Saturday, October 1

We had a really nice breakfast at the Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry & then headed for Stirling, which was about a 90 minute drive.

Our first stop in Stirling was at the Wallace Monument, which is a tribute to the Scottish hero, William Wallace, or “Braveheart” – as popularized in the movie starring Mel Gibson. However, the story told in the movie is not very close to the life and heroics of the real William Wallace.

The Wallace Monument stands on a high ridge overlooking the Town of Stirling. It is 67 meters high & was built between 1861 & 1869.

The monument is very striking up close & from a distance. It made me think a lot about William Wallace being such an important part of my own name & I’m glad that my Dad & Mom decided to bless me with them, as well as the link to such an important part of the history of Scotland.

Our next stop was Stirling Castle. The castle & the grounds are massive.

The first buildings on the site date back to the 1200s but most of the buildings were built between 1490 & 1600. There is so much Scottish & English history associated with this castle that it’s mind boggling. Mary Queen of Scots was crowned here in 1592.

The castle is extremely well preserved & the guided tour we took was great.

Our last stop for the day was at our B&B for the night – a beautiful Victorian home just a 10 minute walk from the castle. After a long day of soaking up so much Scottish history it was nice to have a nice quiet place to rest & reflect.

On to Edinburgh tomorrow!