After a tasty breakfast in my Edinburgh guesthouse, I headed north across the Firth to Stirling. I can see why the literature says it is a "must see" castle. This was the setting for Braveheart. The area around the castle is beautiful, but used to be bogs with the river running through. The reason Wlliam Wallace defeated the English at Stirling was because he waited until about half the troops had crossed a narrow bridge across the raging river and then came rushing down the rock outcropping nearby. The English troops were unable to quickly retreat across the river, so Braveheart took back the castle. Then he destroyed it. Thankfully, King James I of England/ King James VI of Scotland restored and lived in it at times. The furnishings and costumes were all from that time period. Thus endeth the history lesson for today!

The drummers and pipers on the lawn when I arrived were very good. After seeing the Crown Jewels, scepter and sword of the king in Edinburgh and the birth place of James, the first king of the United Kingdom, it was good to see how he might have lived, ruled, and held banquets.

My last stop was lonely-looking Urquart Castle on Loch Ness. It is a lovely setting and an important military site. The day was beautiful with a gorgeous sunset for my final evening in Scotland.