Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle was another one of my day trips from Edinburgh. It was an easy train ride from Waverly Station lasting around 50 minutes and then a 15-20 minute walk from the station to the castle. Do note that the walk is mostly uphill, it’s not particularly challenging but if you have mobility issues you can catch a bus up to the castle. I had pre-booked my ticket which are timed entrance (as a member of English Heritage my ticket was free); generally an adult ticket is £17.50 online, £19.50 if bought when you arrive.

It was reasonably busy but not unduly crowded and I arrived just in time to join one of the free guided tours that I’d highly recommend as it gives a great overview of the history of the building, after which you can wander around to your heart’s content. One of the largest castles in Scotland there’s so much that I was impressed by that this will by necessity only be a snapshot. First up The Great Hall, one of the rooms the tour covers. It’s the largest banqueting hall ever built in Scotland and was completed for James IV in 1503. At the end are the seats where the king and queen would have sat.

The Great Hall is a striking building that can be seen for miles and as the guide informed us this was the original colour that they restored and they were planning on restoring all the other buildings to the same bright colours – but residents in Stirling objected which is why the other buildings are the kind of stone colour we all think of when we think of castles. Notable events that took place include the banquet following James VI’s baptism (son of Mary Queen of Scots).

One of the best things to do is walk around the extensive walls of the castle – though do note that there is no handrail and safest is walking in single file so if its windy, generally a given in Scotland, it’s not necessarily a good idea for people without good mobility. But if you do manage it you can see some lovely views.

What has to be the most impressive area of the castle though are the Palace buildings. Work began on it around 1538 with James V wanting to demonstrate that he was just as important as the kings and queens of Europe by decorating the palace in statues that at the time were considered revolutionary. They include representations of Saturn and Venus, Ganymede and the figure of Abundance.

It’s the interiors that really take your breath away though. The Royal lodgings – originally for James V and Mary of Guise – have recently been recreated to show how it would have been decorated. The King’s Inner Hall has a ceiling decorated with what are called the Stirling Heads. Not just decorative the heads reflected how James wanted to be viewed by others – just as the outside of the palace they contained powerful allies, Roman emperors and mythical heroes. You can see them in place in the room…

…but also more close up versions in a dedicated gallery space so you can see the detail that would have gone into them.

It’s also worth stopping to admire the Stirling Tapestries in the Queen’s Inner Hall. They are seven hand woven tapestries based on the Hunt of the Unicorn series that was designed in the 1500s. The tapestries were created in a 14 year long project costing around £2 million and in the grounds of the castle you can visit a small museum area with examples of the work in progress and watch a video about its creation.

I really enjoyed my visit to the castle – this post has really only given a highlight of the things to see and I spent the large part of the day there. Also on the castle site is the Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, which will feature in its own post.