12 April 2023
Today I crossed Stirling Castle off my bucket list. I have wanted to visit Stirling for as long as I can remember, and it definitely didn’t disappoint.
A storm had gone through last night and we woke this morning to the hills surrounding Stirling being covered in a sprinkling of snow – so pretty! We are staying on the outskirts of Stirling so were wondering what the best way was to get into town and up to the castle. It turns out that Stirling is very well set up and offers free “park and ride” facilities on the outskirts. We were able to park our car for free and get a free bus into the centre of town. We set out early this morning and had a beautiful and solitary walk from town up to the castle. While we were waiting for the castle to open, we had a bit of time to speak with Billy, who was guarding the entry. He had lived in Stirling all his life – from the castle he could even point out the exact house that he was born in. Billy had worked at the castle for 19 years and does the night shift from 6pm until 9:30am. Apparently there are no ‘official’ ghosts, and he takes care to assume that any noises he hears are just the wind! Billy did say that it can feel pretty spooky at times, especially in winter when it is very dark.
The castle itself has stunning views and a very checkered history. It has spent much of its life as an army garrison and has only recently been restored back into how it would have been when it was a royal residence. It was easy to see why it was built here, as there were stunning views from every side. From the top, we could see that the outskirts of Stirling are made up of areas of housing surrounded by farmland. It gives an impression of lots of little villages.
After the castle, we spent some time exploring Stirling itself. It is a very vibrant place with an interesting mixture of old and new architecture, buskers, and lots of friendly people and dogs. Places in Scotland are very dog friendly, with them being welcome in pubs, shops, cafes and shopping centres. Another thing that we have noticed in Scotland is that there are so many jobs being advertised – seems to be a shortage of workers.
Tomorrow, we head up into the Highlands – exciting!!!!!
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