The Scottish Royal Coat of Arms

As today was St. Andrews Day, we headed up to Stirling and spent the morning in Stirling Castle.

There has been a fortification of some kind on the site for more than 3000 years. The rock on which Stirling Castle stands controls the routes between the Highlands and Lowlands and further south into England, as well as the roads crossing from east to west. It’s an important crossroads and it was said that whoever holds Stirling Castle, rules Scotland.

But it wasn’t until the sixteenth century that King James IV carried out building work to transform the castle into a palace fit for kings, work which was continued by his son, James V. He wanted to impress his second wife, the French princess Mary of Guise and he used her dowry to decorate the palace in the Renaissance style.

This is the Scottish Royal Coat of Arms above the fireplace in the King's Outer Hall. Here the King would rub shoulders with Courtiers of a lower standing. The Coat of Arms features two Unicorns supporting the shield. In Celtic Mythology the Unicorn of Scotland symbolized innocence and purity, healing powers, joy and even life itself. It was also seen as a symbol of masculinity and power.

The Royal Palace has recently been restored by Historic Scotland. The restoration work cost £12 million! A lot of what you’ll see is modern, but it has been made in just the same way as it would have been made in the time of James V, in the 1540s. Unfortunately for James, he died before the Palace was completed – so you are seeing it more finished than he ever did.

More than thirty years of painstaking restoration work at Scotland's grandest fortress and royal palace have paid off, as last year Stirling Castle was voted Britain's best heritage attraction.

We then went into Bridge of Allan and had a fabulous lunch at the Jam Jar. Would highly recommend this restaurant.