Stirling and Doune Castles

Historic Scotland membership is great value for money, but to make it even better why not visit 2 sites in one day?

First stop was Stirling Castle, a place I have been several times in the past.

Robert the Bruce statue outside Stirling Castle

Forework and circular towers

Colours of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the regimental museum

One of the Stirling Heads which adorned the ceiling of the King's Inner Hall in the palace.

Stirling Castle commands a vantage point over the surrounding land

Eight miles to the north-west of Stirling lies Doune Castle, home of Robert of Albany, Regent of Scotland from 1388 till 1420.

The castle has taken on a new role in more recent times, recognisable to many as one of the location used in the making of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, along with other films and television dramas.

Doune Castle

Great Hall with central fire basket

The Lord's Hall, with timber panelling and minstrel's gallery above

Saltire flying from the top of the castle

View of the kitchen from inside the large fireplace

Courtyard and well

Edinburgh Castle

Mention Edinburgh and the first thing you think of is the Castle.

Standing high in the middle of the city, Edinburgh Castle has dominated the skyline for centuries. The castle played a major role in the wars of Independence and has been a military base since the 17th century.

Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's leading tourist destination and is part of Edinburgh World Heritage Site.

A view of the castle from Princes Street Gardens

Edinburgh Castle esplanade

Saint Margaret's Chapel is the oldest surviving part of the castle

Foog's Gate

Statue of soldier and his horse

Scottish National War Memorial

The One o'clock Gun has been sounding out since 1861

Statue of an officer on horseback

The Esplanade is turned into an arena for the Military Tattoo

Kinneil House

Kinneil House was built on land given to the Duke of Hamilton after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

The property fell into disrepair and was set to be demolished in the early 20th century until a series of decorative wall paintings were discovered in some of the rooms. These were considered to be of great enough historical importance to put a stop to the demolition.

The house is managed by The Friends of Kinneil and Historic Scotland and parts of the house are open to the public on a few days throughout the year. Because of the delicate paintings they operate a rule of no flash photography inside the building. This rule was on my visit applied over zealously as meaning no photography was allowed. However this did not apply to the grounds of the house.

The house was built during a period where the sovereignty of Scotland was being challenged. At the rear of the house are defensive gunloops from where the house could be protected.

In later years the house was occupied by industrialist John Roebuck who allowed James Watt to use the cottage behind the house while he was working on developing the steam engine, a part of which is displayed outside the remains of the cottage.

Nearby Kinneil Church has been unused since the 17th century and the only remaining parts of the ruin are the western gable wall and the graveyard.

The Viking Invasion of Rothesay, 2013 style

As part of Rothesay Castle re-enactment day, we were treated to a role play of the Vikings invading Rothesay.

The landing was slightly scaled down and I'm afraid it might not be completely historically accurate.

Never the less, this was how the story unfolded on a sunny September afternoon on Rothesay beach.

A lone Viking longship approaches the town of Rothesay on the island of Bute. Either he has raced ahead of the rest of the fleet or he thinks one ship load of warriors is enough to beat the Scots.

A solitary Viking jumps out of the boat onto the beach and challenges the awaiting army to a battle. I reckon he has been watching too many episodes of Rab C Nesbit and thinks he can take on the world single handed.

This is going to be a dawdle he says to himself when he notices that Scots army are all under the age of ten. He squares up ready to wipe out the foe.

The might Scots soon have him seriously wounded. His colleagues back on the longboat obviously don't realise the seriousness of his situation.

The foolhardy Viking makes it back to the boat and tells his fiends to make a hasty retreat back to their own country.

Linlithgow Palace

Linlithgow Palace's spectacular jousting event is so much more than the name suggests.

Costumed men and women portrayed a variety of lifestyles and trades to the assembled masses.

Historic Scotland once again have put on a first class show.

Linlithgow Palace

Re-enactment of the Battle of Largs

A falconer

Weapons and armour

Colourful costumes

Who will buy these beautiful hand made boots?

A medievil board game

Back to the main business of the day

A direct hit on the return run

Battle resumes on foot

Jousting at Linlithgow Palace

My return visit to Linlithgow for this year's jousting exhibition was every bit as enjoyable as my first trip here last summer.

The weather was fabulous which helped to enhance an already excellent day out.

'The Knights of Royal England' were more than welcome on the peel at Linlithgow Palace as they provided a wonderful day's entertainment for the large audience.

Not all of the action took place on horseback. There was plenty of hand to hand combat as well, as you will see below.

Some more pictures from today are on a second post here