We came out of the Royal Chapel and headed over to the last of the four buildings surrounding the Inner Close.

The Great Hall

On the east side of the Inner Close is the Great Hall, or Parliament Hall. The Hall was built by James IV following on from the completion of the King's Old Building in 1497, and was being plastered by 1503.

Today, the Hall adjoins the Royal Chapel, although there may have at one time been a passage between the two buildings. On its south end, there is also a buttress between the Hall and the Royal Palace (which was built subsequently). I could not find out about its original external appearance, but the Great Hall today stands out from the other castle structures because it is plastered on the outside, and the plaster contrasts with the stone of the other structures.

Described as "the grandest secular building erected in Scotland in the late Middle Ages", it represents the first example of Renaissance-influenced royal architecture in the country. It was worked on by a number of English craftsmen, and incorporates some English design ideas, being comparable to Edward IV's hall at Eltham Palace, built in the late 1470s. It includes Renaissance details, such as the intersecting tracery on the windows, within a conventional medieval plan. Inside are five fireplaces, and large side windows lighting the dais end, where the king (and his queen) would be seated. Its interior dimensions are 140 by 50 feet, making it the largest such hall in Scotland.

The original hammerbeam roof was removed in 1800, along with the decorative crenellated parapet, when the hall was subdivided to form barracks. Two floors and five cross-walls were inserted, and the windows were altered accordingly.

As early as 1893, calls were being made for the restoration of the Great Hall, but it was not until the army left in 1965 that the opportunity arose. It was agreed that a historically correct restoration could be achieved, and works began which were only completed in 1999. The hammerbeam roof and parapet were replaced, windows reinstated, and the outer walls were limewashed. Inside, the restoration relied on historical accounts to re-create the open interior space as well as intricate beamed ceiling.

The Great Hall was the place where subjects could get close to their monarch, while James IV built the more private apartments opposite- in the King's Old Building. His son, James V, erected the Royal Palace for greater luxury and privacy, and to complete the square, James VI built the Royal Chapel for the baptism of his own first-born son.

The Great Hall was the last of the four major structures surrounding the Inner Close, but there was lots more to see at Stirling Castle.

The Wall Walk

The next part of the castle that we toured is called "The Wall Walk," and it consists of a walk along the northern upper wall of the fortifications. To get to it, we went through a passageway between the King's Old Building and the Royal Chapel; it is the arched doorway nearest to you in the picture of the connected buildings here. This brought us through to an area called The Douglas Garden, on top of the castle rock. A 12th-century timber castle probably stood here, and it is likely that there were even earlier fortifications.

There is not much of a garden here now; there is just a small green space with some large trees and a small stone building at the northwest end of the triangular area. Why is it called "the Douglas Garden?" William Douglas, the 8th Earl of Douglas (1425-1452) was the last of a family line called the Black Douglases. Once powerful but now in decline, William restored their power, recovering numerous lordships and becoming an intimate of King James II. Although the Scots and the English were even now at odds, William desired to attend the Jubilee in Rome in 1450, and would have to pass through England. With James's help, the Earl and his party was issued with a Safe-conduct for three years, "to pass through England, to the Marches of Calais and elsewhere in the King of England's dominions." A further Safe-Conduct, this time expressly stating that the Earl could take a party of 100 and naming many of them, was issued (presumably while they were still travelling) in 1451. He had returned to Scotland by August 14, 1451 as he was the leading Scottish Conservator of the 3 year truce with England, concluded at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

James II had raided the Douglas lands during the Earl's pilgrimage to Rome. Despite this, their relations seemed outwardly friendly. However, in early February 1452, a summons was brought to the Earl commanding him to attend the King at Stirling. There was abundant precedent for suspicion in a mandate of this nature, but, as if to allay it, the King's messenger also brought the Earl a safe-conduct given under the King's hand in council. When the Earl arrived, King James demanded the dissolution of a league into which Douglas had entered with the Earl of Crawford and others. Upon Douglas's refusal, the king murdered him by his own hand, stabbing him 26 times, and his body was thrown out of a window into the garden that once occupied this area. Here are Fred and Nancy standing on that very spot.

To do the walk along the wall, we crossed the garden to the southeast to a set of steps that led up onto the wall. Then we walked first north then southwest to some stairs that led down behind that stone building and back to the passageway we'd come through. I've added an aerial view here so you can see some of the same fortifications that will appear in the pictures we took along the wall.

We took a number of pictures of the countryside and fortifications down below our perch on the wall. Some were taken looking southeast along the wall, some out to the north, and some, when we'd walked to where the wall met the King's Old Building, to the west. There are clickable thumbnails below for the best of these pictures:

While I was on the wall, I took a series of five pictures to capture the wall to my right, the entire panorama in front of me and the wall to my left. This took five separate shots, and I have combined them into the panorama below:

When we were done on the north wall, we came down a small set of stairs, walked back past the north end of the King's Old Building and its outside staircase, and back through the passageway to the Inner Close.

The Outer Close, Forework and Outer Defenses

While everyone else went on to the Queen Anne Garden, I stopped to take a look at the fortifications that lay south of the four main buildings bordering the Inner Close.

Just inside the Forework is a courtyard known as the Outer Close. To the south-east are Georgian military buildings; the late 18th-century Main Guard House, and the early 19th-century Fort Major's House. The early North Gate, giving access to the Nether Bailey, contained the original castle kitchens, which were probably linked to the Great Hall. The Great Kitchen which is now visible was constructed later, against the east wall of the castle. However, in 1689 these rooms were infilled to provide gun emplacements.

Excavations in the 1920s ascertained the extent of the surviving rooms, and the vaults were reconstructed in 1929. The small building above the North Gate is traditionally said to have been a mint, known in Scots as the Cunzie Hoose or "coining house". From the southeast corner of the close, I was able to descend into some of these restored rooms. They were small and dark, as you can see here and here; the only light came from the two or three observation slits in some of the rooms.

Coming up from those rooms, I next took the set of stairs that led up to the top of the Forework.

The View from the Forework

The gatehouse providing entry from the outer defences to the castle proper was erected by King James IV, and was probably completed around 1506. It originally formed part of a Forework, extending as a curtain wall across the whole width of Castle Hill. The portion of that wall that attached to the Royal Palace has been restored, and you can see it here. At the centre is the gatehouse itself, which now stands to less than half its original height. The round towers at the outer corners rose to conical roofs, with battlements carried around the tops of the towers. These were flanked by more round towers, of which only traces now remain, and mirrored by further rounds at the rear of the gatehouse.

The overall design of the Forework shows French influence, and has parallels with the forework erected at Linlithgow Palace. Like the Linlithgow structure, the Forework was probably intended more for show, evoking the "age of chivalry", than for defence, as it would have offered little protection against contemporary artillery. The entrance was via a central passage, flanked by two separate pedestrian passages; you can see those passages here in a picture that Fred took when we first entered the complex. This triple arrangement was unusual in its time, and Classical triumphal arches have been suggested as an influence.

The gatehouse was dismantled gradually, and was consolidated in its present form in 1810. At each end of the crenellated curtain wall was a rectangular tower. The west tower, known as the Prince's Tower, probably after Henry, Prince of Scotland, survives to its full height, and is now attached to the later palace. At the east end, the Elphinstone Tower contained a kitchen and possibly an officer's lodging. It was cut down to form a gun battery, probably in the early 18th century when the Outer Defences were rebuilt.

Coming down from the top of the turreted Forework gate, I went underneath where I'd been standing, through the central passage and out into the outer defenses.

The Outer Defences comprise artillery fortifications, and were built in their present form in the 18th century, although some parts, including the French Spur at the east end, date back to the regency of Mary of Guise in the 1550s. The French Spur was originally an ear-shaped bastion known as an orillon, and contained gun emplacements which protected the main spur. This projecting spur was fronted by an earth ramp called a talus, and was entered via a drawbridge over a ditch. Excavations in the 1970s showed that much of the original stonework remains within the 18th-century defences.

The Outer Defenses

Following the attempted Jacobite invasion of 1708, improvements to the castle's defences were ordered. Two difference schemes were put forward, and in the end a compromise between them was built, and completed by 1714. The main front wall was extended outwards, to form an area called "Guardhouse Square." This had the effect of creating two defensive walls, both of which were fronted by ditches defended by covered firing galleries known as caponiers. One of the caponiers survives and is accessible from Guardhouse Square by a narrow staircase.

To the rear of the walls, chambers called casemates were built to strengthen the wall, and to provide gun emplacements. The French Spur was modified slightly to allow more cannons to be mounted. The buildings within Guardhouse Square date from the 19th century. Outside the castle is the early 19th-century Esplanade, used as a parade ground, and now as a car park and performance space. Below are clickable thumbnails for some additional pictures taken on and around the Outer Defenses:

After I'd looked around the Outer Defenses for a while, I went across the entry plaza and through the archway to the Queen Anne Garden.

The Queen Anne Garden (and the King's Knot and King's Park)

Just below the Royal Palace is the Queen Anne Garden; it is on the opposite side of the central entrance walkway from the Outer Defenses. It is bordered on the south by what were previously enclosed firing positions but which have been converted into a small museum dealing with the castle's history. On the west, there is a high wall with stairs and a walkway.

This pretty garden was an important feature of the royal castle. Here the king and queen could stroll with their courtiers, watch entertainments or play games such as archery and bowls. (This area is also known as the Bowling Green Garden.) There are records of trees, plants and seeds being purchased to plant here, and of cranes and peacocks strutting about.

The Queen Anne Garden

We climbed up on the wall, of course, to look out to the west to the hills beyond the Stirling Valley. The Queen Anne Garden was actually quite small (and there were not many actual plants and flowers here now), but in the valley below the castle are the grassy outlines of a much bigger formal garden. This is the King’s Knot, the knot itself being a raised eight-sided feature dating from the 1600s. It is likely that this area would have been organised as an elaborate formal garden with bright floral displays, attractive terraces and paved paths.

In the picture I took of these formal gardens, you can see that all that is left are the outlines of the earthenworks that formed the gardens. At the left in that picture is the King's Knot; the second, different area to the right is called "The Queen's Knot."

Beyond the King’s Knot, and stretching far into the distance, lay the King’s Park. This was the royal hunting forest, where the king and his courtiers could hunt for red deer and wild boar. James V was a keen huntsman. The hunt was often arranged so that the hunted beast was caught and killed within sight of the castle walls. The Ladies’ Lookout beside the Palace would have provided a vantage point to watch the spectacle. From here they could also have admired jousts in the royal tournament ground below.

The Castle Esplanade and Other Pictures

Robert Bruce

I suppose that the other item of interest is the statue of Robert Bruce, easily the second most famous Scotsman among non-Scots. (The only reason that he isn't at the top of the list is because Mel Gibson chose to portray William Wallace in the movie "Braveheart.")

Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (while we typically call him Robert Bruce, what we think of as his last name was more of a title), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert was one of the most famous warriors of his generation, eventually leading Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent nation, and is today remembered in Scotland as a national hero.

To conclude our visit to Stirling Castle, this is as good a place as any to include a few more good pictures that we took in and around this mountaintop redoubt. So without any further explanation, here are some clickable thumbnails for those additional pictures:

From the parking area, we walked down the road back towards the van, intending to walk into the center of town to take some pictures and have some lunch.

A Walk Through Stirling, Scotland

We left Stirling Castle heading down the sidewalk alongside the auto road that leads up to the parking area, heading back down to the intersection near the Church of the Holy Rude; this intersection offered another direct walking route down into the center of Stirling.

When we came back down Castlehill Road towards where we parked, we were back in front of the Church of the Holy Rude, and the intersection where Broad Street leads down the hill towards the center of Stirling. There had been some other, smaller streets leading down from further up Castlehill Road, but we wanted to take a street that was a little less steep. You can see some views down these other streets here and here.

We were on the other side of Castlehill Road at this point, and so got different views of the complex of buildings that form the Church of the Holy Rude. There are clickable thumbnails below for a few of these views:

Since I was now far enough back from the church to be able to get some pictures of the whole building, I stopped to take three pictures to stitch together into a single panorama; you can see that picture below:

From the intersection, we walked down Broad Street two blocks until it ended in Bow Street, and then we took that to the right and then around to the left again as it became Baker Street and led all the way down into the center of Stirling. Along the way, we found some interesting buildings and sights to photograph, and came away with an eclectic collection. There are clickable thumbnails below for some of these pictures:

As it turns out, the area near the church was a traditional marketplace; not unusual in British towns when the church was the epicenter of community life. Near the intersection was a tall column, and on top is a figure called the "Mercat Cross." The column is adjacent to this market area, which also served as a community meeting area, where proclamations were made and many important ceremonies took place. On royal birthdays, town officials drank copious toasts round a bonfire to music of pipes or trumpets while all teh bells rang out. But riots also took place here, such as one in 1706 against the Union with England. The figure of the unicorn is an ancient one, and this one was known as "The Puggy" by Stirling locals.

As we continued down the streets, there were other buildings and sights of note; there are clickable thumbnails below for pictures of some of these:

I took one other picture that I thought was curious. It was a sign I saw on a recycle bin streetside; there was a unit that had separate compartments for different recyclables- just like here in the US. But I thought the sign kind of odd, and you can see it here. I suppose the Scots eat so much jam and drink so much milk that it's worth allocating an entire recycle bin to just the containers for those two foods!

When we got down into the center of Stirling, we found an interesting little pub and restaurant where we stopped to have lunch. There weren't any tables large enough for all of us, so the two couples sat at one table while Guy Fred and I sat at another on the other side of the room. The fish and chips was quite good. When we were done, we went across the street outside so Nancy could stop in a little antique shop.

After lunch, it was time to hike back up the street to the car. I took a different route back because I could see that the street the car was parked on paralleled the street we'd come down on. I passed an old home where I found a Drummond family grave (one of the members of this family was the mistress of James IV) and the former military prison, now called The Old Town Jail. Clickable thumbnails for some of my pictures are below, and a shot looking back down Castlehill Street is at left:

And below are clickable thumbnails for some of the photos Fred took on their way back up to the van:

We piled into the van and headed off to our last stop in Stirling, the William Wallace Monument.

The William Wallace Monument

From our parking place near the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, we made our way to the National Wallace Monument, across the Stirling Valley on the summit of a hill called Abbey Craig. As we approached, we could see the Monument above us.

I like including aerial views of monuments and such, and it is a shame that the Google 45° view wasn't available in this particular area. But here is the available aerial view of the monument, which we reached after a twenty-minute hike up the road from the Visitor Center, past the Abbey Craig Viewpoint and then on a path through the woods up to the base of the Monument.

There was an interesting sign down by the Visitor Center that talked about the trails up to the Monument, and a bit about the flora and fauna in the area. If you would like to peruse it, just use the scrollable window below, left.

Sir William Wallace (d. 1305) was a Scottish landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, and was Guardian of Scotland, serving until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In 1305, Wallace was captured near Glasgow and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians.

Since his death, Wallace has risen to an iconic status far beyond his homeland. He is the protagonist of the 15th-century epic poem The Wallace, by Blind Harry, was the subject of literary works by Sir Walter Scott and Jane Porter and the subject of the 1995 film Braveheart.

The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) stands on the summit of Abbey Craig, a hilltop northeast of Stirling, and from the plaza at the base of the tower, you can look back towards the town and see Stirling Castle on its own hilltop.

When we got up to the plaza at the base of the monument, out of the shelter of the forest, we found that it was extremely windy, and not just a bit raw.

I think that Fred's picture of Nancy tells the story of how windy it was. And it was due to the wind, I think, that only Karl and I decided to climb to the top of the tower. That I would go up was a foregone conclusion, but I have great respect for Karl, the one of us having the hardest time walking, to make the trek as well. But before we head up, let's talk a bit about the tower itself, and before we do that, let me include some of the pictures we took of the view from the plaza; use the clickable thumbnails below to have a look at some of them:

The National Wallace Monument tower was constructed following a fundraising campaign which accompanied a resurgence of Scottish national identity in the 19th century. In addition to public subscription, it was partially funded by contributions from a number of foreign donors, including Italian national leader Giuseppe Garibaldi. Completed in 1869 to the designs of architect John Thomas Rochead at a cost of $50,000, the monument is a 220 ft. sandstone tower, built in the Victorian Gothic style.

It stands on Abbey Craig, a volcanic crag above Cambuskenneth Abbey, from which Wallace was said to have watched the gathering of the army of King Edward I of England, just before the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

The Monument consists of the tower and observation room on top, an entry hall and another, shorter house-like building attached. I did not inquire, but it turns out that this building was the original caretaker's house; now used as a tea room and small display area. I did not go into it, but there are some busts of Scottish heroes (I would see more of these in one of the tower rooms), artifacts and quite a few interesting signs, which Fred photographed. If you'd like to read them, click on one of their titles below, and I'll open up a new window to allow you to have a look.

The statue of William Wallace on the outside of the building is solid bronze and was sculpted by David Watson Stevenson. It is situated approximately 30 feet from the ground, and the statue itself stands around 15 feet tall. Other motifs on the building include the Scottish Thistle and the Wallace coat of arms- surrounded by a knotted rope (see graphic above, right).

I want to include two more pictures Fred took of the tower; you can look at them here and here.

It was tough to try to get the entire tower in one shot; you could not get far enough back from the front of the monument. So I tried my hand at taking a series of pictures of the tower and then merging them together. You use the scrollable window below, left to see the result:

I also made a movie looking up the tower from the plaza, and you can watch it with the player below. There was a great deal of wind noise in the film I actually made, so I have elminated the soundtrack altogether:

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It was time to head up to the top of the tower, so I bought an admission and headed over to the doorway leading to the spiral staircase up to the top of the monument. Internally there are four rooms in the tower of approximately 25 square feet, with vaulted ceilings 20-30 feet high. The spiral staircase connects these rooms in the north-west corner - and there are 246 steps to the top.

The ground floor room contains the inevitable souvenir shop and ticket booth (with a video player and TV screen continuously playing the Mel Gibson "Braveheart" film). The staff there must know the words off by heart by now! The first of the two inside rooms on the way up the staircase is a small "Wallace Museum," with an audio visual presentatiion on Wallace and his achievements. But it is the 700-year-old Wallace sword (left) which makes the biggest impression.

The sword is a traditional two-handed broad-sword, 71.5 inches in length. It weighs six pounds. Little is known about the origins of the sword for it carries no maker's mark and is therefore difficult to date. The quality of the metal used for the blade suggests that it may have been forged in Scotland (unlike other swords of the period which were often Flemish or German in origin).

It is known, however, that King James IV ordered the sword to be rehilted in 1505, so that it would be more fitting to Scotland's national hero. The size of the sword indicates that Sir William Wallace must have been at least six feet six inches tall.

The sword was traditionally kept in Dumbarton Castle until 17 November 1888 when it was handed over in Stirling Castle, to the Rev. Charles Rogers, the instigator of the project to create the Wallace Monument.

I didn't want to sit through the entire AV presentation, so I returned to the stairway to continue up. After another sixty steps or so I came to the second internal room in the tower. This one was called the "Hall of Heroes." The gallery contains busts of sixteen well known Scots, and you can see all of them if you watch the movie below, left.

Loading the player... The Hall of Heroes Inside the Wallace Monument

I took pictures of each of the busts as well, and if you would like to see any of them (and learn about the individual), just click on his name below:

I learned that a number of the busts have been presented to the Monument by both individuals and organizations and reflect 19th and early 20th century view, so the entire selection is not perhaps the "top 16" on everyone's list. (The inclusion of Gladstone in this company may seem particularly odd but although he was not born in Scotland, his parents were both Scots and he claimed "there is not a drop of blood in my veins that is not Scottish.")

Finally, I continued up to the top of the tower; there, I found expansive views of the Ochil Hills to the north and the Forth Valley to the east, south and west. Below are clickable thumbnails you can use to have a look at some of these amazing views:

The views up here were just incredible in every direction. I spent a good deal of time just walking around the square area underneath the stone arches. It was still very windy.

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While I was up here at the top of the tower, I thought I would walk all the way around the border of the platform, taking a continual movie so you could see the views in all directions. When I reviewed the film, I found that the wind noise was really distracting, so once again I have elminated the soundtrack. You can watch this movie with the player at left.

I had not known that Karl was also coming up the stairs to the tower, so I was a bit surprised when I saw him come through the doorway that led out onto the viewing platform. Together, we admired the views and took some additional pictures of the views and of each other. You can use the clickable thumbnails below to see some of these pictures:

When Karl and I were done up on top of the tower, we headed back down to rejoin everyone else. Only Fred, Guy and Ron Ruckman were still waiting for us, so we headed back together, and I discovered that from the southeast side of the Monument (where the road back down was) we could get a good view of the entire Wallace Monument. It was a pleasant, if chilly, walk back down the road through the woods to the visitor center, the girls, the van and the drive back to Edinburgh.

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	September 17, 2013: Glamis Castle and Aberdeen, Scotland
	September 15, 2013: Sightseeing in Edinburgh (Day 2)
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