Wallace in Stirling

Getting up in the morning was a breeze, which in my personal experience isn't always how waking up goes. I had my ticket to the Scott monument booked, as well as my ticket to, and back from, Sterling. I decided to just get going, and worry about where I would eat later. Roughly ten steps out the door, my stomach started to grumble. Pushing on, figuring there are plenty of places to eat on the Royal Mile, I saw this cute little cafe. Run by a woman from France, who was very friendly and even offered French classes, I decided on a sausage roll and coffee. It was the perfect on-the-go food, and the caffeine pick me up was delicious. I arrived at my first destination about 20 minutes before my opened, took a few photos, then sat down to read for a bit. Just before they opened I gravitated toward the front. Now because it's winter, and rains a lot in Scotland, they operate on winter hours, meaning they open at ten. When it was ten minutes past their opening time and there was no sign of anyone, I thought maybe it was just a late start to the day. Fortunately I was able to chat with the other people waiting for the attraction to open... which it never did. Having a train departing to my next stop at just past eleven meant that 10:40 was the cut off for waiting, and off I went to get my ticket. The trip to Stirling went very smoothly though and we pulled up to the station around noon. Using my UK mobile phone I was able to navigate to Stirling Castle, only fifteen minutes away, and although uphill, I had plenty of practice from walking all around Edinburgh. I was quite fortunate with my timing too, because right after purchasing my entry ticket there was a free guided tour. One of the most interesting facts I learned was that the castle was occupied by the military until 1964, which isn't that long ago. There was also the Great Hall, that is the largest in the country, with a roof built in a way the resembles a ship. Overall, highly impressive and well worth the trip. To be honest, the historic tapestries alone would have been enough to make it a fantastic trip. After spending a few hours at the castle, and not even seeing all of it, I realized that if I was going to see the Wallace Monument, I'd have to get a move on. Knowing that they would be closed in a little over an hour, I tried in vain to get a taxi though an app, but thinking fast I realized that my Loch Ness tour went there as well. Thinking it would be wise to double check I called up the company, and after confirming that they did make a stop there, asked my name, and politely told me that the tour had be canceled. After getting over my frustration, I decided to just walk back to the train station and see if I could grab a taxi to the monument. A short drive later and we were pulling up to the entrance, positioned at the bottom of a huge hill with the tower looming overhead. There were two ways to get to the top, one was with a shuttle, and the other was walking. My legs may have protested along the accent, but the fun placards and scenic forests made it worth every labored step. For some reason there weren't a lot of people visiting this attraction, which turned out to be a great thing, especially when climbing the narrow staircase to the top; 275 stairs later, and I had made it. The views went on for miles, looking out across fields, homes, and rivers, with the castle I had just visited practically a speck in the distance. No surprise, but at that height, the wind was howling. I made my way down, as well as through the small rooms that held the exhibit, and as soon as I had hit the bottom floor they were about to close up for the day. Going for the lazy method, especially after all those stairs, I took the bus to the main street and then hopped on public transit to take the train back "home." An uneventful ride later, it was too dark to even look out the window, and I found myself back in Edinburgh, and totally ravenous. What good fortune that my guide the day before had given us all coupons for a local restaurant. Somehow the hills in this town get more manageable every day, and a short walk later I was being seated at a table. I had planned to have a quiet dinner just reading my book, but the people at the table next to me had different ideas. I don't even remember how the conversation started, but just after it did we found out that we were from neighboring cities in California. The conversation we had danced from one subject to the next, and was a much better dinner than I could have planned. I even got to try 'sticky toffee pudding' and it's a crying shame we don't have that more readily available. Making it back to the hostel just before eight, and realizing that I didn't have to be up early for a tour the following morning, I decided to join in on the fun and signed up for the pub crawl. It was so much fun, and I met a ton of people; by the end of the night we were one big, merry bunch. Many exchanged phone numbers, and Facebook profiles later, I called it a night. I can't help but think that the canceled tour worked out in my favor.Read more