27 June: Stirling and arrival in Newcastle

The Barnsdale House B&B was extraordinarily comfortable.There were nice beds, a TV, and a bathroom down a few steps. The next morning we wound our way up the twisty roads and around what seemed dozens of roundabouts to Stirling Castle, which turned out to be pretty cool. One of our first stops was a series of underground rooms with displays on various artisans and artists who'd have worked there, including musicians. A you can see, the castle's up on a high hilll, overlooking the city (just below, here, is a landscaping feature called "the Knot," and, just to the right, one of the roundabouts we had to negotiate. There were lots of gorgeous gardens , as well. The castle has lots of historical connections it's probably more important historically than Edinburgh, at least that's what the guidebooks claimed. Various kings of Scotland rebuilt and added to it at various times, so it became pretty complicated. I wondered what an "education room" would have been used for. Below the main castle were a line of smaller buildings, including, at the end a stuido where people were creating tapestries (more below). We also visited the subterranean kitchens, where the royal banquets were prepared (and it looked almost as though it were still operating). We also walked all around the walls. We stopped in the tapestry workroom where the weaver explained what they were doing. Finally, we spent some time at a concert of early music.

Back out on the street in town, we thought we'd look for something to eat before setting off for Newcastle, and guess what we finally found.

Eventually, we were on the road, and found ourselves (after lots of nightmarish driving in Newcastle) at the Jury's Inn Hotel, where we crashed.