Stirling Castle (3)
So for those not familiar with the geography of Scotland, it is best described in three parts.  The southern section, bordering England - and consequently known as the The Borders, is largely hill country.  In medieval times (and for a while thereafter), this wild upland country acted as something of a barrier to armies invading from the south and while it couldn't stop them, it gave the Scots time to muster a reception.  

Across the middle of the country lies the 'central belt', the seat of government throughout most of Scotland's history and the centre of most of its population.  The narrow waist of the country is formed by two great estuaries, the Firth of Clyde in the west, and the Firth of Forth in the east.  This view looks out eastwards across the carse (the flat land surrounding an estuary) of the Forth, where the morning fog is still dissipating.

The last part of the country of course, is the Highlands - much of it mountain wilderness to this day.  The boundary between the Central Belt and the Highlands is formed by the Highland Boundary Fault, delineated in this photograph by the sharp southern face of the Ochil Hills on the left.

As I described under the Cardross House photographs, the barrier formed by the Firths of Clyde and Forth, before the days of large steel and concrete bridges, was made strategically more difficult to negotiate by the Campsie Fells, the Gargunnock and Touch Hills, the Flanders Moss - and the great fortress topped rock of Stirling.  For centuries, Stirling Castle was the most strategically important place in Scotland.
carseofforth firthofforth grangemouth stirling stirlingcastle gowanhill wallacemonument kingsknot queensknot dji090912 scotland fortress ochilhills highlandboundaryfault centralbelt