You can tell why Stirling was originally chosen as the capital of Scotland. Nestled in a valley surrounded by rolling hills, Stirling is a beautiful spot. Stirling Castle is perched on one of the highest hills in the area, and is an imposing sight for any invaders. Or water-logged tourists. We could see the castle from any point in the city. The problem was how to get there?
As we wandered along, we stumbled on another historic site we hadn’t expected: a historic memorial for Robert the Bruce and the Battle of Bannockburn.
Another easy-to-see monument? The William Wallace Monument (aka Bravehart Monument). We didn’t make the climb to see it, but it looked cool in the distance.
Stirling Castle was an impressive sight. It offered commanding views of the city, and they’d restored part of it to give tourists an idea of the castle’s original splendor. The castle was originally coated in a lime wash that made the castle glow gold.
We wandered around for a few hours, but couldn’t stay long. We had an appointment to tour Edinburgh’s dark and seedy underground at 4:00.
Edinburgh
We could have done the night underground tour, which focuses more on scaring people than on facts, but none of us were really in the mood to be scared. Instead, we took the historic underground tour, which focused more on how the underground was built and who lived there. This is the scariest picture I took in the Underground, and it was staged. My unsteady hand did make the picture scarier, though.
After the tour was over, we ate dinner at Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. Deacon Brodie was a cabinet maker who led a double life—making beautiful furniture for Edinburgh’s elite by day, breaking in and stealing their valuables by night. They say Deacon Brodie was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. All I know is that I ate the best chicken pot pie I’ve ever had at Deacon Brodie’s.
The next day we headed off to tour Edinburgh Castle. Even though I’ve already been there, I think I took the most pictures of Edinburgh Castle. Take a huge old castle and stick in on top of an ancient volcano, and apparently I go camera crazy.
Our tour guide was great. He made jokes about stupid tourists. Take a look at the following picture and imagine the following conversation:
Tourist: “Is that bit of land across the water France? Or America?” Guide: “It’s Scotland.”
We left Edinburgh Castle at closing time, and decided that a good way to spend the rest of the evening was by walking the entire length of the Royal Mile.
We did take a few detours—I made everyone stop and take pictures of me at not one, not two, but three different libraries. We also stopped at Greyfriars Kirkyard to see the statue of Greyfriars’ Bobby.
We wandered around the graveyard a bit, but we didn’t see the headstones for Tom Riddle or Minerva McGonagall there. We did, however, come across The Elephant House—the restaurant a few doors down from Greyfriars where J.K. Rowling wrote the first book in the Harry Potter series. Thanks for getting in my shot, random stranger.
We eventually made it to the end of the Royal Mile, although Holyrood House was shut up for the night and the Queen wasn’t home. For a change of scenery, I suggested we walk back to our hotel along Princes Street. This gave us a better view of Calton Hill,
the Sir Walter Scott Monument,
and eventually, Edinburgh Castle once again.
Ending the day the same way it started made our stay in Edinburgh feel complete. We headed back to our hotel and got ready to fly back home the next day.
1 comment:
After reading all of your UK posts, I have come to a conclusion: one day, we must go there (with our dear Comrade too of course). I think it would be amazing and SO much fun. I'm so impressed with all the different things you saw and all the places you went!
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