Day 52 – July 10, 2025 – Oban to Edinburgh, Scotland
We got up around 6 am and then decided to take a walk around the town before meeting up for breakfast at 9. After breakfast, we got the car packed up and then headed out towards Stirling Castle, which is about a 2 ½ hour drive from Oban.
Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s most historically and architecturally significant castles. Located atop Castle Hill, a volcanic crag overlooking the River Forth, it served as a key strategic stronghold and royal residence for centuries. From the 12th century onward, Stirling Castle was a favored home of Scottish monarchs. It was especially prominent during the reign of the Stewart dynasty, including James IV, James V, and Mary, Queen of Scots, who was crowned there in 1543. Some architectural highlights include:
The Great Hall: Completed in 1503 by James IV, it is the largest medieval banqueting hall in Scotland.
The Royal Palace: Built by James V in the Renaissance style, it contains lavish apartments and impressive decorative stonework.
The Chapel Royal: Constructed in 1594 for the baptism of Prince Henry, son of James VI, it features vivid murals and preserved woodwork.
Defensive Walls: The castle’s outer defenses were strengthened in the 18th century during the Jacobite risings.
It was a very interesting place, and we spent about 1 ½ hours walking around looking at it all.
Vance found us a spot to eat called The Birds & Bees, where we just made it in time for lunch. John had a salmon dish, and I had their tomato/basil soup and a salad (sorry, forgot pics!). After lunch, we drove about 40 minutes to Edinburgh, checked into our hotel at the airport (Hampton Inn) and then grabbed the bus to the downtown area. We decided to head to Tiles Cafe for dinner, which is a place we had eaten before when we were here earlier in the month. It is a very lively place, and we were lucky to get a table. I opted for a salmon plate, which was very good, and John had a chicken burger, which is basically a chicken breast sandwich. We sat and chilled for a bit then grabbed the bus back to the hotel.
We met up in the lobby and grabbed a table and played a round of hand and foot, and the girls won! It was another great day, and we look forward to the next part of the journey tomorrow as we fly to Dublin. Thanks for a great visit, Scotland! Until next time 😊
St. Columba’s Church and Hall – constructed in the 1890s, with the main church dating to 1893-94. The church getting a facelift.Entrance into the castleThe Queen Anne Garden inside the castle. One of the stone towers on the right and the Royal Palace in the background. It was the perfect day to explore the castle!Another view of the Queen Anne Garden and out over the Forth Valley (Carse of Stirling), the wide floodplain of the River Forth that stretches to the west. Standing on the castle’s outer walls/upper terrace looking out over the big green slope just outside the main castle and then the town below. Love the big clouds!A “castle-eye” view taken through one of the slit windows in the fortress wall. A great “walls to valley” view.Love the contrast of the dark stone walls against the yellow-gold building, which is the Great Hall. During restoration, conservators found evidence the hall was originally limewashed a golden tone, so today it’s repainted in a historic protective limewash called “King’s Gold”. An interpretive display about the Stirling Tapestries – modern hand-woven recreations of the famous medieval series “The Hunt of the Unicorn.” The originals are a set of seven large late-15th/early-16th century tapestries (now at The Cloisters in New York) telling a dramatic unicorn hunt. The unicorn is Scotland’s national animal and in medieval Christian symbolism, could represent Christ: hunted, sacrificed, then, in the final scene, paradoxically alive in a peaceful garden.Inside the Great Hall, the biggest, grandest medieval banqueting hall ever built in Scotland. The ceiling is a hammerbeam roof, an open, arched wooden truss system designed to span a huge room without columns. The Great Hall was commissioned by James IV and completed around 1503. The original roof was removed in 1800 when the British Army turned the hall into barracks; this is the late 20th-century reconstruction, which used about 350 Scottish oaks. The upper end of the Chapel Royal. Love the ceiling here as well!Lunch time!The flowers here were just gorgeous!The former Donaldson’s College (school for the deaf) in Edinburgh. Built in the 1840s and completed in 1850. The school moved out in the early 2000s and the main historic block has been converted into high-end apartments. It’s a beautiful looking building.Finding it funny that there is an advertisement for Philadelphia while in Edinburgh.The Scott Monument on Princes Street. Impressive for sure!Great salmon and veggies!John opted for something less healthy, lol!
