A Wander in Stirling

The River Forth through Stirling
The River Forth by Stirling

After leaving Dundee, my next stop on this Scottish adventure is Stirling. I arrived a little before lunchtime, so, after dropping my luggage at my hotel, finding a nice-looking cafe and partaking in a repast was the next order of the day. After that, it was time for a little exploring.

I’m saving the principal attraction in Stirling for tomorrow morning. My guidebook recommended buying a ticket online a day or two in advance for that, as it can sell out. I bought one while on the train this morning. I don’t think that was necessary at this time of year because, despite tomorrow being Saturday, each time slot showed at least a couple hundred tickets available. But, as the ubiquitous they say so often as to be tedious, better safe than sorry.

Today, I mostly did a walkabout and took in a couple of sights.

Before I get into that, I feel compelled to issue a warning so you can brace yourself. In the photos below, I included something that appears in few, if any of the pictures from this trip so far: blue skies. Prepare to be bedazzled.

What’s more, although it’s difficult to discern from the pictures, it warmed up today. Up until now, despite still being summer, I needed long-sleeved shirts and a light jacket to feel cozy. And sometimes, an additional light layer likely would have been a bit more comfortable. In contrast, I walked around in a short-sleeved shirt and bare forearms today, pleased that I have a right to bare* arms. Except when I managed to be in the shade as a breeze picked up, I was quite warm, sometimes even uncomfortably so.

(* My spell checker is thoroughly convinced that the word I want above is “bear,” not “bare.” No, no, no, dear spell checker, why the heck would I want that right? Are you insane?)

Stirling Old Bridge

Stirling Old Bridge
Stirling Old Bridge

After lunch, I headed out to view the Stirling Old Bridge. I didn’t time it, but Google tells me it’s about an 18-minute walk away from my hotel.

The Stirling Old Bridge is an old bridge in Stirling. You probably didn’t need me to tell you that. If I’m boring you, feel free to leave.

The exquisitely scenic Stirling Old Bridge, a pedestrian and cyclist bridge, crosses the River Forth. On one side of the bridge, on either side of the river, small parks afford a spectacular view of the bridge.

Oh, the River Forth? That’s the same River Forth that widens out into the First of Forth estuary by Edinburgh. So, I could have jumped into the river and swum downstream to Edinburgh. If I did, I’m certain that it wouldn’t take long at all before I’d be physically restrained in a mental health institution, confined there after being deemed a danger to myself because what kind of fool does that?

River Forth as viewed from on the Stirling Old Bridge
River Forth as viewed from on the bridge

But never mind that.

The River Forth meanders as it passes by Stirling. Although, “meanders” is a gross exaggeration. It follows the path of a thoroughly disoriented, disorderly drunkard trudging through an open field. It reminds me of the Brisbane River. (Truth be told, it reminded me only that I once wrote somewhere in this journal that another river followed a path that looked like it was designed by a drunkard. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember which river it was and in which city it was. I had to use the search facility of this journal to find the entry where I used “drunk” and “river” in the same post.)

At the top of this post, I included a map of the River Forth as it passes by Stirling. (I placed it up there instead of putting a picture there because I needed to warn you about the blue skies before I dazed you with them.) Take a look at the map and tell me I’m wrong about the course of the river. No, I mean tell me with a straight face, wisecracker. You can’t, can you?

Walking Along the River Forth in Stirling

Walking along the River Forth
Walking along the River Forth

After leaving the Stirling Old Bridge, I walked along a path beside the serpentine River Forth. It’s a peaceful river, with mirror-flat water and beautiful scenery beyond the opposite bank from central Stirling. I didn’t follow the river all of the way along its banks to its point closest to the central part of town. At a point where the river loops, the path ends at the base of the loop and a road provides a shortcut to the other side of the loop. Like I said, drunken river.

There is a low fence along the path between it and the river. On the other side of the fence, on the bank of the river, vegetation often reduces or fully blocks the view of the River Forth. But that too is attractive.

Central Stirling is a piece back from the river. I’m guessing about a ten-minute walk at its closest point. When I got near central Stirling, I left the riverside, and headed into town and my hotel. I hadn’t checked in because my room wasn’t ready when I arrived. I did that and then headed out again and went to the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum.

Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum

Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum

The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum is a small facility. It contains three one-room galleries. There’s also a café, but it was closed when I was there. (There’s a universal law which requires that all tourist attractions must either shut completely or close some portion of the facility when I’m there. Some attractions disobey that law, but not many. I hope facilities caught remaining entirely open aren’t punished too severely.)

The first gallery houses a few embroideries. The next is a small art gallery. I didn’t do an inventory, but I’d guess about half of the paintings in that gallery are by Thomas Stuart Smith, a Scottish artist and philanthropist who lived from 1815 to 1869.

The museum was established from a bequest by Thomas Stuart Smith on land supplied by the Burgh of Stirling.

The final gallery in the museum provides a history of Stirling from the Stone Age to the 20th Century. It’s not a huge room. So there’s not a lot of detail for each era. The gallery focuses primarily on the last few centuries.

And embroidery at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
And embroidery at the art gallery

There is a Stone Age artifact and a couple of Bronze Age artifacts, but most of the museum’s artifacts are much more recent. Considering how small it is, the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum has a sizeable collection of pewter.

Serendipitously, I’ve been to several small, sometimes quirky, specialty museums on this trip and especially on my previous journey, to Norway. I find I generally quite enjoy them. That probably has a lot to do with them being small and quirky, particularly the small part.

he old town stocks from the 16th century (and other artifacts)
The old town stocks from the 16th century (and other artifacts)

Wandering in Stirling

Pedestrianized shopping street
Pedestrianized shopping street

After leaving the museum, I walked to and through central Stirling. It’s not big, but it’s quite pleasant, warm and friendly, with shops and restaurants occupying the ground floor of lowrise buildings. One of the shopping streets is fully pedestrianized for a couple of blocks

So far, I enjoy this town very much.

The hotel I’m in is not part of a chain. As a reward for booking directly with the hotel, they gave me a free bottle of wine for my room. I’ve already had a large glass of it. That might have something to do with why I enjoy Stirling, but I think that explains only a bit of my sentiment.

As I mentioned above, I’ll visit the star attraction of Stirling tomorrow morning. I’m eager to see if it lives up to my guidebooks’ very positive reviews.

Street extending out from the pedestrianized shopping street
A street extending out from the pedestrianized shopping street

Discover more from Joel's Journeys & Jaunts

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

4 Comments

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.