Wanders around Stirling

It’s not often that I am lured outside London to see a play, but I made an exception for James IV: Queen of the Fight by Rona Munro having absolutely loved the trilogy of James plays when they graced the National Theatre in 2014. In a recent interview Rona Munro explained the hope was to write seven plays covering the years of Stewart rule in Scotland. I have just seen one of these, Mary, at the Hampstead Theatre. How could I not see this one too!?

I settled on a weekend in Stirling, a city I had long intended to revisit, catching the play at the Macrobert Arts Centre at the University of Stirling then stayed overnight at the Stirling Court Hotel in the university grounds. The play was as thrilling as I hoped, plunging us back into the intrigue of the 16th century royal court to explore an unsettling early story of racism. Two and a half hours flew by.

Cambuskenneth Abbey

The last time I was in Stirling I made the mistake of allowing no time to see anything but the castle, but then realised how much more I was missing out on. It was a pleasure to return to explore this city properly.

Over the course of the weekend I visited the National Wallace Monument and learnt about the battle of Stirling Bridge; took in a pleasant walk past the battle site via the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey and old Stirling Bridge; climbed up Gowan Hill to follow the heritage trail; explored Drummond Pleasure Ground and the neighbouring cemeteries; and had a good look around the wonderful Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum.

There’s so much of interest in Stirling. It’s one of those places where history oozes out of every street corner. I particularly enjoyed the Gowan Heritage trail which leads you up to a caged beheading stone on Mote Hill, apparently used in executions up to the 15th century. The hill was known as the heiding hill (heading hill) on account of its gruesome place in history, but fell out of use when hanging in the town centre became the preferred method of execution. Leaving that rather brutal history behind, the views are absolutely stunning.

The view from Gowan Hill

The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum is really well worth a visit with some superb artworks, including a rather striking red and silver striped tiger by the Mach brothers whose glorious coat is made up of Tunnock’s teacake wrappers. As an addict of Tunnock’s tea cakes I can only imagine the hardship of eating so many in the name of art! There’s a really superb walk through of history in the museum at the back of the gallery – which includes the world’s oldest football (discovered behind wooden panels in the Queen’s Bedchamber at Stirling castle in the 1970s).

The museum also has a fascinating set of stone panels that were mysteriously added to the low cost housing in Albany Crescent in 1896 (subsequently demolished in 1965). The current thinking is that one of these is a cryptic reference to the beheading of the second Duke of Albany, regent of Scotland, on Mote Hill, in 1425. The architect behind the panels, John Allan, was also responsible for designing the protective cage for the stone.

A wander round the pleasure grounds and cemetery in the shadow of Stirling Castle was as enjoyable as ever. There are some real curiosities there, like the star pyramid (dedicated to all those martyred in the cause of civil and religious liberty in Scotland) and the martyrs monument (a glass enclosed memorial to Margaret Wilson who was executed by drowning at the age of 18 for refusing to renounce her Protestant faith).

In short, I had a fabulous weekend and still didn’t have enough time to see everything. Nevertheless, I was glad I finally made it back – even if it was ten years late.

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Stirling

In the castle stakes we moved up a few notches today, visiting Stirling Castle – an easy day trip from Edinburgh (just fifty minutes by train). It is a fascinating site to explore – you have all the incredible artristry that you might expect to find in a Royal residence but you also have the parallel story of a castle that was besieged and fought over throughout history. Quite a combination.

The Great Hall in Stirling Castle

The castle is quite simply stunning – the Great Hall, Royal Chapel and Royal Lodgings are incredible spaces to explore – but the highlights for me were the Stirling Heads and the Unicorn Tapestries (depicting the hunt of the unicorn) that have been replicated as part of the recreated Royal lodgings of James V and Mary of Guise.

The Stirling Heads were a series of 16th century carved heads that decorated the ceiling of the King’s Inner Hall until it collapsed. The ceiling was dismantled around 1777 and the heads dispersed – some were later destroyed and others are missing. Thankfully, the wife of one of the deputy governors had the foresight to seek out and create a record of all the heads whilst they were still in existence.

Today, you can visit a fascinating gallery displaying some of the surviving heads along with an explanation of their history and significance. A re-creation of the ceiling in the King’s Inner Hall leaves you in no doubt that this must have been an awe-inspiring sight for any visitor and how lowly most would have been made to feel in the company of the great figures depicted (which included Hercules, Roman Emperors, Scottish Kings, Charles V, Mary of Guise and Henry VIII).

It was pretty clear that we underestimated how long you need in Stirling to do the place any justice. Our visit to the castle lasted a good three and a half hours, although that allowed for only a quick whizz around the Regimental Museum of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and we would really have liked a longer visit to appreciate the artefacts on display there. Nevertheless, we packed alot into our limited time – joining one of the tours of Argyll Lodging House and taking a good look around the nearby Old Town Cemetery.

The Old Town Cemetery was one of the unexpected highlights of our trip. The cemetery sits in the shadow of the castle and is home to some distinctive monuments, such as the Star Pyramid (also known as the Covenanters Memorial) and the Martyrs Monument.

The Martyrs Monument

This striking memorial is impossible to miss when you enter the cemetery. It commemorates the martyrdom of the 18 year old covenanter Margaret Wilson who died for her religious beliefs on 11th May 1685 – horrifically tied to a stake on the Solway Firth and left to drown on the incoming tide. In the monument Margaret Wilson can be seen reading the Bible to her younger sister Agnes, whilst her guardian angel shows her despair.

Stirling is a fantastic place to visit, but probably needs at least two days to cover properly. There are plenty of sights that we didn’t even attempt to see, such as the National Wallace Monument and the Church of the Holy Rude. It would also have been great to get down to the formal gardens below the castle and get a better sense of how it dominates the landscape (something that you don’t really see when you approach from the town centre). I think we will have to go back someday…

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