Our Year in Ireland: UK Trip: Sept 16

Thursday.

'The town of Stirling grew up around its castle [on the hill in this picture], historically one of Scotland's most important fortresses. Below the castle, the Old Town is still protected by the original walls, built in the 16th century to keep Mary, Queen of Scots safe from Henry VIII.'

'At the highest navigable point of the River Forth and holding the pass to the Highlands, Stirling occupied a key position in Scotland's struggles for independence. Seven battlefields can be seen from the castle.'

'Robert MacGregor, known as Rob Roy (Red Robert) from the colour of his hair, grew up as a herdsman near Loch Arklet in the Trossachs - the meeting place of the Highlands and the Lowlands. After a series of harsh winters, he took to raiding richer Lowland properties to feed his clan, and was declared an outlaw by the Duke of Montrose who burned his house to the ground. After this, Rob Roy's Jacobite sympathies became inflamed by his desire to avenge the crime. Plundering the duke's lands and repeatedly escaping from prison earned him a reputation similar to that of England's Robin Hood. He was pardoned in 1725 and spent his last years a free man.'

The National Wallace Monument

The monument on the hill was Daniel's main reason for coming to Stirling, and (I would guess based on level of enthusiasm) in the top five for taking this huge trip in the first place.
The man likes swords.

Thankfully, a shuttle bus drove us up the steep hill from the car park to the Monument.
If you've seen Braveheart, you know the story of William Wallace (give or take a few 'facts').

'William Wallace, the second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie, was born during the reign of Alexander III of Scotland in around 1270. Wallace's youth had been spent in the schoolroom and practising the art of swordsmanship with his older brother Malcolm. In 1286, when King Alexander III died, decades of peace came to an end, and Wallace joined the struggle to maintain Scottish independence.'

'When Alexander III fell from his horse at Kinghorn in Fife in 1286, Edward I of England seized the opportunity to claim overlordship of Scotland. On the death in 1290 of Alexander's grand daughter and heir, Margaret the Maid of Norway, the powerful Scottish nobles led by Robert the Bruce and John Balliol acknowledged Edward I of England as Overlord of Scotland, and asked him to decide who should hold the vacant Scottish throne. Edward chose John Balliol. When King John refused to fight for Edward in France in 1296, Edward invaded Scotland, thus beginning the Scottish Wars of Independence. After defeating the Scottish Army at Dunbar, Edward ransacked the Scottish border town of Berwick killing all the inhabitants. King John was captured and imprisoned in London.

English rule was imposed on Scotland; English sheriffs controlled the towns and English garrisons occupied the castles. At Berwick almost all the Scottish nobility and clergy were forced to swear allegiance to Edward in what was known as the 'Ragman Roll'. One name missing from the 'Ragman Roll' was that of William Wallace of Elderslie.'

'Wallace and his small band of guerrilla fighters, in the months following the defeat of King John's Army at Dunbar, provided the only effective armed resistance to English rule in Scotland. Wallace had been a marked man since his refusal to sign the 'Ragman Roll' at Berwick, but it was not until he killed William Heselrig, the Sheriff of Lanark, in the Spring of 1297 in revenge for the murder of his wife, that he was declared an outlaw by Edward and was hunted by the English forces in Scotland.

From his secure hideout in Ettrick Forest, Wallace gathered his forces and conducted a guerrilla war against the occupying English army. While Wallace raided and harried in the south, Andrew Moray had taken up the cause in the north and the two forces came together to besiege the English garrison at Dundee.

Wallace and Moray were at Dundee when news reached them that a great English army was approaching Stirling. Leaving Dundee, they rode to intercept the English as they crossed the River Forth at Stirling Bridge.'

'On the 11th September 1297 at Stirling Bridge, Wallace, Moray and their small band of supporters faced the English army numbering 10,000 well armed soldiers and 500 heavy cavalry. Wallace took advantage of the land conditions around Stirling Bridge and the tactical blunders of the English commanders, to defeat the largest, most successful army in Europe.'

'With victory at Stirling Bridge and the capture of Stirling Castle, Wallace was knighted and elected with Andrew Moray to the position of Guardian. However, following the death of Moray in November 1297 from wounds received at Stirling, Sir William Wallace became the sole Guardian of Scotland. Soon after, Wallace set about securing control of the Scottish towns, castles and garrisons still under English occupation. As Guardian, Wallace played an active roll in the government of Scotland, re-opening trade links with Germany and the Low Countries...and making the first attempts to end the feudal system in Scotland.

However, Wallace's plans to restructure the fabric of social life in Scotland had to be set aside in the Spring of 1298, when the English army invaded Scotland once more. This time Wallace's infantry men, abandoned by John Comyn's cavalry force, were defeated by the English King's army at the Battle of Falkirk on the 22nd of July 1298.'

'The defeat at Falkirk was a terrible blow and the losses sustained there made further armed resistance impossible. Shortly afterwards Wallace resigned his Guardianship and left Scotland to rally support for the cause of Scottish independence on the continent of Europe.

By 1303 having tired of the diplomatic game, Wallace was back in Scotland and had resumed his guerrilla war against the English from the safety of Ettrick Forest. While Edward continued to invade Scotland periodically, the constant harassment of his forces by Wallace and Comyn meant that he was never really able to regain control of Scotland as effectively as he had done in the years before the Battle of Stirling Bridge.'

'Wallace continued to be a thorn in the side of Edward in the years following his return to Scotland and, despite a substantial reward for his capture, he evaded the English forces until 1305 when he was betrayed by the Sheriff of Dumbarton and taken to London to face trial and an agonising death.

As an outlaw, Wallace was not permitted to defend himself against the charges of murder, robbery and treason, and he was sentenced to public execution at Smithfield on the 23rd of August 1305. Partial strangulation was followed by disembowelling and decapitation. Wallace's head was placed on the London Bridge and the rest of his body was cut into quarters and sent to Newcastle, Berwick, Perth, and Stirling to act as reminder to those who would oppose Edward.

If Edward had thought that Wallace's death would see an end to his troubles in Scotland he was mistaken, for by the end of the autumn of 1305, Robert the Bruce had broken all ties with Edward, and by 1306 he was crowned King of Scotland.

At the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Bruce used the same tactics as Wallace had used at Stirling Bridge and with the same spectacular results. However, the debt owed to Wallace was more than one of battle strategy for he had forged the notion of freedom and independence of all Scots, and had prized that above all the land and riches of the time.'

'After his capture by the Sheriff of Dumbarton in 1305, Wallace's mighty two handed broad sword was traditionally kept at Dumbarton Castle until 1869, when it was fittingly placed in the new National Wallace Monument.

Little is known about the origins of the sword for it carries no makers mark and is hence difficult to date, but we do know that James IV ordered the sword to be rehilted in 1505, in a style more fitting to 'Scotland's National Hero'.

The sword, a traditional two handed broad sword, is approximately 66 inches in length with the blade itself being around 52 inches long. The quality of the blade would suggest that it may have been forged in Scotland, unlike other swords of the period which would have been Flemish or German in origin. It is reasonable to assume that in order to wield a sword of this size, Wallace would have had to be of considerable stature, at least 6 foot 6 inches in height.'

Aaron asked for the camera and took this picture...

...and this picture.

Daniel had come to see William Wallace's Sword.

I was relieved that we didn't come home with an exact replica.

King Robert the Bruce

Sir William Wallace

We climbed to the very top of the Monument. It was funny - when we had first started up the spiral stone staircase, Silas said, "I hope there's not as many steps as Bunratty Castle!" There were.

The view of Stirling. In the distance, mountains of The Trossachs.

The site of Wallace's victorious Battle of Stirling Bridge. Stirling Castle on the hill.

Going down isn't any easier than going up, especially when carrying one or more children and not being able to see your feet.

'I've climbed the 246 steps'

Edinburgh

Driving into Edinburgh (pronouced 'Edinburrow'-which took me a while to get through my head). We were pleasantly surpised that there was no traffic - strange, we thought, for a weekday at noon.

Who likes Wheel of Fortune? Try to complete the phrase.

Barricades, Police everywhere, banners...

... group after group of school-age kids walking down the streets with their teachers.

Edinburgh Castle

'Castle Rock has been occupied since around 1,000BC in the Bronze Age, which is no surprise given its strategic views over the Firth of Forth. The Castle itself houses the city's oldest building, St Margaret's Chapel, dating from the 11th century. A few years later, Margaret's son, King David I founded Holyrood Abbey a mile to the east. The town that grew along the route between these buildings, the 'Royal Mile', became a popular residence of kings, although not until the reign of James IV (1488-1513) did Edinburgh gain the status of Scotland's capital.'

The covered stalls of the produce market and beyond them, North Bridge, opened in 1772 - the main route connecting the Old and New Towns.

Part of the Old Town.

Figured it out yet?

Scott Monument
'Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) is one of the most important figures in Scottish literature and was also a major public figure of his time.'

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
'Scotland's great missionary doctor and explorer was born in Blantyre where he began working life as a mill boy at the age of ten. Livingstone (1813-73) made three epic journeys across Africa, from 1840, promoting "commerce and Christianity". He became the first European to see Victoria Falls, and died in 1873 while searching for the source of the Nile.'

Across Princes Street, in the New Town, Jenners department store, founded in 1830.

Many helicopters buzzed overhead. Moriah, as well as the grandparents in front of Daniel, pointed up at them for a long time.

. . .

So, it turns out we didn't pay any attention to upcoming events while planning our trip. We got into Edinburgh as the Pope was making an appearance here. The crowds of people coming towards us as we were walking into the city were just coming from the assembly, all the school kids going back to class. The sign on the motorway had read:

PAPAL VISIT 16 SEP

EXPECT CONGESTION

PLAN YOUR JOURNEY

Looking down Princes Street. We walked along and shopped in the souvenir shops.

The Castle perched above the city streets.

Apparently not all of the kids went back to class.

The Castle again - and TGI Fridays.

'In the 19th century, Scotland's architecture led the way in Europe, as epitomized by the development of Edinburgh's New Town. This bold plan to create a residential centre away from the congested Old Town was begun in 1770, and the design greatly expanded in 1822 to produce a model of elegance that is outstanding to this day.'

The Border Abbeys

And various sites in between.

The Scottish Borders is the area near the border with England. Having borne the brunt of the conflicts between the two countries, the Borders are scattered with the destroyed remains of ancient buildings. 'The most magnificent of these are the Border Abbeys, whose magnificent architecture bears witness to their former spiritual and political power. Founded during the 12th-century reign of David I, the abbeys were destroyed by Henry VIII in 1545.'

In the town of Kelso.

Kelso Abbey

'The largest of the four Border Abbeys, Kelso was founded in 1128 and took 84 years to complete.'

Highland cows down here in the Borders. My lucky day :)

Jedburgh Abbey

'The abbey was established in 1138, though fragments of 9th-century Celtic stonework survive from an earlier structure.'

The "L" sign.

Anyone learning to drive (or learning to drive under different circumstances, for instance, on the other side of the road) can get one of these and place it in a visible spot on one's vehicle. We didn't know this until we'd lived in Ireland many months, or we would have put one on our own car. It basically says, "Be patient with me - I'm learning."

We were patient with this man as we followed him several miles driving less than half the speed limit - and here in the UK the speed limits are appropriate for the road conditions.

Dryburgh Stud Farm

Dryburgh Abbey, the burial place of Sir Walter Scott, was closed and not visible from the car park, so I took a picture of this instead.

We noticed several ancient standing stones in fields, left undisturbed by the farmers who just plow and plant around them.

During this stretch of our drive, we played a game. "Guess that Roadkill" you could call it. As soon as we spotted one up ahead, we'd guess whether it was a pheasant or a rabbit, then get our answer as we passed it. No, we didn't turn this one into roadkill.

Scott's View

We pulled over to see Sir Walter Scott's favorite view of the Borders.

'Sir Walter Scott loved the Borders landscape, history and people with a passion. He was the most popular writer of is age: when he died his funeral procession was over a mile long. It took his body from his home at Abbotsford to his tomb in Dryburgh Abbey down the hill to your left. Tradition tells how his horses stopped here on the way, just as they had done when their master was alive so he could enjoy his favourite view.'

The Leaderfoot Railway Viaduct over the River Tweed was opened in 1863, but has not been used since the branch line shut down in 1948.

Melrose Abbey

'Once one of the richest abbeys in Scotland, it is here that Robert the Bruce's heart is buried.'

So many sheep.

Somebody got extremely carried away with the spray paint identification.

The Grey Mare's Tail is a waterfall that is strikingly beautiful under certain conditions.

It was pretty under these conditions too. It is striking when viewed from the top of the hill across from it, during the summer when the backdrop is intense green, during the day, in a light mist, after a heavy rain (this opinion was formed from a picture I saw).

Some things can't be changed: it was an evening in the fall, no rain or mist. The one thing I had control over would have required climbing up the huge, rugged hill across the road, encountering many sheep along the way. I chose to be content with the view I got.

We stayed in the small town of Moffat, at the family-owned Famous Star Hotel, built in the late 1700's. What's it famous for you ask...it is in the Guiness Book of Records for being the narrowest hotel in the world. It is just 20 feet wide. Ironically, our room here was the biggest one we stayed in during our whole trip. Situated at the front end, it took up the entire width of the building.