Scotland

I have lived in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles) for over 18 years now and every time I travel down to England I pass through a great many places I would dearly love to spend some time. This is especially the case with the Scottish city of Stirling, a place I have only ever visited once. On that occasion I thought I had plenty of time to take in all of the wonderful visitor attractions in the area, boy I couldn’t have been more wrong! In the following article I introduce three visitor attractions that you should really try to get to see if you are spending some time in the city. Included in these is the amazing Stirling Castle where I managed to spend a whole day. Although I have problems with my mobility I was able to visit every area and even if I wasn’t restricted, by mobility problems, I am sure I would have still spent the same amount of time in the place, it is simply wonderful. Maybe this summer I will stop off at Stirling and visit the other two tourist attractions mentioned below.

Stirling Castle (Photo courtesy of Virtual Scotland)

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in all of Scotland. The castle sits on top of Castle Hill, guarding the crossing of the River Forth. Many important events from Scotland’s past have taken place at Stirling Castle. There have also been several Scottish Kings and Queens crowned at Stirling Castle, including Mary Queen of Scots in 1543. The violent murder of the eighth Earl of Douglas took place within Stirling Castle, by James II in 1452. The castle is the Headquarters of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, even though the regiment is no longer garrisoned there.

Stirling Old Town Jail

Stirling Old Town Jail was opened as a county jail, but from 1888 to 1935, it was Scotland’s only military prison. The predecessor of this jail was condemned, when a judge visited there, during Queen Victoria’s reign. He described the conditions there as wretched and fearful, as there were up to 24 prisoners in one cell, and no sanitary facilities. In the past, the function of a jail was to be purely custodial, and the buzzwords at the time were, deterrence and retribution. Years later, in 1847, the ‘modern’ jail we see today was opened. The restoration to the jail’s current use began in the 1990’s.

Argyll’s Lodging

Argyll’s Lodging can be found in the upper part of Stirling, just below Stirling Castle’s Esplanade, and is the most complete surviving example of a seventeenth century town house in Scotland. The house was built circa 1630 by Sir William Alexander, founder of Nova Scotia and Viscount Canada, who became secretary of state for Scotland, and the first Earl of Stirling. After his death, the house passed into the hands of the Argyll family, and the 9th Earl extended the house in 1666. Today, all the rooms have been restored and furnished as they would of looked during the late 1600’s, showing a very obvious french influence.

If you are looking for hotels or accommodation in Stirling you may find the following sites extremely useful.

Stirling Hotels & Accommodation – http://www.virtualscotland.co.uk/accommodation/stirlinghotels.htm

Hotels & Accommodation in Stirling – http://stirling.hotelreservationhelper.com/