PL_275&PropName=Stirling%20Castle

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/stirlingcastle/

The Gatehouse



The Palace

We had a great time at the castle! The views from up on the crag are simply amazing!!! See for yourself...

Looking at the William Wallace Monument in the distance

Looking over the wall onto the countryside...

Cameron taking in the view and thinking the cannons were WAY cool!

The Gardens and Hunting Grounds as seen from the "Lady's Lookout".

The cemetery...VERY old tombstones...

Our boys...

I thought this was a "picture perfect" view....couldn't help myself....I have a habit of taking lots of photos...:)

And another one...:)

Amazing architecture!! And all VERY old...

A Birds of Prey Falconry show...they showed us how the different status of people hunted with different birds. Boys loved it! Very windy though, so they didn't let the birds go far.

By the Gatehouse

Our Family Photo

We try to get one at every castle....