Stepping off the edge

We spent an afternoon in Stirling, a pretty town surrounded by rolling hills dotted with sheep. A few years ago I discovered that I had Scottish ancestry. Thanks to my daughter, sister and Ancestry we found my mother’s biological mother. Her maiden name was Buchanan and she had been born and spent her youth in Stirling.

Stirling Castle is magnificent, sitting high atop a hill, inaccessible to invadiers, who included the unsuccessful Bonnie Prince Charlie of England. The first buildings were erected in the 1300’s and the last in the early 1800s. As well as being a fortress, defending Scotland, it was a palace residence where several kings and queens were born, crowned and died including Mary Queen of Scots.

The bedrooms and great hall have been refurbished after the castle was used as an army barracks. The rooms are now historically accurate.

1

The Queen Anne Gardens