I took a random bus out of Edinburgh today (the sun was fortunately kind on my travels yet again, and the sheep were still there in the countryside!) and after a close-to-two hour journey , I landed in a town called Stirling (pop : 43k).
First a bit about the bus journey - We passed through a town called...
I took a random bus out of Edinburgh today (the sun was fortunately kind on my travels yet again, and the sheep were still there in the countryside!) and after a close-to-two hour journey , I landed in a town called Stirling (pop : 43k).
First a bit about the bus journey - We passed through a town called "Three Mile Town"!!!!!!!! Considering that it had around 10 houses, the appellation certainly did not refer to its width!. Anyways, at Linlithgow (another pretty town halfway between E'burgh and Stirling, I plan to go there for my next jaunt, btw), an extremely elderly lady got on. She was dressed in a large overcoat and had a tartan muffler wrapped around her head (straight out of 'To the manor born'). This lady seemed to be pretty well known, for throughout the journey, whomsover got on the bus tipped their hat or cap and hello-maam'd her. As we got off at Stirling, she almost gave me a dirty look, as if to reprimand me for not knowing and acknowledging the grand-dame of Linlithgow (or Sterling).
According to the LP, Stirling is a lot like Edinburgh with a castle on a mound that towers over the rest of the city. I could see the castle from a distance as we approached the town, but from within the town itself the castle is a rare sighting (unlike at Edinburgh, where the castle is almost visible from just about anywhere).
I must say that I was more than overwhelmed. The old part of town has a really remarkable feel to it (though the new part had its share of McDonalds and Burger Kings to kill the ambience) with narrow meandering cobblestoned inclined streets with only an occasional vehicle to disturb the peace and quiet. Though there is not much to see at Stirling but the tranquil ambience (maybe it being a sunday helped) really made my day. The gently-inclined streets remind one of the the walk to Piazza Michelangelo in Firenze or even the stroll upto Montmartre in Paris ("Merde", the French would say. In disgust at the comparison. And not describing something their little poodle just did on the sidewalk!). The falling autumn leaves, and the sun playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds, added to the beauty of the place. The random bus did turn out to be a boon!
The castle looked nice from the outside and the view of the town, the river Forth and the countryside from the castle mound was very picture-postcardish but I didn't go inside the castle - my student budget could not afford the hefty entrance charge!
Instead, I did a take-away lunch from the Marks and Spencer Food store. Chicken Caeser Roll and a Chocolate Dessert (with 4 different kinds of chocolates - all those calories just melted in my mouth!). I can still feel the chocolate on my tongue. And my slightly-portruding paunch is proof of the KiloCalories consumed.
I did make some obligatory visits to the recommended places - Church of the Holy Rude (Parish church of Stirling for over 500 years), Mar's Wark (an old 16th C renaissance style house), Argyll's Lodging (a tastefully refurbished 17th Century aristocratic house), Cowane's hospital (which now hosts Ceilidhs and concerts. They have a family-tree database. Contrary to popular belief, Chatraths do not trace their ancestry to any Scottish Clan. We don't have a clan tartan either!). I skipped the Wallace Monument (devoted to a Scots hero, Wallace, slain by the English in the early 14th C) as it is slightly out of town.
But what i enjoyed most was walking (and getting lost) in the old part of town and generally soaking in the atmosphere. I did not feel like coming back to E'burgh (also because the week starts again tomorrow!).
I tried very hard to do an exercise we have been asked to do for class. Basically it involves eavesdropping in on the conversations of people so as to give us a sense of how people talk. My attempt at doing it in Stirling was a big failure. First, I would trail the people whose conversation I intended to eavesdrop on, then i would try to match my walking pace with theirs, and then when all was co-ordinated, I would discover that I could not understand a single word they were saying - the accent was too thick for my liking, or understanding!!!!! So, I gave up after a few attempts before I could hear the following "Officer, there was this Asian guy following us. Arrest him."
So before that eventuality occured, i took the bus back to my castle-on-a-mound-in-the-centre-of-the-city city. But I must confess, Stirling is prettier!
P.S. - Colours : In Scotland every little girl under the age of 6 or 7 wears (or is made to wear) atleast one item of clothing in Pink. And the front numberplate of every car is white while the back one is always in yellow (something to do with lights falling on it perhaps?)
(Oct, 2006)
