Travelling South

 Friday September 22^nd

A travelling day. Very glad that we had decided to take the scenic route south from Banff, even though it was going to add an extra hour to the drive. Scenery was very picturesque and diverse. We passed through farm land where hay had been bailed and was being loaded onto huge trailers towed by tractors, dense forest where car lights were needed because of the gloom created by the overhead foliage, hills with patches of pink heather, rocky mountains with grassy slopes where skiing was the obvious winter sport, conifer forests, and glens with green grasses and rushing streams. We saw many cute villages, grand estates with long tree lined drives leading to Downton Abbey type mansions, several castles and not too many other travellers.

Late in the afternoon we stopped at Cupar for a cuppa where a lovely lady in a Christian bookshop/café told us how to get to Kettle Hills where we were heading following a Murray connection – David and his young wife Jane lived there for at least two years after they were married - Jane had lived there most of her life. We easily found the place and also found two adjoining  cottages of the right age and just down the road was evidence of an old quarry. In the 1851 Census David, Jane and a son had been living next to Jane's mother and her sisters and David was shown as a quarryman. I had a copy of an 1870's map in which the streets matched the current streets, although now there are more houses and one more side road. We might not have found the right cottages but we were certainly in the place where they lived. We also found the church where they were probably married in nearby Kettle. David, Jane and two children migrated to Geelong in 1854 and we don't know how they managed to do that - we think we are on an adventure!

Our adventure continued as we headed for Stirling' our destination for the night. With 10 miles to go a 'road closed' sign blocked our path. Diverted down a side road we finally reached a major road which eventually joined a freeway and finally we reached Stirling half an hour later and quite disorientated - not quite grumpy, but very tired. Finally put the GPS on and wound our way up  to the Youth Hostel, right up next to the castle, where we made our own tea at 9.00 pm! A very good day but with a somewhat unsettled ending. Lesson learned - trust Tammy the Tom Tom, and switch her on at the start of the journey.

Saturday 23rd September

We didn't use the car today! Morning bright and sunny but it didn't last long. Cold, windy and overcast for most of the day. Lot's of interesting history today. A modern 3D interaction experience which explained how Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland, was victor over the English at Bannockburn. The Rude Church of Scotland, second oldest building in Stirling - famous for the coronation of James VI, where John Knox was the preacher - a very large church with beautiful glass windows. Stirling Castle and Palace took up most of the afternoon - history, history, history! We walked part of the wall, saw Queen Anne's Garden, the kitchens, the Royal Chapel, the rooms of the Palace - three for the king and three for the Queen, the Grand Hall, and many other minor buildings. The evening finished with a very nice Indian dinner.

Robert the Bruce - Bannockburn

Stirling Castle