Stirling Castle - Mary Queen of Scots Tour Continues

It was a sunny, beautiful Scottish drive from Linlithgow Palace to Stirling Castle. But as soon as we arrived, the skies opened up and the freezing rain came pouring down. After getting our tickets to enter, we ran straight for the indoor attractions until the rain let up and we could wander the grounds.



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Of course, continuing on our unofficial Mary Queen of Scots pilgrimage, this is the castle she was crowned at. Just making sure we aren't forgetting the underlying sightseeing going on throughout this trip.


The inside was a cozy relief from the freezing outdoors. I can only imagine how much more snug it would have been with a real, roaring fire going. The rooms aren't very large, which would help keep the heat in. Those drafty castles would be miserable come winter time, even with a roaring fire.

One thing I love about Scotland is that their national emblem is the unicorn. I've always loved unicorns. And they are everywhere in Scotland.

 On top of that, I finally found my knight in shining armor. He was certainly the strong silent type, but it works for me!

Now, I'll give you a brief synopsis of the castle, as per Wikipedia. How did we survive without it?

Stirling Castle is on of the largest and most important castles, historically and architecturally, in Scotland.

It is situated in a strong, defensive position, surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. Most of the principle buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few buildings from the 14th century remain, while the out defenses date from the early eighteenth century. The castle has been sieged at least eight times.

 William Worcester associated the castle with the court of the legendary King Arthur. The first castle record dates from around 1110, when King Alexander I dedicated a chapel there.


It is assumed that the castle had been an established royal center by this time. Alexander died there in 1124.

  

For more detailed information on the history of the castle, you should go to an actual library and check out some books on the subject. When was the last time you were actually in a library? If you are feeling lazy, as I often am, you can click on the Wikipedia link. But you're going to find better information at the library. Just sayin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_Castle

Once the rain let up and we wanted to wander outside, we discovered we could see the William Wallace monument across the way (guy Braveheart was about). Luckily my camera has a really great zoom lens. It would have been another fun stop if we'd had time.

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Once gallivanting through the castle was done, we headed for our little hotel. An important tip about Scotland: road and street signs are not well marked or visible.

Our room was supposedly on 3 miles from the castle, but it took over an hour, and 4 stops asking for directions, before we finally found it. Next time in Scotland, a GPS is going to be a necessity. When we did find the hotel, the rain again lightened up for a moment. Not only did we get to see a Scottish rainbow, but we got a DOUBLE Scottish rainbow. I think that should be extra lucky.

We finished the long, cold day at the restaurant across the way (I made that rhyme on purpose). Steak, fries, potatoes, burgers, and hot cobbler with ice cream for dessert. Best way to end an cold, soggy day of castle browsing.