Camping tour of Scotland 2023 - Part Two

Part Two - Edinburgh & Stirling

After two nights in the Galloway forest it was time to move on to the next leg of our journey - starting with Edinburgh! To avoid the hassle of driving and parking in the city itself, whilst planning the trip we found several park and ride locations surrounding the city, so we chose the most convenient one for us, and headed there Monday morning. With traffic around the built up areas the journey took us just over two and a half hours. We had booked tickets for Edinburgh castle at 11:30, which we did end up being a little late for, but we still got into the castle, to get some great views over the city and to learn more of it's history.

 

Being the UK school summer holidays, and also festival season it should have been no surprise that the castle and city were both very busy with tourists from all over the world. After being in the forest for two days in a comparatively much less busy area, this was quite a shock to the system, and as I'm not much of a city person anyway, at some points it felt a little overwhelming. However, despite this, the castle had so much to offer, especially for anyone interested in history, medieval or otherwise. Although we didn't have long at the castle, we managed to fit in quite a lot including the Great Hall, the tower of the Royal Dragoon Guards, the Scottish National War Memorial, Mons Meg (a huge canon), and St. Margaret's chapel - the oldest building in the entire city! I would definitely recommend the experience of Edinburgh castle, the panoramic view of the city alone is amazing.

Upon the conclusion of our visit to the castle, we headed down into the city to make the most of our day here. We were instantly greeted by a bag piper playing in the streets, which was really fun to watch and gave the city a feel different to any other. When we found a small café to eat in I achieved my small personal aspiration of trying my first haggis in the capital (delicious!), we then went into the endless array of gift shops; selling more tartan based goods and highland cow merchandise that you can imagine, and we explored Victoria street, with all of it's brightly coloured doors, and shops of every kind. I feel like there was so much more in Edinburgh that we could've seen and experienced, but with only a day, it was a real challenge to narrow down what we wanted to do, so I feel that a return here is on the cards.

We left the park and ride, and headed north west to Stirling, where we had booked onto the second campsite of the trip - Witches Craig Caravan & Camping Park. 

We arrived there at about 5pm after a 40 minute journey, and the friendly staff showed us where to go and find a pitch. The field used for tents was at the back of the site, and we were allowed to park next to the pitch, providing that the car was left at the edge of the field, although no one came to check, so this rule may not be actively enforced. The toilet and shower block was about a five minute walk from the tent field, so nothing too strenuous, and I found the facilities to be well kept and clean, if a little dated. What really made this campsite for me, was the surrounding scenery, which was nothing short of majestic!

After a comfortable night at Witches Craig (a campsite that I would definitely recommend for anyone in Stirling!) we packed up, and headed to the National William Wallace Monument which is literally a three minute drive from the campsite - a welcome luxury after the longer drive into Edinburgh the day before. As a big fan of the Mel Gibson classic, Braveheart (riddled with historical inaccuracies - I know!), the monument was something of a must-see whilst we were in Stirling. The journey up to the monument is a 10-15 minute walk up through a woodland which has lots of wood carvings and information plaques along the trail, definitely worth the walk over the bus ride up if you're able! Once at the top of the woodland (and the bottom of the monument) the views over the city are already very good - but from the top of the tower they're incredible! The top of the monument is 246 steps away, up a spiral staircase, with multiple rooms branched off at varying levels, each filled with historical information and attractions such as the Hall of Arms, the Hall of Heroes, the Royal Chamber. These are all well worth a good look around, as they contain so much interesting history, and they also provide a small break from climbing the stairs. 

Once up to the top, known as the Crown, you are greeted with a 360 degree view that is absolutely breath taking. There are info boards that show where the battle of Stirling took place, and provide other facts about the monument, which is definitely worth visiting if your trip to Scotland takes you to Stirling! My only comment would be that the staircase is rather narrow, and there are no 'nooks' to use for passing as there will be people coming both up and down the tower at the same time. As a reasonably wide guy, this meant some very 'snuggly' experiences with total strangers, so this is something to be aware of if small confined spaces aren't your thing!

After leaving the William Wallace Monument in Stirling we started the two hour drive up north to our next campsite in the Cairngorms, a stage of the trip we were both very excited for, and the only other two night stay on the trip (with the first being the Galloway Forest - see part one).