They Can Never Take My Freedom!

Day 15

I woke up early despite the slightly late night the day before. I was on the hunt for William Wallace and was headed to Stirling to find him.

I got a bit confused when I got to Stirling. The bus stop is in a mall and I couldn't figure out how to get out. I ended up wandering by something called the Bastion and Thieves Pot. Turns out that the oldest building in Stirling was a prison and to save it it was incorporated into the mall when it was built. I checked out the signs there for a bit before finally finding my way out of the mall.

Stirling is a cute little town with two or three main streets that wind their way up to the castle. The town has been fortified since prehistoric times, the current castle dates to the late 16^th century. William Wallace would not recognize the current structure at all. The castle as we see it today was built by James VI for his French wife and their son he hoped would be king of England after Elizabeth I's death. The castle was the first renaissance building in Britain.

One section of the castle concentrated on the Unicorn Tapestry. Apparently this is a seven section tapestry that was made for the castle. I thought it odd that not only were they reweaving each one, but that the originals were familiar to me. It turns out that someone sold them to the Rockefeller's who then donated them to the Cloisters in New York City. New York doesn't want to give them back so the castle is recreating them.

The whole castle was in the middle of a big restoration project. Many of the rooms were really just gutted shells. Only the cathedral, the kitchens and the great hall have been restored so far. They are working on the royal chambers next. It was really cool to see how they were researching and restoring the rooms.

The views from the castle were spectacular, I couldn't stop taking pictures the whole time.

I meandered my way back to the bus station. Along the way I checked out the Holy Rude chapel, but it was closed. I also spent some time wandering around the hauntingly picturesque Stirling Cemetery.

I had just enough time to check out the William Wallace Monument before it closed. The castle is nothing like it was when William Wallace would have visited and I wanted to find him somewhere.

The monument was built on Abbey Craig where Wallace rallied his troops before the successful Battle of Stirling Bridge. This battle was his first big victory. The facts were very much like there were in Braveheart the movie. The English killed Wallace's father and wife. Wallace, in turn, killed the English. Eventually it became clear that more support was needed and Wallace left for the continent to ask for help. A few months later he returned, having failed. In 1305 one of his friends sold him out and handed him over to the English. Wallace was hung, drawn and quartered. He has become a symbol of courage and bravery for many people throughout the world.

The museum has a massively huge sword that is thought to have belonged to the 6'6 Wallace, but cannot be proved.

The next floor had busts of famous Scots such as Sir Walter Scott and John Knox. The next floor described the process of building the monument and other Wallace monuments around the world. There is even one in Baltimore. By the time I reached the top it was growing dark and cold. I took some pictures of the countryside and headed back.

Stirling was a cute little town and I should have allocated more time there. I missed out on several museums and about 6 more Wallace sites.