We took a day trip to Stirling today, which is about an hour west-ish of Edinburgh. The trip went just fine, it poured rain and was very windy which actually made for a cozy trip. The kids are loving their audiobooks and Chris said the driving wasn’t as hectic as driving in Edinburgh proper.
We went to Stirling Castle which was also built on a volcanic craig like Edinburgh castle. The castle was added on and rebuilt several times but James the V is the most well known monarch who influences are still seen. The views were incredible! We loved spying the William Wallace monument from the battery. The sun came out just as we parked, we have had the best weather so far!
Notice the orange-ish looking building in the castle? That is the palace of James the V only recently (2011) reopened by the queen. It is actually suppose to be that color! James has it like washed to make a statement about his reign (something like property would follow) and that is what is left of the original color. I definitely thought it was a messed up restoration at first haha! Stirling was one of the most kid friendly places yet. They had interactive set up everywhere.
The wooden portrait carvings were all commissioned by James as well, during his time restoring the castle and building the palace. They were all originally painted bright colors.
They had several staff dressed in period costume and they stayed in character. It was so cool!
We walked by the ruins of Saint Rude’s but we couldn’t go in.
After Stirling we went to Doune castle, which was so close by we couldn’t miss it. It is a very popular film location (Monty python anyone?) and was the home of the duke of Albany who was regent for several Scottish monarchs. It was cool to see what a “lesser” castle looked like. Still massive!
On our way home we stopped by the famous Kelpies! Mythical Scottish water horses- although maybe we will dispel that “mythical” titles if we spot one at Loch Ness! These were as huge as advertised and so cool! It was quite the juxtaposition to see a some modern art after all these medieval castles.
After we rested at home for a bit, we did a quick jaunt out to the Royal Mile. It will be the last time we see it. I was rather sad. But we heard bagpipes and the kids spontaneously started dancing around and we looked at the epic views from the castle courtyard and it was wonderful. Who knows if we will ever be there again? Chris and I decided we should bring the kids back before we take Caidoc to college, right before our 20 year anniversary. So, it’s a date ❤️.
We walked six miles and thirty seven flights of stairs. So, I guess we weren’t done walking, oops. You’d never guess it though, as soon as we got back the kids were bouncing off the walls with a game that involved vaulting onto a bed, which had us all laughing. We start the “cozy” part of our trip tomorrow, as we drive up to the highlands. I will probably condense posts for that part as I’d like to be completely unplugged and we will be less busy.