It was still raining Sunday morning, and our decision was final - we would leave Oban heading to the East coast. It's not a long drive from Oban to Stirling, just about three to four hours, but when we reached Stirling around noon...

...at least the rain was gone! We decided to climb up to Stirling Castle, a castle with a long history. The castle was a strategic military key to the English, and seven major battles were fought here between England and Scotland from 1297 to 1766.

The city of Stirling is often called "The Heart of Scotland", because it marks the entry point towards the Scottish Highlands. It also has some of the most important battlefields of Scotland's past. The photo shows the view from the castle towards the Wallace Monument, the tower on the hill, built in 1869 to remember Scot Lord William Wallace. He defeated in 1297 the English in the Battle of Stirling Bridge and freed Stirling Castle which was occupied by King Eduard I. The monument can be visited, and on sunny days the view must be fantastic.

This is the Ancient Historic Cemetery in Stirling. It is situated next to the castle. In the back you see the West Tower of the Church of the Holy Rude.

The Tolbooth was the administrative heart of the Old Town of Stirling. Its tower is one of the few surviving examples of Dutch architecture in Scotland. Today, the building is used as music, arts and conference venue.

This is the apse of the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling's principal church for more than 500 years. It has beautiful stained glass windows (see next two photos for details) and one of Scotland's rare surviving medieval open timber roofs, carved from solid oak, held together entirely by oak pegs. It was built in the 15th century. If you want to get married here (which certainly is an excellent idea), please contact the wedding coordinator, Mrs. Myra Gibson, Telephone +44 (0)1786 465602.

This is one of the beautiful stained glass windows at the Holy Rude Church in Stirling.

A detailed photo of one of the beautiful stained glass windows at Holy Rude.

Next we stopped at Culross, west of Dumfermline. This small village has been conserved in its historic state and presents itself to the visitors in a very good shape! This is the mayor's office.