The Servas visit at Muthill gave us the chance to go into
Stirling for a day trip and explore their castle. The Stirling castle is at the top of a craggy
peak and the old town areas wrap around.
Remember “Bartholomew Cubbins and the 500 Hats”, by Dr. Seuss? Remember his trip up the hill, past the huts,
past the houses of lords, past the church, and up to the castle? That must have been written about Stirling,
as we walked up through the same layers.
Of course, there was a shopping mall layered in there for
today. But we took a good look at the
lord’s house, church grounds, and castle.
Stirling has a 500 year old bridge across its river, and it clearly was
a strategic location for a long time.
Will serves as my walking encyclopedia. Who was William Wallace? Who was Rob Roy? Who were all those infant monarchs (3 in a
row)? In addition, we had an excellent
tour guide, really an actor, as well as an excellent “lady in waiting” telling
us about the women in the castle’s history.
Scotland has put a lot of money into the update and upkeep
of this castle. The excellent kitchen
exhibit gave you the real feel of a hectic kitchen that was frantically
preparing for a feast. And they have
spent 12 years with tapestry weavers recreating unicorn tapestries in the style
of those in the cloisters in New York.
The colors were amazing.
A big part of the outside of the castle itself had been restored to a
light yellow/gold color with ochre pigments.
Several of the rooms had the original colorful decorations on their
walls restored. There were computer
renditions of what the outside sculptures would have looked like with their
original bright colors.
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