May 20, 2015
We leave our beautiful farm surrounded in so much green. It reminds us often of the Emerald Valley near Eugene in the spring. Our destination is the city of Sterling with it's old town and, of course a castle or two.
We try to get as much exercise as we can so a good option is to walk along Loch Katrine. The weather held pretty well on the shoreline walk. The Sir Walter Scott ferry travels these waters in case you wanted to take a tour. Sir Scott penned several poems about this mountain lake which became quite well known. When your work goes viral I guess you get a boat named in your honor! If this blog goes viral we would be lucky to get a life jacket and thrown in! At least we would have a leisurely float around the lake!
Leaving the lake and not yet ready for the city we enjoyed tea and crumpets in the small town of Callander. After finishing our treat, we realized we would have to exercise again to work it off. So, we found a beautiful trail leading to the Bracklinn waterfall, through an actual forest and back. Through the years they have forested heavily so the stands of fir trees have been planted years ago and will be harvested soon. As we walked out of the woods, we walked into the freshly logged clearing and could see some of the areas being replanted.
Our castle itch returned as we drove into the Castlecroft Bed and Breakfast. The beautifully kept home sits right at the base of the Sterling Castle. We are a brief walk from the old town area giving us a first glance of the castle grounds and place to enjoy supper.
Following our full B and B breakfast, we marched right up to the castle to see how it might compare. Not bad! This one was both ruins as well as areas that have been restored. They provided a great display area with a chronological timeline of all the kings, queens, and royalty of Scotland. It helped to get the big picture. We are standing in front of the statue of King Robert the Bruce who conquered the English at the Battle of Bannockburn nearby in 1314. There is a large monument to William Wallace (Braveheart) here in Stirling as he was fighting the English in 1297.
We leave our beautiful farm surrounded in so much green. It reminds us often of the Emerald Valley near Eugene in the spring. Our destination is the city of Sterling with it's old town and, of course a castle or two.
We try to get as much exercise as we can so a good option is to walk along Loch Katrine. The weather held pretty well on the shoreline walk. The Sir Walter Scott ferry travels these waters in case you wanted to take a tour. Sir Scott penned several poems about this mountain lake which became quite well known. When your work goes viral I guess you get a boat named in your honor! If this blog goes viral we would be lucky to get a life jacket and thrown in! At least we would have a leisurely float around the lake!
Leaving the lake and not yet ready for the city we enjoyed tea and crumpets in the small town of Callander. After finishing our treat, we realized we would have to exercise again to work it off. So, we found a beautiful trail leading to the Bracklinn waterfall, through an actual forest and back. Through the years they have forested heavily so the stands of fir trees have been planted years ago and will be harvested soon. As we walked out of the woods, we walked into the freshly logged clearing and could see some of the areas being replanted.
Following our full B and B breakfast, we marched right up to the castle to see how it might compare. Not bad! This one was both ruins as well as areas that have been restored. They provided a great display area with a chronological timeline of all the kings, queens, and royalty of Scotland. It helped to get the big picture. We are standing in front of the statue of King Robert the Bruce who conquered the English at the Battle of Bannockburn nearby in 1314. There is a large monument to William Wallace (Braveheart) here in Stirling as he was fighting the English in 1297.
An interesting item in the palace was a series of wall sized tapestries using imagery to recount the Christian gospel. The woven images used the unicorn and hunters in hot pursuit to describe Christ's death and his leading us to heaven. The weaving detail is so great, that upon entering the large queen's inner hall we first thought it was simply paintings hung on the wall. The tapestries have been recently finished and are replicas of tapestries from the era of the castle. A well presented display nearby explained the allegory and the weaving process.
We paid a brief visit to The Church of the Holy Rude dating back to 1567. It is steeped in history as it was originally a Roman Catholic Church that is now Church of Scotland Presbyterian as a result of the reformation. King James VI was crowned King of Scotland here when he was a baby. John Knox preached at his coronation.
Knowing our castle days are coming to an end, we decided to grab one more! The 14th century Doune Castle was just a few minutes drive away. This is one of the best-preserved castles which is great compared to either ruins or partially restored. This is closest to what it was in it's heyday. It's condition also makes it a perfect backdrop for movies such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the more recent mini series, Outlander. We need to have a movie night when we get home so we can point at the TV and say "We were there!!"
Well, this is our last night in Scotland! Tomorrow we fly to the Island of Guernsey. We enjoyed a quiet dinner at a Scottish Austrian restaurant. I had a Caesar salad with crumbled blood pudding as a starter, followed by Weiner schnitzel! Kathy enjoyed a traditional Scottish Broth soup and mushroom risotto. All very good!
Tim and Kathy
Knowing our castle days are coming to an end, we decided to grab one more! The 14th century Doune Castle was just a few minutes drive away. This is one of the best-preserved castles which is great compared to either ruins or partially restored. This is closest to what it was in it's heyday. It's condition also makes it a perfect backdrop for movies such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the more recent mini series, Outlander. We need to have a movie night when we get home so we can point at the TV and say "We were there!!"
Well, this is our last night in Scotland! Tomorrow we fly to the Island of Guernsey. We enjoyed a quiet dinner at a Scottish Austrian restaurant. I had a Caesar salad with crumbled blood pudding as a starter, followed by Weiner schnitzel! Kathy enjoyed a traditional Scottish Broth soup and mushroom risotto. All very good!
Tim and Kathy
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