We started our day today with a Sunday morning service at St. Gile’s Cathedral, afterwards leaving Edinburgh and making our way through the countryside towards Stirling. Here we saw Stirling Castle near which Wallace and his troops defeated the English at the battle of Stirling Bridge. We then ventured across the valley to the Wallace monument which housed Wallace’s actual sword. His sword was about my height standing on end and weighs something like fifty pounds. To be able to wield a sword of this size for any period of time, he must have been a giant of a man. We also visited the Church of the Holy Rude next to Stirling Castle where, at the age of thirteen months, King James I was crowned King. Leaving Stirling, we went on to St. Andrews where we visited the death place of two Reformation martyrs, George Wishart and Patrick Hamilton.
Tower of the Church of the Holy Rude
The ancient graveyards behind the church
Stirling Castle
A fascinating arms demonstration
The William Wallace Monument
Sporting native garb atop the Wallace Monument
Cathedral across from the castle wherein Wishart was imprisoned and sentenced to death
The spot where reformation hero Patrick Hamilton was burnt at the stake
