The National Wallace Memorial Tower

Wow….Mairiuna…it was worth the wait ! That sword is indeed very impressive…I would not have liked to be pierced through by it…yikes!

Not less impressive is Wallace Monument. You can see it from far afield, standing on the summit of Abbey Craig, when you visit the region. Designed by John T Rochhead it took 8 years to complete it. The foundation stone was laid in 1861, on Bannockburn Day, but the opening only took place in 1869, on the 11 september, the anniversary date of the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

The victorian gothic style highly ornate tower is 220 feet high. Notice, when approaching it, the “crown steeple” and the statue of knight with its sword raised.

A stunning monument and a mythic place too !!! It is said that this is where Wallace, together with Sir Andrew Moray, rallied his band of fighters on September 11, 1297, fought and defeated the army of King Edward I of England in the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

Those who have stamina enough can climb the 242 steps which lead to a platform, named The

The National Wallace Monument

Crown. From there, they will get breathtaking views of the underlying city of Stirling and of seven very very important battlefields : Cambuskenneth (9th century), where Kenneth MacAlpin “made” Scotland; Wallace’s Stirling Bridge and Falkirk; Bannockburn, Sauchieburn, Sheriffmuir, and Falkirk (1746).

The weather was very wintry the day when we visited the monument and Jean-Claude was the only one to climb up to the top where he took many photos. Both of us gladly managed to ascend, through the narrow spiral staircase of the Memorial Tower, the 135 steps which lead up to the Scottish Hall of Heroes, on the second level.

Hall of Scottish Heroes

I spent a lot of time in this room filled with fine marble busts sculptures of Scottish well known heroes and really enjoyed reading about the donors and unveilers. For our records, I will list them underneath:

* Sir David Brewster (1781 – 1868), scientist and inventor.

* Robert the Bruce (1274 – 1329), King of Scotland and national hero.

* George Buchanan (1506 – 1582), historian and scholar.

* Robert Burns (1759 – 1796), poet.

* Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881), writer and sage.

* Thomas Chalmers(1780 – 1847), preacher and writer.

Stained Glass - Sir William Wallace

* William Ewart Gladstone (1809 – 1898), politician and UK prime minister.

* John Knox (1505 – 1572), religious reformer.

* David Livingstone (1813 – 1873), missionary and explorer.

* Hugh Miller (1802 – 1856), writer and geologist.

* William Murdock (1754-1839), pioneer of gas lighting.

* Allan Ramsay (1685 – 1758), poet and man of letters.

* Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832), writer, poet and nationalist.

* Adam Smith (1723 – 1790), economist and philosopher.

* Robert Tannahill (1774 – 1810), songwriter.

* James Watt (1736-1819), inventor and developer of the steam engine.

These sculptures are the work of D.W. Stevenson, R.S.A. Was he related with Robert Louis Stevenson?

A series of 11 beautiful stained-glass windows are to be found in the different levels of the Monument. In the Hall of  Heroes, I stayed a long moment in front of the one representing Wallace leaning on his sword. He is wearing a helmet ornated with a dragon, or is it a basilisk ?

We stayed a long time in Wallace Monument. Maybe the weather will be better next time and we’ll feel like climbing up to the top. In the meantime, let’s ask JC to show us some of the photos he took from up there…

No, Janice, I must recognize I didn’t see Braveheart … not having the guts to do so yet. Bloody wars are not my cup of tea. I know Scottish history has had its lot of blood and violence but it’s one thing to learn about it in books and another to see it on a big screen…with bodies cut into pieces, blood everywhere and so on and so on…that’s also why I didn’t see a single film of the great saga Highlander, in spite of its popularity and great distribution. You know, as a fan of Sean Connery, I prefer to see him as an ageing gentleman playing the truant in a film of adventure such as Entrapment.

But ask me to speak of the background of films shot in Scotland …lochs and mountains…old castles full of mystery and murmuring “ghosts” and I could go on forever… did you know parts of Rob Roy, Harry Potter and Quest for Fire were partly shot in Glencoe ? Wow the atmosphere of Scotland !!!! Were I a film director I think I would settle there !

Anyway if If I had to choose my number one among the small number of Scottish films I’ve seen it would certainly be Local Hero but that’s another story and we’ll come back to it later. It’s worth a whole page.

As for Wallace’s  sword… let me take time to search our thousands of photos we’ve taken in Scotland and I promise you a beautiful one of that mythical  sword…

Scotland - Eilean Donan Castle - 2004

Have you seen Braveheart ?  If so, you surely remember the famous war cry  “Alba gu bragh! ” by William Wallace. It means something like « Scotland For Ever ».

What an emotionally charged performance Gibson gives us in this film!  An historical epic at its best.

Give me two seconds, while I grab the DVD and the VHS. I want to show you the picture covers.

Mel Gibson's Braveheart

On the back cover of the DVD, the description reads:  William Wallace, the bold Scotsman, which by the fire of his intellect and the steel of his sword, rallied his countrymen to fight for liberation of the English occupation of Scotland.

Reminds me how I was moved by the film on display when visiting William Wallace Monument. It revived the 1320 historical moments when the Declaration of Arbroath was proclaimed. It became the Declaration of Scottish Independence.

Mel Gibson's Braveheart

Look at the sword!  How impressive.. Do you think it’s the same we saw exhibited in the room ? I checked my photos but it seems I did not take a single picture of the sword. Did you Mairiuna, or maybe your husband, Jean-Claude, manage to take one?

Let me know when you have a minute. It would be so cool.