THE TRUE HONOUR OF SCOTLAND (National Wallace Monument)

Member Name: katestuartuk

Product:	National Wallace Monument
Date:	14/01/07 (152 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A WONDERFUL PLACE, AMAZING VIEWS AND FULL OF SOUL.

Disadvantages: 246 STEPS. I'LL SAY NO MORE!!!

The National Wallace Monument

Stirling

A Landmark of Scotland to a National Hero

I love Scotland. Always have. And despite being more of a Highlands Girl than a Lowlands Girl, having a partner from Edinburgh and cousins in Glasgow and Clackmannanshire, I do get the chance to see and enjoy the flatter parts of this wonderful kingdom. A couple of years ago, on such a visit to my cousin, who at the time was living in Stirling, we took a walk out of the city towards Bridge of Allan, a lovely little place with a wonderful pub, where we partook of an amazing Sunday lunch (and a heavenly sticky toffee pudding!). Instead of getting a cab home, we decided to walk back through the grounds of Stirling University, a beautiful campus complete with castle and loch, squirrels and rabbits, and really very enjoyable. The back of the grounds took us out to the foot of Abbey Craig, a very steep outcrop of basalt, which is a very hard-wearing type of volcanic rock. And atop the Abbey Craig, stands The Wallace Monument.


Who was William Wallace?

The Wallace Monument was build to commemorate Sir William Wallace, Guardian of all Scotland. He was a proud and fearless man by all accounts, and was a strong follower of the Scottish idea of Honour. It was this which led him into the life of an outlaw, when upon visiting his wife, Marion Braidfoot, and their baby daughter in Lanark, he was set upon by English soldiers, whom he escaped from. However, his wife was soon after executed by the sheriff of Lanark, and later that night, in retribution for this, Wallace and his men stormed Lanark Castle, killing the sheriff and every English soldier there. With his status as an outlaw well and truly proven, and perhaps with nothing to loose but his freedom and the country he loved, Wallace went on to fight for Scotland, and her freedom, battling it out first at Stirling Bridge, where he was victorious, and then later at Falkirk, where the English troops overcame the Scots. He was eventually betrayed by a man he believed to be his friend, who took him to a meeting with Robert the Bruce, and after a trial that found him guilty of murder and treason, he was hung, drawn and quartered at Smithfield, in London. Of course, if you’ve seen the film Braveheart, with Mel Gibson in the title role, then you will undoubtedly know all of this, but it is a story that still puts a chill through me, and makes the fire of Scottish patronage burn ever brighter in me.


The Monument

The monument itself is more of a castle than anything else. It took 8 years to build and is 220 feet high, so the views you get from the top are amazing! Getting to the top, however, is a hard climb, on foot. To begin, you need to get your entrance ticket for the Monument at The Visitor Pavilion, which is at the foot of the Craig, and there is a car park here too if you have driven in.

There is then a free shuttle bus which will take you from the car park at the foot of the Craig right up to the front door of the Monument, and this really is the easy route. Alternatively, you can do what we did, which is to walk the very, very steep, very bumpy and dry earth track up to the top. It was quite a warm dry day when we started out, but I imagine that on a rainy October afternoon, it would have been even harder to climb, as it is literally a dirt track to the top! All the way up to the top, you are treated to glimpses of the view, wonderful woodland, some of which is ancient woodland, and there are nature trails that circle the Craig.

Once at the top, a little out of breath, we were struck immediately by the amazing views. We could see Stirling Castle, the River Forth, which meets the sea north of Edinburgh, bridged by two of the most famous bridges in all of Scotland, The Forth Bridge and The Forth Road Bridge. It seemed that the land below was just spread out like a map for us to read, but it was nothing compared to the view from the top of the Monument!

Once inside it was remarkably warm, despite the thick stone walls that always seem so cold looking. On the ground floor there was a coffee shop, a gift shop and a reception desk, where you get a headset to listen to a tour as you go round the building. To your immediate left as you enter the Monument, there is a small doorway and small stone steps leading up, and this is how you get to the top. I was quite excited about going up, but my cousin isn’t great with confined spaces so she stayed down in the gift shop while I ventured up alone….I had no idea what I had let myself in for!

The staircase is of the spiral variety, stone, very VERY narrow, and lit only by the daylight coming through narrow gaps in the stonework – they could hardly be called windows! There is really barley enough space for one person and yet, only a few stairs up, I had to pin my back to the wall as someone came down! To say it was hairy is a bit of an understatement. Added to the fact that there was nothing to hold onto by way of a handrail, it was all a bit nerve wracking!

As you go up the steps, you reach different levels of the monument, and at each of these different levels is a room full of displays and information. The first was in honour of the man himself, Sir William, and as well as the story of his life and information on the battles, there is a glass display in the far corner that blew me away – the broadsword he used which looking at it had to be almost as tall as me and probably as heavy! A beautiful piece of work though, and really interesting to look at.

The next room is call The Hall of Heroes, and has busts of different Scottish heroes like Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. There is information about their contributions to Scotland in their writing and so on. The last room before you get to the top is an exhibition of how the monument was built in the 1860’s. It’s very strange to think that it isn’t older than that, and though I know William wasn’t around when the foundations were laid and the first red stones piled on atop the other, there is a real sense of presence about the place that can have you believing Sir William really did walk the ramparts and race up and down the steps of this beautiful building.

If you manage up this far, its not long now till you get to the top – I was knackered but overwhelmed at the top with exactly how far across Scotland I could see. The river shone like sapphire blue in a snaking, curling ribbon across bright green fields, and the light coloured brick of Stirling Castle glinted in the afternoon sun. I could see the rolling Pentland Hills to the east, Ben Lomond, to the west, a wonderful Munro which sits off the side of Loch Lomond, north of Glasgow, and the whole city of Stirling laid out like an elaborate patchwork quilt. It really was breathtaking and well worth the nervous 246 steps to the top!

The top of the monument looks a little bit like a crown from far away, and up close it was amazing to walk under handcrafted arches and curves of stone. It’s as much the detail of this building as the views it commands that pull you in and make you feel somehow attached to it. Even now, when I pass through Stirling on the train and I see the Monument standing tall and proud on the wooded rocky outcrop, with hills behind glowing purple with heather, I feel a kinship to it that I don’t feel with any other Scottish building – not even Edinburgh Castle. It’s a symbol of Scottish honour and the sense of pride every native of this wonderful place feel. It’s a symbol of belonging, of freedom, of the land we call home. It is the proof, should it ever have been needed, that Scotland and her people will always have freedom in their hearts, no matter which political party believes they have control. And that is something that I truly love. Always have.

Entrance Costs and Opening Times

The Wallace Monument is open all year round with the exception of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and NewYear’s Day.

Adults : £6.50
OAP’s and Students: £4.90
Child: £4.00

Family Ticket (2 Adults and 2 Children): £17.00

Groups of 10 people or more get a 10% discount, and school groups are charged £2.50 per child with one adult free for every 10 children.

Last entrance to the Monument is 45 minutes before closing time and these times differ depending when in the year you visit.

Jan – Feb & Nov – Dec : 10.30am – 4.00pm
Mar – May : 10.00am – 5.00pm
June: 10.00am – 6.00pm
July & Aug : 09.30am – 6.00pm
Sept: 09.30am – 5.00pm
Oct: 10.00am – 5.00pm


Access and Other Information

Disabled access is very limited within the monument, and completely restricted to the tower.

Audio tour is in 5 languages : English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

There is also information in all these languages on the website, which is:
www.nationalwallacemonument.com

The Wallace Monument is just off the A9 from Stirling, but is about an hour’s easy walk from the town centre. We made a day of it by walking to Bridge of Allan, through the University via the monument back to Stirling and we were out all day, but for a shorter walk, the route to and the back from the monument is lovely if the weather is good.

For more information go online or contact the monument:

The National Wallace Monument
Abbey Craig
Hillfoots Road
Causewayhead
Stirling
FK9 5LF

01786 472140


Hope you enjoy your visit to this wonderful place, thank you for reading, Kate x

Summary: A PLACE FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE HEARTFELT FREEDOM OF BEING A SCOT.