Scotland - Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle is a major fortress in Scotland that has been the site of many battles over the centuries as well as being a royal residence. There was a wonderful guided tour and the guide was so knowledgeable.

It was very foggy when I first got there

The gold building was redone as it would have been at the time of King James. He wanted Stirling Castle to be seen as a shining gold castle on the hill.

This is a major defense area for the castle where multiple canons were positioned. The guide told about how during the Jacobite revolution, the Jacobites laid seige to the castle and very unwisely set up their camp below this section of the castle. They were literally blown up by the canons of Stirling Castle.

I just love the details of these old buildings. The statues, the decorations. It's so interesting to see how they have been affected by the elements over the centuries.

These were the signs for the bathrooms 😄

This is the inside of the gold building. The great hall. Its original purpose was a banqueting and presentation hall. But, it was used for many years as rooms for soldiers stationed there. The roof was taken off and the building converted into multiple floors to house nearly 300 soldiers. It was reconverted back into its original purpose as an entertaining place. The beam ceiling was rebuilt using the original techniques. There are no nails, just pegs holding it all together.

This corner statue is of King James himself

Loved this guy. He has weathered better than many of the others.

And then the royal apartments. There were costumed people in many of the rooms to talk with and ask questions.

There was a series of tapestries called The Unicorn Hunt

This ceiling are the famous Stirling Heads. There was a mirror to make it easier to see them. You can read more about them here https://www.stirlingcastle.scot/discover/highlights/stirling-heads-gallery/