Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1890s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, has made it an important fortification in the region from the earliest times.
Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defenses fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century.
Before the union with England, Stirling Castle was also one of the most used of the many Scottish royal residences, very much a palace as well as a fortress. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542, and others were born or died there.
There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with the last being in 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie unsuccessfully tried to take the castle. Stirling Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is now a tourist attraction managed by Historic Environment Scotland.
I hope you enjoy these images. All were taken with my new Nikon D7500 with a Nikkor 18-300 lens.
Mark
Thanks so much Ron. I appreciate!
Great set. Thanks for the history lesson as well. Scotland is full of architectural treasures from the past.
Yet another great tour, Mark!
rhyde
Loc: Little Rock, AR
Was there twice in 2003. Thanks for the memories!
mr spock wrote:
Great set. Thanks for the history lesson as well. Scotland is full of architectural treasures from the past.
Thanks Mr Sprock. The history is fascinating - both the good and the bad and they tell it all!
Thanks so much Jim. I got a refurb from B&H for $599 and I couldn't resist since my 7200 was overexposing on occasion. Glad you liked the series. More to come.
UTMike wrote:
Yet another great tour, Mark!
Thanks for coming along Mike. Much more to come.
rhyde wrote:
Was there twice in 2003. Thanks for the memories!
Thanks for looking. Glad you liked them and that they brought back good memories.
Looking forward to more. Love the history too.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.