The National Wallace Monument is a 220 ft Victorian Gothic tower completed in 1869 to commemorate Sir William Wallace. It was built from sandstone blocks atop Abbey Craig, the spot from which Wallace had observed the gathering English Army back in 1297, just before the Battle of Stirling Bridge. That battle was a resounding victory for the Scottish liberation forces and is a source of pride for the Scottish national identity. William Wallace is probably the most famous national hero of Scotland. Those who are hearty enough can climb the 246 steps of the Monument’s spiral staircase to emerge at the top, beneath the Crown Spire, to view the picturesque surrounding Stirling countryside.
Chris & Angela's travel blog
Fascinating.
The countryside looks so green there, unlike CA now.
There’s just sooo much rain compared to what we’re used to! Everything is in a constant state of being overgrown!
Oh, all I can say again is WOW. Such a beautiful, wonderful adventure you are having! ❤️❤️🌈👏
It’s especially nice to happen upon fun things in our travels that we didn’t expect or plan for. Visiting this monument was spur of the moment for us, but turned out to be a wonderful day!😏
I like this “monument” really much more than I like most castles, but of course, it would be difficult to get the whole town in there to protect them from the evils that lurked around each riverbend. I wonder if Mel visited the site before making Braveheart. I also thought Gleason looked more like William Wallace. Just a few tidbits.
I also find that their campsites are extremely (stated in a very Scottish accent) clean.
This monument was definitely very unique, and very beautiful. Ironically, from everything we’re learned, the Scots hated Mel’s portrayal as much as they love Wallace. They actually had to remove a statue of Wallace from the monument grounds because the artist used Mel’s face and people kept defacing it!
Great pics! Again, juxtaposition to Swans 😍. Oh, and Ange too 😉
Such beautiful countryside. Thanks again for sharing, along with a little history.
This wasn’t a preplanned excursion. We just walked around to see the local sites on a sunny day, but ended up learning a little something about Scottish history on the way!
Just finished the Lion in the North by John Preble (previously read Culloden)…I envy your travels!
Best-
Kerry
I wasn’t aware of Prebble’s works. They sound fascinating! I might have to download one to read while we’re in the area. Thanks Kerry!
246 stairs, huh. Piece of cake for you guys.
The number of stairs wasn’t really the problem – it was the narrow, slippery, triangular stone stairs of the spiral staircase that was challenging! Plus trying to figure out what to do when you met someone going the opposite direction. 🫨