Scotland: Stirling Castle & the Reenactors

Continuing to post on our Fall Scotland trip.

We were based north of Stirling and visited there several times.  

Stirling Castle is quite spectacular and can't be encompassed in one post.

Here's a teaser with photos of the re-enactors there.

The current castle dates from the late 14th to the 16th century, when it was the residence of the Stuart monarchs.

It sits on a might crag which was once the plug of an extinct volcano.

The Royal Palace underwent a renovation in 2011.  It looks brand new, just as it did for James V in the mid-16th century when he brought his French bride here.

Re-enactors in the Great Hall too.

And outside in the courtyard.

 More to come on Stirling Castle and the town itself.

Scotland: Autumn Colors

Our two weeks in Scotland from the end of September to early October gave us a sense of what autumn colors were like there.  The best place to see those were in the wooded retreat called The Hermitage outside Dunkeld and Birnam.

Come walk with us through these lovely woods.  Dan is in the lead up ahead.

 

The folly.

Look closely at the stump below.  Do you see what's been embedded there?

Did you enjoy the walk?

Scotland: Killiin

Scotland was such an interesting place, but I took too many photos!  Here it is February, 4 months after our return and I still haven't finished sharing with you all that we saw.

The town of Killin was one we happened upon our a drive back from Loch Lomond.

Some of the history of this town. There's mention of the Crannogs which I wrote about before.  Killin sits on the other end of Loch Tay from where we saw the Crannogs.

It was a beautiful blue sky when we started our walk through town.  A change from the photo at the top of this post which was only 30 or so minutes before.

The blue sky was not to last.

These are the Falls of Dochart which tumble through the center of town.

View from the bridge.

The gate was locked to this entrance from the bridge and we didn't want to scare up the key.  There is someone's grave on that river island.

We did poke through the Old Mill with its small exhibits on St. Filaan and a thrift store.

A bit of fall colors.

A nice brief stop off before heading back to our base in Dunblane.