Let's get one thing straight. Scotland has four cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. Ok, Perth at a push. We all know it has been nicknamed Fair City for a long time. However, I don't have any time for the "new cities" - official charter or not. In my opinion, Stirling and Inverness are large towns. Significant ones, yes. Lots of history to explore, check. But towns they remain, regardless of whether there happens to be a cathedral or university. I don't even support proposals to re-classify my stomping ground of Dunfermline as a city. Can we not be content as an ancient royal town?
Alright, rant over. I'm only half an hour's drive away from Stirling and head over every now and then. What I hadn't done was the famous Back Walk that encircles the hills in the town centre where the castle stands. I included a section of the River Forth Trail to create a loop that would taken in a lot of Stirling's history and heritage. My starting point was the outlying village of Cambuskenneth. Part of an ancient abbey can be found here. There are also tremendous views of the imposing Wallace Monument that stands proudly on top of nearby Abbey Craig. Completed in 1869, the 220-foot sandstone tower has 246 internal steps leading to the viewing platform. Exhibitions are housed within the body of the structure. I first visited as a boy scout in the 1980s and returned around 2000, by which time the Braveheart movie had generated massive tourist interest in William Wallace's life. Aside from the amazing vista from the observation deck, I remember a couple of things. An American spending a lot of money in the gift shop on souvenirs for his son and a two-handed longsword on display that reputedly belonged to the man himself and was used in the Battles of Stirling Bridge and Falkirk. The accompanying text suggested the authenticity of the weapon may be in doubt. In order to effectively wield such a sword in conflict, a man would have to be around seven feet tall. Our Billy was by all accounts a big fellow but - considering the average height of the time struggled to scrape above five feet - I think it's stretching things to say he resembled a medieval basketball player. Experts reckon the sword probably dates from the 15th century and may well have been fashioned by piecing several smaller blades together. But it's a good story and it helps bring in the punters. Cambuskenneth Abbey stands in a field adjacent to the village and there is also a graveyard on the same site. The bell tower remains in good condition but the rest of the building is now reduced to foundation. Following the Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, the spoils of war were distributed in the compound. Opening times are seasonal so I had to view from behind the perimeter fence. This was also the case when Nicole and I had visited a couple of years previously. Free parking was readily available here and a footbridge across the Forth would speedily connect me to the town proper. The railed tomb of James III (and his wife Margaret of Denmark) lies within the cemetery and I'll have to return at some point in the summer to have a look at that. He was killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. As a place of worship, Cambuskenneth fell into disuse during the Reformation and eventual ownership of the abbey passed to the Crown in 1908. It is now managed by Historic Scotland. The bell tower was extensively restored in 1859 and is quite an attraction in its own right. I had a quick scout around the area then navigated my way through a couple of charming old streets towards the slender footbridge across the Forth. On the opposite bank I was able to step straight on to the heritage trail which follows the river as it snakes its way through Stirling. Various information points relayed the importance of the watercourse - still tidal at this point - in the town's development as a royal capital and centre of industry. Across the water, a Stirling County rugby match was in full swing at their tidy little stadium. I walked as far as the bridge carrying the Glasgow and Perth railway before turning away from the Forth and entering the old town.
The incoming line from Alloa joins the Glasgow route just before the river crossing. Passenger services were restored in 2008 and the tracks run all the way back to Dunfermline. As yet, there has been no implementation of a passenger service to Fife, despite the infrastructure being ready to go and continued calls for the return of this transport corridor - axed in 1968. Aside from the obvious financial question, another stumbling block is the fact the proposed route utilises the freight single-track link through the now-demolished Longannet Power Station and not the old fast line to Dunfermline via Oakley - which is now a cycle path. The projected journey times are therefore significantly slower and add weight to the argument that buses would do a quicker (and cheaper) job. Except there isn't actually a direct bus service between Dunfermline and Stirling - two large towns just 20 miles apart. How's that for a lack of joined-up thinking? I found the flight of steps leading up to Back Walk and made an immediate short detour to the summit of Gowan Hill. This offered fantastic views of the meandering Forth below and across to the Wallace Monuments with the Ochils beyond. Two canons are positioned on Gowan Hill overlooking the town but they are purely for ornamental purposes and have never fired a shot in anger. Of more interest was the Beheading Stone, contained within a domed cage on top of a cylindrical stone pillar. It was apparently used for many executions during the 15th Century including Murdoch, Duke of Albany and one time Regent of Scotland. He was the grandson of King Robert II, founder of the Stewart Dynasty. A wooden (chopping?) block would be placed on top and holes can be seen in the stone where this would have been secured. King James I was taking revenge for Albany's 18-year abuse of power while the King was held captive in England.
William Wallace's most famous victory over the English was at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. Today's historic crossing of the Forth near the town centre (officially known as Stirling Old Bridge) was constructed a couple of hundred years after old Captain Braveheart led the Scots against the forces of Edward I. The battle centred around a timber structure and this may have been replaced a couple of times before what we now know as the Old Bridge was solidly built in stone. It remains one of the best medieval masonry arch bridges in Scotland, although it was partially dismantled in 1745 to try and hinder the progress of the Jacobite Army under Bonnie Prince Charlie. The location of Stirling in the Forth Valley had long been something of a military choke point for advancing northwards. Much of the surrounding landscape was impassable marsh and invading troops were forced to run the gauntlet of funnelling through a relatively narrow strip of land, which of course gives a significant advantage to the defending side. In times of peace, Stirling Old Bridge functioned as a key route for the overland movement of goods. Very little escapes the eye of the Inland Revenue and tolls were charged on each crossing. George Harrison famously opened the Beatles White Album with "Taxman" - a stinging rebuke of the punitive system massively stacked in favour of the government. I'm sure the wandering minstrels of the 1500s also vented their spleen from time to time. By 1833, a new road bridge across the Forth was opened and the old one closed to wheeled traffic. I wonder if it actually solved the congestion problem or simply attracted an increased number of carts and carriages? It was time to hit the Back Walk and make my way around Castle Hill. Various wooden carvings of local wildlife were placed at regular intervals but the most curious art installation was a representation of Father John Damian - the Birdman of Stirling Castle. In 1507 he made a bold announcement, worthy of Icarus himself - a solo flight to France. A feathered suit was made to measure and Damian duly launched himself from the castle ramparts. Instead of reaching distant Gallic shores, he merely tumbled down Castle Hill, miraculously breaking only his thigh bone. Defiantly, he blamed the spectacularly short duration of the flight upon the inclusion of some chicken feathers in his "wings" and they lacked the necessary propulsion. He claimed chickens were creatures who "covet the middens and not the sky"
As I progressed around the base of the castle, lovely views appeared of the flat landscape spreading out to the west below the hill I stood upon. In geographical terms, this land is the upper flood plain of the River Forth and it's known popularly as the Carse of Stirling. The path then skirted the Old Town Cemeteries and I wandered inside. I scrambled up to the highest point for a superb view of the castle perched above. Snowdon Cemetery lay directly below the castle walls but it is a 20th-century addition and not generally considered part of the Old Town graveyards. I have visited the castle a couple of times over the years and the highlight for me is definitely the restored great hall with all the exposed interior wooden beams. The largest of its kind in Scotland, the hall was used for feasts, dances and pageants. The brainchild of James IV, the great hall was fully functional by 1503 but fell out of use after the castle ceased to be a seat of royalty. The hall was converted to barracks in the 1800s and it wasn't until the military moved out in 1965 that plans for a full restoration could be pursued. This project was finally completed in 1999 and the result is an outstanding historically accurate recreation of the original dining space. The castle remains the headquarters of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders but largely in a ceremonial sense these days. The regimental museum is part of the tourist experience. The main draw however is the castle's connections to the monarchy and several Scottish kings & queens were crowned here, most notably Mary Queen of Scots in 1543. She also grew up here, as did King James VI (and 1st of England) - a pivotal figure in British history. It's no wonder the fortress was often described as the keys to the Kingdom of Scotland, overlooking a territory where the Highlands and Lowlands come together. I went for a wander among the gravestones and found several monuments of interest. The Star Pyramid is dedicated to all those who suffered martyrdom in the cause of civil and religious liberty in Scotland. A massive sandstone block, the pyramid dominates this corner of the graveyard, standing on a stepped base upon a shaped grassy mound. Marble Bibles sit at the bottom of each face and there are carved references to biblical texts. Wrought iron railings enclose the memorial.
My favourite sight was the octagonal glass fronted Virgin Martyrs Monument, erected in 1859 to commemorate two young girls of Stirling. They were arrested in the 16th century for their beliefs, convicted of high treason and sentenced to death by drowning. The sisters - Margaret and Agnes, aged 18 and 13 respectively - were supporters of the Covenanters, an extreme Presbyterian group strongly opposed to the Anglican reforms of Charles II. Agnes escaped a watery grave after her father purchased her freedom. Margaret was offered her freedom at the last minute but refused to relinquish her convictions. She died for her faith in 1685. I walked past the Church of the Holy Rude to re-join Back Walk. I stopped to look at Cowane's Hospital - an almshouse built in 1637 within the historic town walls. It catered for elderly members of the Merchants Guild who had fallen upon hard times. The charitable foundation later adopted a policy of providing for senior citizens within their own homes and the building was repurposed as the Guildhall. In 1832 the building was pressed into service as an isolation hospital during a cholera epidemic during which one-third of Stirling's population perished. It is now run as a hospitality venue. The Back Walk path sloped down towards town, passing a chunk of old boundary wall. I made my way through the streets to the railway station and crossed the tracks on a footbridge. Picking up the River Forth Trail enabled me to wind back to Cambuskenneth. A most satisfying afternoon's exploring. As always, many new facts learned. Town, city, whatever. Stirling is a fascinating place.
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