Figs From Thistles: Scotland

We drove up the western coast of England to Scotland. We found that cities were few and far between on the drive north and were thankful to have found Penrith, a town where we had supper. Scotland in a word was...COLD (but also beautiful).

Rosslyn Chapel. No photographs were allowed inside, but it was fun looking for the Green Men and hearing of the legend behind its two famous columns. One column is said to have been carved by a master mason. The master is said to have traveled and left instructions that no one was to work on the second column in his absence; however, an apprentice had a divine vision and set out to finish the second column despite instructions to the contrary. Upon his return, the master mason was furious and struck the apprentice on the head with a hammer rendering him dead. The apprentice's pillar, as it is now known, is far more beautiful than that of the master. Our guide pointed out two carved heads at the rear of the church at the base of the roof line and said that the two figures are meant to represent the grieving mother of the apprentice and the master mason. The carving of the master mason is forced to look at the lovely apprentice's column so long as the church stands!

Kiddos climbing the hill to the Wallace Monument

We made it to the top!

Wallace Monument. My dad was happy to be on terra firma after climbing the stairs to the monument's top. From the top, one can see where the Battle of Stirling Bridge took place in 1297.

Little Man in awe of the size of William Wallace's sword. The monument featured several exhibits spread out over several floors which broke the climb into manageable segments for the kiddos. One exhibit featured a time line of Wallace's life and a mannequin with a talking, projected face of Wallace.

Stirling Castle. Bop, who very much enjoys reading about historical figures, became taken with Mary, Queen of Scots, during our trip. Many battles were fought here, and ownership of the castle changed hands many times over the course of its 1,000 year history. The kiddos were most taken with the onsite tapestry studio where they watched two weavers recreating 'The Hunt for the Unicorn." The castle was also the one site my dad explicitly requested to visit.