Stirling Castle (28 of 28)
So there you go - a brief and somewhat disjointed description and history of Stirling Castle.  

Stirling isn't my favourite city in the World, but the old parts are nice enough and there are, quite apart from the castle, some very interesting places to see and visit.  

Like most old cities, the 'old town' only extended over a small fraction of the area that it covers now.  The mediaeval town stood entirely on the hill the castle crowns.  Its small extent means that the good bits that survive are contained within quite a small area - which is handy.  

While the stone buildings that line St. John Street and Broad Street leading up to the castle are mostly Victorian or later, Mar's Wark and Argyle's Lodging are relics of the time when nobles that wished to influence national affairs (and their own of course!), had to ensure they had their own accommodation close to the royal court.  

I haven't been into the Church of the Holy Rude, but it has been there a long time - King James VI was crowned there, and Cowane's Hospital beside it, is an impressive 17th century almshouse.  There are many other such treasures to find in Stirling!
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