13/11/2021
This morning we headed back to Stirling to explore Stirling Castle. Sadly no Curious George as a tour guide this time. The drive was long enough for both kids to have a tactical nap.
It is always impressive driving into Stirling to see the castle on its pedestal. After finding a close park, it was a short steep climb to the entrance.
Today we were meeting fellow Aussies and best friends of the blog, Tom and Emily. It was great to compare travel adventures and get some ideas of where to next. They had certainly covered a lot of ground.
It was free access with our Historic Scotland passes and we were off to explore. Lachlan was forward-facing in the baby carrier and sounded excited. It was a sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky.
The castle had undergone modern restoration with colourful painted walls and ceilings with replica Stirling Heads carvings installed throughout. Looks a wee trendy for an old castle.
In the museums, Eloise came alive when she realised there were Scottish LEGO figurines to find, she made sure that Lachlan was involved and made Dad kneel down in each corner so Lachlan could see.
Once we had been through all the rooms at Stirling Castle we followed the short wall walk around the perimeter to soak up some vitamin D (Liam forgot his vitamin D tablet this morning) and enjoy the spectacular view. It was much better weather than our previous visit.
The earthworks known as the King’s and Queen’s Knots were part of the formal gardens of Stirling Castle. These were remodelled for Charles I’s ‘hamecoming’ for his Scottish coronation, which took place in 1633. It was subject to extensive restoration under orders of Queen Victoria in 1842.
Stirling Castle, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures remain from the fourteenth century, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century. There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with the last being in 1746.
We then made our way down the hill into the Old Town for lunch.
Full of food Eloise found a pocket of energy and charged her way back up the hill towards Stirling Castle, making Super Mum run alongside.
It was a well-timed excursion with both kids then napping again on the way home.
Great to see the sights through you guys! The kids look great- MIS you guys.
Uncle Mike