Stirling Castle

The layout which inspired this one can be found in Creative Keepsakes Volume 16 issue 6 page 53 Our first stop was Stirling Castle which was built on top of a volcanic crag. It was the first real royal castle I’ve ever seen. King Robert I was here, but it wasn’t his residence. He Captured it and destroyed much of it after leading 8,000 scots to defeat 17,000 English. Mary, Queen of Scots was born here. Her mother was a princess from France and James V built many of the buildings seen today and decorated them in a Grand European style that she was accustomed to. Amazingly, the wooden ceiling in the great hall doesn’t have any nails or screws, it’s all tongue & groove! The tour guide was a great actor.! James V had wooden heads carved of prominent people and mythological figures and put them on the ceiling in his bedroom. They have statues and realistic looking food in the middle of preparation in the Great Kitchens. Donna pointed out that most of the people cooking were men! This was the closest we got to the Wallace Monument, we just didn’t have enough time to see everything, but we tried. :) I had never realized before that the Unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.