Scotland: Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum

One of very last days in Scotland we went looking for gifts and happened upon the Stirling Smith Gallery.

The shopping happened in a mall off Main Street where we saw this version of Monopoly Stirling style.

More exploring brought us to this neat gallery and museum.

 

The gallery gets the name Smith from its founding using the bequest and collection of Thomas Stuart Smith in 1874.  In 1973 it had been closed for many years and the building was slated to be torn down when a group raised awareness and public support to reopen the gallery by 1990.

We spent several hours there and had a nice lunch too.

Exhibits included early life in Scotland.

We passed this sculpture when we walked to the museum and found an explanation about it inside.

On our walk back to the carpark we passed more sculptures.

And here was a section of the old wall surrounding the town.

What an enjoyable trip we had to Scotland.  Our next big trip is another river cruise.  This time from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland.

Scotland: Stirling & William Wallace

To get to the Stirling Castle is quite a hike uphill if you've parked in one of the parking garages in town.

Don't you love that golden lion?

It was a wet day to start but soon cleared off.  Typical Scotland weather.

Outside the castle is Robert the Bruce looking to the William Wallace monument and site of Wallace's victory over the English at Stirling Bridge.

His monument is across the valley.

We swung by there after spending a good part of the day at the castle.  I was beat, the monument and visitor center were closed so I napped in the car while Dan hiked up the trail to see the monument close up.

He took photos of these interesting signs along the pathway on his way back down.

Last stop was the famous site of the Stirling Bridge where in 1297 William Wallace scored a victory over approaching English soldiers.

One more post on Stirling and the last on Scotland!

Scotland: More on Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle is quite a complex of buildings.  Something was first constructed on this crag before 1110.

William Wallace Monument across the valley.

The land surrounding this crag is very flat.

More views of the surrounding lands.

One can watch the enemies come from afar.  There were at least nine sieges of this castle.  The last one was Bonnie Prince Charlie - unsuccessful.

It was quite a fascinating place to explore for a day.

Through My Lens