Stirling - Falkirk
God am I in pain today... My kneecap didn't seem to like our little trip to the mountain since I can't walk up or down stairs. Everything seems to be aching. I thought I was fit, well my condition is perfect that wasn't the problem, the shoes were and therefore I have muscle ache, my own stupidity. Next time when I've forgotten about this munro and all the suffering I will make sure that I have the right shoes on me and a proper stick for support!
We got up quite late this morning and went downstairs to have breakfast. I had scrambled eggs, two sausages and a tomato this time. After breakfast we went to Stirling to visit Stirling Castle, one of the most impressive castles in the area. There was a guided tour that we did, the guide was very funny and reminded me of John Cleese: his sense of humor and acting. After the short tour A. and I went on our own to explore the castle and everything around it.
Our ticket included admission to Argyll's Lodging which is located just below the foot of the Castle Esplanade. This was the town residence of the Earl of Argyll. So we went there as well. We called I. to see where they were because when we went to the Argyll's Lodging we passed by the cars and didn't see anyone. A. went back to the car while I waited for C. to come my way since the cemetery was opposite Argyll's Lodging and I wanted to visit it.
C. and I went in and had a look around, the place was beautiful! Next to it was a very nice church. The oldest grave I found was one dated 1698. We think they might have been executions because there were no names on the graves just a grave stone with a skull, crossed bones and a date engraved. [See pictures below]. Very interesting though and I will have to look it up to see if our thoughts about this are correct. There was another monument or grave for these two sisters who were drowned by the people of the city just because they didn't want to accept some religion. You will have to check the pictures again because I can't really remember but it's mentioned on the grave... Very interesting to read! Next to the cemetery were the remains of this building called Mar's Wark, which was built in 1570 as a town residence for the Earl of Mar.
Mar's Wark
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The Statues Statues of heroes of the Scottish Presbyterian Reformation, set up when the Valley Cemetery was opened, were part of the educational and 'improving' atmosphere of Victorian Stirling: there were even cemetery guides. These enclosed figures represent the traditional story of Margaret Wilson who, aged 18, was executed by drowning in the Solway Firth for refusing to renounce her Protestant faith. She had no connection with Stirling. The monument avoids the horror of her death and presents a more sentimental Victorian idealisation of women.
M.O.A.
Margaret,
virgin martyr of the ocean wave,
with her like-minded sister
Agnes.
'Love, many waters cannot quench' - God saves
His chaste impearled One! in Covenant true.
'O Scotia's Daughters! earnest scan the Page'
And prize this Flower of Grace blood-bought for you.
Psalms IX. XIX.
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Something about headstones:
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Skulls, cross-bones and hourglasses reminded people that this mortal life was short. The figure of Death was often portrayed on gravestones, sometimes as a skeleton wielding a dart or arrow and attacking an individual, symbolizing sudden death, or as the reaper with his scythe, representing the harvesting of souls. Around him are traditional emblems of death and mortality, the gravedigger's spades, the 'deid bell' which tolled for funerals, and an hourglass for to symbolize human mortality. Some of the headstones have symbols which depict the occupation of the person, for example, a hammer and saw may tell us that whoever was buried here was a carpenter by trade.
In addition, ordinary people would often add symbols to show what they did for a living. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, craftsmen often belonged to bodies known as Trades Incorporations, powerful organisations that represented and controlled the interests of their members in the towns and cities of Scotland. People were proud to be members of these organisations, and would use their emblems on family gravestones. Often these emblems were used the everyday tools of their trade, a blacksmith's hammer and anvil, a loaf of bread for a baker or the mill-wheel to represent a miller.
Large towns and cities like Edinburgh or Aberdeen would have had several different Incorporations, such as the Hammermen, the Glovers, and the Weavers. Some of the tools found carved on gravestones are no longer used today, but examples can be found in museums across Scotland.
Graveyards can be attractive yet unsettling places. They are often quiet enclaves in a town, havens for wildlife in the countryside, and romantic monuments in decay; but also places which evoke fears of our inevitable fate, and which remind us of sad losses from our past. Yet burial grounds have long been public places as well, where an individual's identity and place in the world is proclaimed. As such they can offer fascinating insights into changing attitudes to death, burial and remembrance over recent centuries.
Gravestones can provide information about family relationships, occupation, cause of death and place of residence. The type of information can differ regionally. In West Wales, for example, mariners were often identified by their ship, other people by their place of residence. In parts of Scotland, trades were recorded by symbols such as ploughs or types of tool. The text of early tombs usually emphasised mortality - beginning with the phrase 'Here lies the body' - and often warned readers of their own impending fate. During the 18th and 19th centuries the emphasis shifted to remembrance. Epitaphs dwelled not on the fate of the soul but on the achievements of the deceased, or their eventual salvation. This century, 'In memory' has been overtaken by 'In loving memory', while the theme of peace and sleeping has become increasingly common.
Many 17th or 18th century headstones had simple architectural mouldings or were of a 'bedstead' form imitating vernacular furniture. Lettering was sometimes crude, but even where beautifully carved was not symmetrically arranged, and may have had words running from one line to the next. Decoration in this period consisted mainly of symbols of mortality and salvation, often together on the same stone or at opposite ends of the grave. Mortality symbols include skulls, bones, coffins, sexton's tools, the Grim Reaper with his scythe, the hourglass, or even Death himself as a skeleton holding a dart. Salvation is usually represented by cherubs, perhaps holding books or scrolls with inscribed Biblical verses, trumpets indicating the Last Judgement, or a crown of glory amidst the clouds.
The material used for the memorial can affect its style of carving. Limestone may be deeply carved and have almost three-dimensional qualities, whereas slate will usually be incised, though often with elegant lettering and designs. Sandstones are amongst the worst for weathering. During the 18th and 19th centuries new fashions became popular for headstones, largely inspired by architectural revivalism. Thus the pedimented, triangular-topped headstones were derived from the neo-classical, the round-topped from the Romanesque, and the archetypical pointed headstone from the Gothic revival. Egyptian influences led to the popularity of the obelisk, and the Celtic revival gave rise to the ringed cross.
The choice could have theological implications, with High Anglicans often - but not exclusively - favouring the neo-Gothic, the Low Church the neo-classical. Celtic revival stones are common in Ireland. The battle of styles may have been more obviously fought out in municipal cemeteries where different denominations jostled for space.
The headstone became the dominant form of memorial, but in many cases it was only part of a suite of elements, most of which have not survived. Many headstones were complemented by a footstone, perhaps bearing just the deceased's initials. On more elaborate memorials, these would be joined together by a flat slab, which could take many forms from straight rectangular shapes to coffins or shrouds. Many 19th century burials were also marked off by kerbstones and iron railings - a dramatic statement of fenced-off private space.
Most of these secondary features have now been removed as cemeteries have been tidied up. Occasionally piles of discarded footstones can be found at churchyard boundaries. Some flat slabs have sunk into the ground or become grassed over. Many Victorian iron railings were removed during the Second World War, and the kerbs were lost when they seemed no longer necessary.
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After our visit to Stirling we went to Falkirk to see the Falkirk wheel. We had lunch first at Beefeater a restaurant nearby Falkirk. Back in 1822, the Forth&Clyde and the Union Canal met at Falkirk, linking Scotland's North Sea and Atlantic coasts. A series of 11 locks were used to level out a 36-meter height in difference between the two canals. But it was abandoned in the 1960's when motorways took over. The Falkirk Wheel was built to replace that flight of locks and carry boats from one level to another. It stands today as a feat of modern engineering that is revered the world over. This thing was amazing to watch! The pictures will explain how it works...
We went back to the Abbotsford Lodge to have a drink there and get ready for dinner. When every one was dressed and ready we walked to town again where we checked several menus at several restaurants, some were bad, some were good but then the restaurant would be fully booked so we kept on walking till the other end of town where a nice restaurant/hotel was situated which is called Poppies. The menu was fantastic so we decided to go in and ask if there were seats available. We would have to wait for 40 minutes though.
We didn't really mind so we sat down near the bar and had a couple of drinks. After about half an hour our table was available. The food we had was excellent and according to the others the best we had so far, although I must say that the food A. and I had the first evening at Skye was probably as good if not even better... After dinner we had a few more drinks at the bar and then walked back home to get some sleep. It was quite late already and it has been a wonderful day!
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