In my previous posts, I shared my reflections on my time in Stonehaven, Aboyne and Glasgow, Scotland. As the tour progressed, our next stop was Stirling, the “heart of Scotland” (their words, not mine, though I don’t disagree).

After a fantastic day at Mugdock Castle and a stop by a roadside shop in the Trossachs, where I was able to feed and pet some highland coos, we rode for about 50 minutes until we got to Stirling . We were greeted by a statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Soon after reaching downtown Stirling, we checked into Hotel Colessio. This charming boutique hotel was picturesque and perfectly located. It was a short walking distance to two central attractions: downtown Stirling on one side and Stirling Castle on the other. The rooms here, like the rooms at each hotel on this tour, were clean, comfortable and charming, and the meals were delicious.

After dinner and getting a good night’s rest, we started the first full day in Stirling at the Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Centre. Our enthusiastic guide described the battle and the contributing factors in great detail, and he managed to strike that perfect balance between knowledge and entertainment. As someone who (prior to this trip) knew very little about Scotland’s history, I was happy to have guides at each of our stops who eagerly shared information with me, as well as my wonderful tour companions who added additional depth and flavor to these discussions.

I know precious little about military logistics and strategy, but hearing how Robert the Bruce won the Battle of Bannockburn by leveraging topographical knowledge was thrilling. Once we finished the discussion portion of the tour, we went outside and saw the statue of Robert the Bruce, situated in a courtyard that was encircled by another artwork, a highly textured brick wall that was topped by verses of “Here Lies Our Land” by Kathleen Jamie.

When we finished our time at Bannockburn, it was time for lunch, so we stopped in at Nicky-Tams Bar and Bothy, a pub nearby Hotel Colessio. This 300-year-old pub is the perfect stop after a morning of exploring. I order the vegetarian haggis, one of my favorite dishes when in Scotland. I love tasting different versions of veggie haggis to see which ones taste most similar to the real deal (I’ve also tried real haggis a few times, just to base my comparison). The neeps and tatties accompaniment at Nicky-Tams was unique: instead of offering it as two separate sides, the veggies are combined into a single mash and served as a singular item. The dish was tasty and hearty. I also tried Jubel beer, a Cornish beer that features fruit flavors. It was delicious and refreshing. I will certainly return to Nicky-Tams in the future, since they are known for live music in the evenings and, on this trip, I was unable to take full advantage of that.

Once we were finished with lunch, we went to Stirling Distillery, where we met the Lord Provost of Stirling, Elaine Watterson. I wish I’d taking more photos at the intimate distillery, one of the smallest in Scotland. Because whisky must be aged at least 3 years and one day in order to be labeled “whisky”, and, the distillery was still aging their next batch, we were unable to try their whisky. However, they happily conducted a tasting where we tried a few gins and whiskys from nearby distilleries instead.

After visiting the distillery, we were off to Stirling Castle. This childhood home of Mary, Queen of Scots, was stately and picturesque. One of my favorite features, other than the meticulous grounds, was the Stirling Heads Gallery, a vast collection of oak carvings, both painted and plain, depicting some of the most prominent people of Scottish history. These nearly 500 year old portraits were originally used to decorate the ceiling of a room in Stirling Castle, but now they are on display for us to enjoy.

This full day of activity ended with us returning to Hotel Colessio for dinner, and a deep, restful sleep followed.

The next day, we ate breakfast and dressed well because we were headed to Buchanan Castle Golf Club for the Clan Graham Annual General Meeting (AGM). At this event, we were greeted by His Grace, James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose, descendant of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. Standing beside His Grace, in the soft, misty rain, was a bagpiper, welcoming us in the warmest Scottish way.

We ate a lovely meal at the club, and then the AGM occurred, where members voted on organizational proposal. We took some great photos on the grounds of the club, and then journeyed back to our hotel.

When we returned to the hotel, we had another fantastic dinner, and we also had the Mugdock Auction. We brought items and submitted them for a silent auction, with all proceeds being contributed to the Mugdock preservation efforts. The ballroom of Hotel Colessio was perfectly charming and well suited for the auction. We enjoyed songs, traditional highland dance, bagpiping, and an entertaining auction. We had such a good time together!

This was our last night at Hotel Colessio. After the auction and dinner, we returned to our rooms and began to pack our things. The next day would whisk us off to the next cities: Inverness and Montrose!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next post on my summer vacation!