Stirling, Scotland, UK by Kev and Mel

Halo, Guid Tae See Ye!
Gretting from Stirling in Scotland! On Friday the 15th of August, we picked up a rented car from London and drove around 8 hours to get to Stirling in Scotland. We were entertained during the trip by the beautiful landscapes of England and Scotland. The UK is such a charming place.
Stirling is in central Scotland. It has been said: "Stirling, like a huge brooch clasps Highlands and Lowlands together". It is considered as the Gateway to the highland. There is trace of civilisation in the area dating for prehistoric times. Near Stirling is the lowest crossing point of the River Forth, which made it a military advantage to hold this city. I’ll talk a bit more about the history of the city later.
We arrived in Stirling, found our place and it is so much bigger than the tiny room in London (but also more expensive! You get what you pay for!) We have a kitchen, which make Kev happy!
We found a supermarket, did some shopping and came back for our nightly routine (we don’t really have a routine, but you know what I mean!).
On Saturday the 16th of August it was the Highland games in Stirling. It also was Kev and I’s wedding anniversary. What a way to celebrate to see our first Highland games: as good as any!
The first reference to Highland games was made in the 11th century, when King Malcom III, summoned man to race to find the fastest one to become his royal messenger. The modern games developed in the 19th century. In the Stirling games, we saw different events. The stone put, similar to shot put but with a heavy stone. The Scottish hammer throw where they throw a stick with a round metal ball at the end. The competitors wear shoes with stick at the end to dig their feet in the floor to be stay fix while throwing. The wight throw, which is a stone attached to a chain with a handle: the aim is to throw it as far as possible. The weight over bar, which instead of throwing it forward, they throw it above a bar, which get higher every time. The competitor who won throw it over 16 feet (4.88 meters). The caber toss, where they hold a long heavy trunk up, then run and throw the caber up in the hope that it will turn and land straight in front of the competitor. The aim is not to send it far but for it to land straight away from the thrower.
The Stirling game has one event that is nowhere else: the Striling stone, where the competitor, carry 2 stones connected by metal rods which goes around the carrier, of a combined weight of 164kg, the further they can. All those events had categories: junior, adaptive and man. Some games have women section, but not in Stirling.
There were also some racing, bike racing and light field events and a mock battle with explanation about the weapon and clothes.
We learnt that the quilt used to be just a giant plaid that people were wrapping around themselves. Eventually they started wrapping it around the waist and tucking it so they didn’t step on it. This is where the name come from, a Dannish word which mean to tuck up.
And obviously, there was some highland dancing. It was fun to see the different dances they were doing. The kids knew the basic one, but there are so much more!
It was a fun day watching the different events. The only thing is I didn’t always know where to look as different events were happening at the same time! But it was fun. We are going to another highland game at our next destination: it will be nice to see woman heavy lifting events.
After that we had a very nice dinner at a pub called Portcullis. Kev and Andrew ordered a dish with some Haggis and found it delicious. Emma tried a bit a liked it too. I found out that there is vegetarian haggis, that I will have to try! I love the pubs in the UK: the decoration is always great and warm and I just love the atmosphere.
On the way to the pub from where we stay, we had to go through an enchanting path through a hill, where we saw rabbits and where you can very easily picture fairies and elves hidden just behind the bushes. Scotland is beautiful and magical.
The following day, we visited the Stirling castle. Stirling castle was a royal palace and a place of defence. The different part of the castle we can still see now, were built at different times between the 15 to the 17th century. But there was a castle here from several centuries before. A lot of history happened there: because of its important position, built on a crag (a rocky isolated hill) above the lower crossing of the river Forth, it was fought over and changed hands pretty often. Kings and queens were born, baptised, crowned here through the centuries.
The castle has a building where the royal lodgings were, one royal chapel, one great hall and the King’s old building. You can also see the kitchen with mannequin and food there to show how food was prepared. The protective wall, you can walk on and see the magnificent view of the surrounding Scotland. There is also a lot of flower everywhere which makes it even nicer to look around.
It was a lot bigger than we thought it would be! A lot to see and learn there. The visit was enhanced by the people in costume, playing music or giving more information and stories about the castle. I heard a few times now and I agree for the moment, that Stirling castle is the best castle in Scotland!
After that we walked back through the enchanted hill and back to our place for a bit of blogging and packing as we are moving to the highland tomorrow.
See you there,
Mel

15.8.2025. Our day started early. Grabbed all the bags and off to the bus stop. Hopped onto a bus with all our gear and off to pick up our hire car. We have a Ford Kuga, which thankfully has enough room in the back for all our bags. Which means the kids get some leg room! Yay! First stop? A fuel station, because they gave us the car with about 1/8th of a tank. Just give it back like for like. Cheers, thanks for that. Alright, we're out of London and on the road, cruising. After Mel turned off some of the “safety” things for me, it was easier going. Who likes lane assist? You do? Ya bloody weirdo. Anyway, around 8 hours and a pee/food stop, we got to Stirling, Scotland. We got to our latest apartment, and largest. All the bags got chucked into various rooms, then we grabbed our shopping bags and headed to Sainsbury's. Which was a 5min walk. Back to our stay and made dinner. Bed time
16.8.2025. Today we're off to our first Highland Games! Woo hoo! We arrived when it first opened, and had a look around. First up, two blokes playing bagpipes. I love hearing well played bagpipes, and these guys were pretty good. We walked around and found where most of the events were going to take place. We watched some people fighting in traditional armour, sweating their arses off. It was a warm day here. We had a good chat with one of them. He was happy to explain the various pieces of armour he was wearing and the weapons they all used. The kids got to hold a few weapons and I got a pic of Andrew wearing a helmet. We moved back to the main area and watched the junior heavyweights. Throwing the hammer and finally the caber toss. Soon after that came the open heavyweights. These are some big dudes. Chucking a 22lb weight as far or as high as you can. What we were all there really for tho, was the caber toss. There's nothing else like it in the world, as far as I know. There were other events, including a stone carry. You lift 164kg of stone and walk as far as you can, then they measure it. Everyone cheered them on, but maybe not as much as for the lady who carried it back to the starting point after every competitor. She had the technique and obviously the strength. Often making it look easier than the competitors. We got a good mix of throwing things, lifting things and running events. There was another event that boggled the mind. Riding a road bike around the grass area, flat out. I was knackered just watching them. We had a great day. We saw some dancing and field events. We saw a mediaeval reenactment, sort of, it was packed. The kids wiggled their way to the front. We had overpriced burgers. Mel and I also tried a new beer, Belhaven Black. It poured and looked a lot like Guinness, but tasted a little different. Very bloody good, would 100% recommend. Everything was wrapping up, except the Highland dancing. So we watched a bit more of that, before heading back to the apartment. It had been a pretty warm day, so we rested a bit. Coffee's were made, snacks were had. Later that evening, I led us towards a restaurant called the Portcullis. Named because it was the Portcullis to the Castle. On the walk, we had to pass through a park, over a hill. No one really seemed that impressed with the idea of hiking 10-15min to get to dinner. Especially after being out all day. But after only walking for a minute or so, we came across rabbits, lots of them. Now everybody had forgotten their tired little legs and their hungry bellies. Now they just wanted to see more bunnies. We saw quite a few more, and arrived at the restaurant. We went inside a lovely looking Scottish pub, with nice decorations and a decent size outdoors area. First up, drinks! Kids got something, can't remember, toilet water or something similar. I, however, ordered a Whiskey Sour. My now favourite cocktail. This one did not disappoint, the best I have had so far. Now for food. Chicken with haggis and potatoes. Have never tried haggis, so why not. I love offal and grains, what could go wrong? Nothing went wrong, at all. I knew I would like haggis and I was right, no big surprise. The meals were delicious. Andrew had a beef and haggis burger, which disappeared into the abyss. Emma had lasagna, very original. I was once again told that, while my lasagna was good, it was not as good as this one. Cheers Em. I can't remember what Mel had, I'm sure it's in their blog tho. When I was paying, I had a chat with the server. I mentioned that was my first try of haggis and that Mel was a vegetarian. She then informed me that, there is in fact, vegetarian haggis. Right, put that on the shopping list. We had another nice walk through a bit of the park on the way back, it was later so not so many rabbits. Brush teeth and bed. Oh yeah I forgot to mention it was our anniversary so that's why we hit the pub!
17.8.2025. Today we walked back through that park on the hill again. We took our time and really explored. Found out that because it was close to the Castle, and kinda overgrown back in the day, that one part of it was used for executions. Lovely, let's take a stroll over there then shall we. Why the park again? Well because this time we're going to the Castle, Castle Stirling to be exact. The home of Scottish Kings and Queens. I enjoyed walking around the exterior wall and looking out over the countryside. The place is full of plants and flowers, with its own beehives as well. While I enjoy walking through and admiring the architecture of places, this castle is another great example of that. I am still drawn to nature, and often find myself taking pictures of bright flowers I have never seen before. After saying all that, the Castle is still very impressive. Lots of sculptures on the outside, one of them is King James V himself. After we'd had our fill of castle, we wandered back through the hill Park again, trying to spot more rabbits. Once back, we blogged and packed. We're off to the Highlands tomorrow.
KevRead more