Holyroodhouse Palace
This morning we returned to the Royal Mile for some more shopping. The amount of wool and kilt shops is impressive. We almost bought some bagpipes but thought better of it. I can only imagine Gavin and Michael playing (or attempting to play) into the night while we were trying to sleep.
Another side note, and pardon me for my social commentary, is the number of young people here who smoke. I couldn’t believe it. Do people know smoking causes heart disease and cancer. Anyway I digress.
Our last stop in Edinburgh was Holyroodhouse Palace. We didn’t actually go inside, similar to us visiting Buckingham Palace, we just took a few pictures from outside. The Palace is impressive though, and has some interesting stories about how Mary Queen of Scott’s third husband was killed in front of her there. (Again try to avoid being Queen Mary).
As mentioned in my prior posts, it is the Royal residence of the Queen in Scotland. When in Scotland she does not always stay here though. The Queen and her family privately own Balmoral Castle which is also located in Scotland. The Queen inherited Balmoral when her father King George VI (he really went by Albert or Berti) purchased the estate from his brother King Edward VIII (is real name was David) when he abdicated from the Thrown in 1936.
William Wallace Monument
In 1297 BC Wallace, a Scottish landholder, inspired his kinsmen to oppose King Edward I at Stirling. Stirling is a strategic city in Scotland in that it is the only viable land route to the Highlands. 5,000 Scots against over 9,000 English. The English’s main advantage was its calvary. Wallace’s troop had about 300 calvary men, the English under Earl Hugh Cressingham had about 2,000. During the battle Wallace engaged in a frontal attack to lure the English into a boggy embankment which was naturally trapped by a river on both sides. Once the English calvary was weighed down in the bog, Wallace’s remaining troops surrounded Cressingham and began to slaughter the English. In the end the English lost over 5,000 men, over half of its force.
While we are now more familiar with the story of William Wallace as fictionalized in the movie Braveheart, most Scots where unaware of his deeds for several hundreds of years. Unlike the movie, Wallace did not get captured on the battle field but lived in hiding in France before the Scottish landlords conspired against him and gave him to the English upon his arrival back in Scotland. He certainly did not ever meet the princess. The scene about his death is true. He was hanged, drawn and quartered — strangled by hanging, but released while he was still alive, emasculated, eviscerated and his bowels burned before him, beheaded, then cut into four parts. His preserved head (dipped in tar) was placed on a pike atop London Bridge.
I also discovered two Scottish Brothers also suffered the same fate after being captured on the battle field. Their names were Simon and John Fraser. Simon Fraser was the Lord of Lovat. He wasn’t the only Simon Fraser killed at the tower of London. Simon “the Fox” Fraser, his successor and linage, the 11th Lord of Lovat was also beheaded there in 1747. I paid close attention to this as, I am a direct descendant of Lord Lovat (his daughter married Nathaniel Montgomery, my great, great, great, great, great, grandfather). That’s a lot of greats. Just a little Scottish and family history.
Several hundreds of years after the Battle at Stirling several poets such as Blind Harry, Sir. Walter Scott, and Jane Porter. The Monument was completed in 1869 after money was raised by Scottish citizens who began to honor Wallace as a champion of their rights.
The Memorial is 246 steps high (it was a bit of a hike up to the top), and is located at the top of Abbey Craig, the hilltop which Wallace overlooked the gathering of the English armies.
Castlecroft B&B
We stayed at the Castlecroft B&B in Stirling. Only a short walk away from Stirling Castle and downtown Stirling. The Inn is actually right below the castle. 
It was a great place to stay. 
Glasgow & Fleetwood Mac
Where I found Edinburgh to be a very ancient city, I thought Glasgow had a nice blend of modern and ancient. To me the city had more of a feel like London, where you would have a modern sky scraper, but next two it is a 500 year old church. I really liked Glasgow.
Most of our time in Glasgow was to attend the Fleetwood Mac concert. Glasgow is know for its music scene. The concert was held at the SSE Hydro, an arena similar to Energy Solutions Arena where the Utah Jazz play. The place was packed. Tiff is more familiar with Fleetwood Mac than I am. I recognized about 5 of their songs.
I had heard Stevie Nicks before, but I was pretty unfamiliar with the rest of the band. I was really impressed with Lindsey Buckingham, the guy can rock the guitar, and the songwriting ability of Christine McVie. My problem with the concert was my newness to the music and the band’s unwillingness to play some of their more popular numbers. Elton John was coming two nights later, I would have much rather seen him.
Christiansen Travel 