2nd Saturday - A Stirling morning, all our way to Burntisland

Stirling Castle, looking across to Wallace Monument

The weather was a bit gloomy this morning, misty and atmospheric although still dry and fairly mild; great conditions for our visit to Stirling Castle. The castle is sited at a strategic location between the Firths of Clyde and Forth – a relatively narrow landmass which people needed to traverse to move between southern and northern Scotland – and up high on a rocky hill with views for miles. (Though as Levi pointed out, it can’t have been all that great a position given that it changed hands 8 times in 50 years at one point!)

There were lots of people visiting the castle, but they seemed to all spread out so we didn’t feel cramped. One of the things that struck me here is that a castle isn’t a single building, but really a whole village within the castle walls. Stirling Castle has really informative and interesting displays of the history of the Scottish monarchy (history that we just don’t learn, growing up here in NZ). One really interesting part was that some years ago they found 9 skeletons buried within the castle walls, suggesting that they may have died during a period when the castle was under siege and the usual burial grounds couldn’t be reached. They’ve done forensic analysis on these skeletons, and pieced together stories about two of the people. The male was built “like a professional rugby player” based on his huge shoulder blades; he had a 2-inch forehead wound in his skull (though it had healed so it wouldn’t have been what killed him – that was likely the arrow-head found in his chest); and it’s thought he was a knight, due to his bowed legs! In a couple of rooms in the castle there were actors dressed in period costume and talking in character to visitors about royal life in the castle.

Leaving the Castle, we decided we didn’t have time to climb the Wallace Monument, also in Stirling – a real shame, I was looking forward to its 296 steps and views out through the mist…not!

View from roof of Alloa Tower

We left Stirling for Alloa, just 15 minutes or so down the road, and headed for Alloa Tower. Built in 1497, the tower was home of the Erskines, the family of the Earl of Mar. I was interested in going here because the superintendent of the Earl’s collieries was Alexander Bald, father to Robert Bald (the engineer who proposed our William for the Royal Society of Edinburgh) and his brother Alexander (poet and timber merchant). There’s no proof of any family relationship between Robert and William, but based on the proximity of their home-towns, their professional linkages, and the un-commonness of the surname, we think they were likely cousins.

I’m not sure of the original internal layout of the rooms in Alloa Tower, but now each floor is just one large room, all connected by a very narrow, very steep spiral staircase – how on earth a family could have lived there with children I don’t know! The spiral staircase goes all the way up and out on to the roof... I didn’t last long up there, it was very a long way down! Levi wasn’t very keen on it either - especially with the signs saying “don’t lean on barriers, they may not support your weight”.

1825 map in Alloa Tower, showing Bald properties

On the second floor there was a staff member on full-time duty, as the walls on this level of the tower are covered with old and valuable family portraits. There are also other information resources here, so we spent some time looking through various local history books for references to the Bald family, and found several. The coolest thing though, was the woman on the entry/ticket desk knowing of the Bald family – her husband used to work for the (now defunct) Carsebridge Distillery, originally run by John Bald – and telling us where to find Robert Bald’s house. And then on the wall we found an old map, from 1825… which shows Ro. Bald Esqr’s property, as well as Mr [Alexander] Bald’s wood yard on the edge of the forth. The timber yard is long gone, and the site is now just a carpark and little commemorative path inscribed with key points in the history of the town, but Robert’s house is still standing and apparently occupied. From the picture the receptionist at Alloa Tower gave me, Robert’s house is grander at the back than it is at the front, but it was still obviously a pretty substantial residence. At the house I had a similar feeling to how I’d felt at Anne’s grave, knowing that it was very likely that William would have visited there at times.

Alexander Bald's house, 14 Bedford Pl, Alloa (Lylestone House)

One funny thing at Alloa Tower: I couldn’t use Irish currency for the entry ticket; notes from the Bank of Ireland and Bank of Ulster seem to be accepted in shops, but the National Trust of Scotland wouldn’t take them. (I’ve had GBP currency from Banks of Ireland, Ulster, Scotland and England on this trip, all different sizes and colours. And now it’s apparent that all aren’t quite equally valued! And the coins!!... They still use 1p and 2p and 5p coins; purse has been full of damn shrapnel the whole time, grr!)

Driving through Culross

On the way from Alloa to Burntisland I’d intended to stop in at Culross (Coo-riss), a village run by the National Trust of Scotland which is the most complete example in Scotland of a 17-18^th century village, but we had pretty much run out of time. We drove through it nonetheless and got a tiny taste of what it’s like – and I’d definitely like to go back for a visit. We turned off the main Alloa road down a wee country lane (after missing it the first time – another U-turn of many, many on this trip!), then came to the top of a series of narrow, steep village lanes, all cobbled (nasty! Very romantic for sure, but hard on the suspension!), and with houses sitting right up to the street on both sides. I felt like I shouldn’t have been driving there, like I was driving through a film set or through the middle of a tourist attraction, but other cars were parked along the streets so it seems we were on bona fide public roads.

View from the Beach House across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh

Not too much of a drive further on and we arrived at the Beach House B&B in the old Burntisland tearooms, right on the shore of the Firth of Forth. There are stunning views out across the estuary to Black Rock (which you can walk out to when the tide is out), and over to Edinburgh directly on the other side of the forth. Can’t wait to have a look around Burntisland tomorrow!