A Castle Full of Rascals

Well a holiday wouldn't be a holiday without a stop in Stirling to see / stay with the cousins, and the G-Ks wouldn't be the G-Ks if they didn't have guests their first / last weekend in a new / old house...  So to Stirling we went!  

Of course a holiday also wouldn't be a holiday without using our HS membership, and the last time the kids and I visited this castle was in April 2015 with Papa amid much trauma.  The photos are pretty much the same, though the kids are bigger and it was a whole lot busier!

Queen Anne Garden

King's Knot to the left and Queen's Knot to the right
viewed from Queen Anne's Garden..
Both were made for the coronation visit of Charles I
in 1633 though abandoned soon after.
Behind you can see Kings Park, and on the other side
somewhere is the G-Ks house!

Church of the Holy Rude - one of three
churches still in use in Britain that have been
the sites of coronations

The Wallace Monument from Stirling Castle

The main well which supplied the whole
castle with water. A visitor in 1662 was told
that it ran dry whenever the guns were fired.

The North Gate is the oldest surviving part of Stirling Castle. 
The passageway here is from a gatehouse built in 1381 for King
Robert II, grandson of Robert the Bruce and the first of the
Stewart monarchs

The Nether Bailey, beyond the Outer Close, was a walled
enclosure - James V kept his beloved hounds in kennels
here. Cannons were stored and repaired here and there 
was a range of other workshops and stores.

The Great Hall was built in 1503 for banquets and gatherings.
It was stripped of its purpose when James VI moved his court
to London a century later, and was converted into barracks
in 1790.  Restoration began after the army left in 1964 and it was
officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.  It regained its
original sparkle and swagger with a coat of 'king's gold' limewash, 
which protects the medieval masonry.

The reconstruction of the hammer-beam
roof required the timber of 350
Strathyre oak trees, pinned together
with 4,000 hand made pegs.

The inner close is the heart of Stirling Castle and is bounded by
the most prestigious buildings - Chapel Royal (1594) on the left,
The Great Hall (1503) ahead, the Palace (1540s) to the right and
the Old Building (1496) below.

In 1496 James IV chose the castle's highest point for his
private residence, which had spectacular views over
to Loch Lomond.

The Chapel Royal was built in 1594 for James VI.

The Lion's Den, where James V may have
kept a lion; a living symbol of 
Scottish Royalty

The Queen's Inner Hall

Only the most important visitors and personal friends met the
the King or Queen in their bedchamber. The monarch
probably dressed, washed and prayed here, while sleeping
in a small room nearby.

The King's Inner Hall with carved heads.

King James V began building this palace in
the 1530s. He covered the building, inside
and out, with imagery designed to promote
his authority and demonstrate his right
to rule. From the sculptures lining the outside
of the building to the carved Stirling Heads
inside the palace, all served as image-makers
for the king.