We continued on towards the west,  to Stirling Castle,  pivotal to Scottish independence and history since the early 12th century!  It has been conquered and fought over between the English and the Scottish for centuries.  It was taken by William Wallace in the late 13th century,  recaptured by Edward I of England,  then taken again by the Scots and Robert the Bruce in 1314.   A couple hundred years later, it becomes the home of the baby queen,  Mary Queen of Scots.   Several King James 4,5,6 all ruled there.  So much History!  We had a great guide giving us the timeliness, and then we could visit the inside of the buildings.  

Our guide was very knowledgeable!  He did a great job telling the history

They recently unearthed part of the old kitchen and have some displays to demonstrate feeding hundreds each day! 

The Gardens are beautiful