This was our first view of Edinburgh from the plane. Our hotel is located next to the Ocean Terminal.

Walked into the Downtown area as soon as we got to Stirling, was just a short hike from our Hotel.

This is where we stayed our first two nights in Scotland. On the right side of the Hotel you can see a high wall, this is the wall of Stirling Castle. It was a wonderful place to stay with very friendly people and a nice room with a great view of the country side and the Forth River.

Picture of Stirling Castle from the Flower Garden

This view shows how difficult the Castle would be to gain access from this side.

View of the Cemetery from high walls of Stirling Castle

These ladies were weaving a tapestry that is a reproduction of an orginal that hung in the Castle. The finished tapestry will be of a Unicorn.

Picture was taken from the Ramparts of Stirling Castle. In the distant background you can just barely see Wallace Monument.

Argyll's Lodging was built in the 17th Century by Sir William Alexander(the founder of Nova Scotia)and has been preserved to look as it did in 1680 when the 9th Earl of Argyll lived there. This picture was taken from the window in our room in the Portcullis Hotel

Night shot taken from our window in the Portcullis Hotel.

The Statue is located just outside the Stirling Castle on the Esplanade. The Wallace Monument is located on the hill to the right side of the statue.

Sorry to all that I had mis-labeled the statue.

This actor patrolling around the grounds, he is probably the most photographed individual at Stirling Castle.

This fellow gave a wonderful talk on the Blackwatch and it's history. Also, he was very informative on all the battle equipment and it's varied uses and told a lot of great stories on life at that time.

Was where in 1297 the Guardian of Scotland(Wallace) won a decisive battle against the English.

The original Wallace sword is said to have been 5 feet in length.

I was fascinated at the architecture at the Top of the Monument

Great views from the Top, shown here is the River Forth winding through the countryside.

This large statue of Wallace is on the side of the Monument, it bears a better likeness to him than the one down below, which favors Mel Gibson.

Beautiful stained glass window of Wallace in one of the 3 resting areas while your climbing the 246 stairs.

The monument can be seen from almost anywhere in Stirling, it was built in 1860 to commemorate William "Braveheart" Wallace. It is 220 feet tall with 246 , yes 246 steps to the top, which has wonderful views of the countryside. Luckily, they offer a free shuttle to the top of the hill or I would have never made it up all those steps.

South African War Memorial, dedicated to the loss of Soldiers from October 1899 to May 1902

We used the Stirling Tour Bus to get around the city and see the sights. It was really a good bargain, it was 7.50 for adults and you could ride all day and you could also travel the next day free. It took us to all the sites and you could stay at each one as long as you liked

The Church has bullet holes in the walls and grave stones from the 1651 Stirling Invasion by Cromwell's Troops. John Knox also preached the Reformation here.

Rude(or rood) means "cross" and "holy rude" in medieval terms means Christ's cross.

The jail is 150 years old.

We were going up to take night pictures of the Castle, when we heard the Pipers, what an unbelievable sound, it gave both Karen and I "Goosebumps"