The views from the base of the tower are panoramic (from this angle one can see Stirling Castle in the distance).
A statue of Sir William Wallace on a corner of the tower
When Satoshi descended from the tower, we waited
for awhile for the shuttle bus. Hearing that its driver was
having his lunch, we decided to make our own way back down. By
then, it was lunch time.
A very nice lunch at the Wallace Monument
Cambuskenneth Abbey
is an Augustinian monastery located on an area of land enclosed
by a meander of the River Forth only a few minutes' drive from
Stirling. The abbey today is largely reduced to its foundations,
however its bell tower remains. We enjoyed our own "meander"
around the site. As you can see, we enjoyed yet more
maginificent weather!
All that remains of the church is the west door.
This is the entrance to the bell tower, the ground floor of which is the only floor open to the public.
Inside the bell tower, looking up
Looking from the west door towards the east end
The Cloister
This tomb is located on the site of the High Altar. It contains the remains of King James III who was killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn. His wife, Margaret of Denmark, was also buried here. In 1865, Victorian excavators found two coffins under a stone slab that they believed contained the remains of the royal couple. One of the excavators, Colonel Sir James Alexander, noted 'Inside the coffin was a skeleton, doubtless of King James III. On being exposed to the air most of the bones crumbled to dust.' Queen Victoria paid for the new tomb.
This is the only other section of the abbey which remains. It is part of the Abbott's House.
A view of the Wallace monument from the abbey
The Foundations of the Chapter House.
Next, we made our way to the small town of
Bridge of Allan where we had hoped to visit the Parish Church
(Church of Scotland). Sadly, it was not open so we tried St Saviour's Episcopal Church which
was across the road.
This lovely Rhododendron was in someone's garden, just where we parked the car.
St Saviour's Episcopal Church, Bridge of Allan
The view from the west end
The Lectern
The choir stalls
The view from the east end
We made our way back to Stirling where we wanted
to visit Holy Rude Church. Cowane's Hospital
is just across the road so we called in there first. Originally
an almshouse, it was later converted to a guildhall. It is in
the process of being made into a restaurant.
John Cowane (1570–1633) left money in his will for the founding of the hopsital
The four photos above show the interior of the building.
Across the road from the hospital is Holy Rude Church.
This large and impressive building dates back to the 15th
century with the tower and chancel being added in the 16th
century. It is the second-oldest building in Stirling (after the
castle).
The view looking east
The lovely oak roof is original.
This window commemorates the part played by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in WW1, of whom 6900 died. It depicts a young Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders soldier standing in the cemetery at Beaumont Hamel surrounded by gravestones carrying the names of WW1 battles. It was installed in 2016.
A detail of the above window
The "Old Dispensation and the New" window
The figures in the lower section are Moses, Elijah, King David and Isaiah who are matched with...
...Christ, John the Baptist, St Paul and St John the Evangelist in the higher section.
The above six photos are details of the window above.
"Christ entertained in the house of Zaccheus the Publican"
This plaque in the chancel shows the place where James VI (of Scotland), (later to become James I of England who is famous for the King James version of the Bible) was crowned. Her late majesty Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the plaque in May, 1997.
This section of a window depicts Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane while the disciples sleep.
The quire
The Chapel of St Andrew
Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding in Cana
This bell dates from 1310-1340.
The present Stirling Old Bridge was built in the 1400s or 1500s, replacing a succession of timber bridges. Undoubtedly the best-known of these was one that stood nearby in the 1290s, when Sir William Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray defeated Edward I’s forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.
This last photo for today is the view from the window of our accommodation at 10:00pm at night.