It was a nice sunny day in this old land that I call home and it was decided that a wee drive would be the order of the day, but where to go? That was the problem, Gourock Highland Games was on or we could go through to Stirling Castle where Historic Scotland were putting on a Scottish legends weekend, Archie Gemmell was no where to be seen by the way!!!
As you may have guessed we opted for Stirling, there’s always loads to do here if you’re into your Scottish history.
As we entered the castle there was a show ready to start, presented by The Historic Saltire Society in the Queen Ann Gardens. It was basically a presentation of the difference between Braveheart the movie and the real William Wallace. Primarily aimed at the kids it probably educated a few of the adults in the audience who believe that Braveheart was actually a documentary!!!
On then we went to the Middle Square where we met the real William Wallace, specially sewn back together for the weekend. Wallace apparently was quite a large man and this fella was medium at best but what he lacked in size he more than made up for in presentation and knowledge of the great Sir Wallace.
Children sat transfixed as he told us of the tales of Williams’s life, his loves, his victories and ultimately his betrayal. He skilfully took us on a rollercoaster of emotions and warned us all of the enormity of evil that lived among the nobles and that their greed would ultimately be the downfall of Scotland, how right he was. I was genuinely impressed by this one man show of patriotism and thanked him personally on a balanced and honest portrayal of Sir William Wallace.
We then took a wee stroll into the Great Hall which just lends itself to these kinds of performances.
Next up were some Jacobite Clansmen who gave us a brief glimpse of life as a Jacobite, we learned of their weaponry and |