Stirling is an admirable location for daytrips. It’s about 30 miles from Perth and Glasgow and even closer to the National Park at Loch Lomond. We chose to set out on a little loop that would feature some interesting historical sites, a bit of Scottish life and some beautiful scenery.
Dunblane is only about 4 miles away and the town features a magnificent early 14th century cathedral. You will see a building that I considered truly wonderful and in a fine state of repair. It has had its ups-and-downs through the years; for example, the nave had no roof for 300 years although the chancel continued to be used for services. Nevertheless, the stonework is largely original and the 129 foot-long nave now features a handsome barrel-vaulted ceiling with armorial bosses. In fact, the Victorians did a lot of renovation during the 1890’s, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
As cathedrals go, it is interesting in that it has no transepts. Apparently the footings were placed for them, but the initial construction ended during a period of plague, so the transepts may simply have been put on hold (forever). In the choir, you will see 19th century stalls and a new organ with a majestic case. The effect is excellent. There is a poignant touch in the brasses in the floor of the chancel. They mark the resting place of Margaret, Euphemia and Sybilla, the daughters of John 1st, Lord Drummond. The three were poisoned by members of the nobility to prevent the marriage of Margaret to James IV. The nobles wanted their king to marry Princess Margaret of England. The setting in which they rest is beautiful… in the apse there is one large Gothic window, gifted to the cathedral in 1915 and along one wall of the chancel there are 6 more relatively new stained glass windows. The grave site of the three sisters is not the most touching point in the building. In the nave, a simple engraved stone commemorates the deaths of 16 Dunblane five and six-year-old schoolchildren and their teacher at the hands of a gunman in 1996. It is hard to believe that such a horrible thing could have happened in such a peaceful town.
Down the road, in Doune, you will find Doune Castle, which was built around the same time as the cathedral. Built by Robert Stewart, Lord Albany (the second son of Robert II), it has none of the beauty and little of the interest of the building just visited. A Historic Scotland property (admission, 2005 was 3.50 pounds), it is a shell with some of the rooms intact and bare. You can see the great hall, the kitchen and some private rooms, but only the inner hall, with its late medieval style paneling and two fireplaces is recognizable as a room that would still have some use today.
More interesting than the castle is the Scottish Antiques and Arts Centre, just on the other side of Doune. I quite enjoyed our exploration in the two halls in which a great number of dealers have set up displays of their wares. There is furniture, coins, china, militaria, crystal and commemorative items (the full gamut). There is also a restaurant on the property. A little further down the road is the town of Callendar, the doorway to the Trossachs and Loch Lomond Park. We passed by the Rob Roy exhibit at the information centre in the middle of the town, opting to visit instead one of the two woolen shops on the edge of the town, The Trossachs Mill Store. Unfortunately, their weaving exhibition was closed and apart from a shop that carried most of the same items that one sees in such stores all over this part of Scotland, the only interesting sight was that of Hamish, the Highland bull, weighing in at over one ton with a horn spread of over 36 inches. Hamish is accustomed to visitors and doesn’t mind having his picture taken.
From Callendar to Aberfoyle, the road runs through the park. The scenery is just incredible with lochs and mountains. At Aberfoyle, it seems that everyone visits the Scottish Wool Centre. Part of it is the same shirts, sweaters and jackets that you’ve seen everywhere else at the same prices, but it does have its attractions. The gift shop also includes a selection of whiskeys, Scottish beers and foods as well. There is also a large cafeteria, but most of all, it’s about the Border Collie. On Fridays, you can watch border collie trials and during the rest of the week there is a half-hour show in the theatre featuring a number of the dogs. The routine is both fun and funny and children and adults alike will enjoy it… a chance to get up close and friendly with a number of the working dogs. The cost of the show is 2.50 pounds; we thought it was worth it.
This trip took us between five and six hours, and if we’d stopped at the Rob Roy centre in Callendar, it would have put us closer to seven, but as my wife said, "You don’t get a sense of what Scotland is really like in the cities. This was a really good day."