Stirling

Welcome to Stirling, a small city about an hour away from both Edinburgh and Glasgow. It became a city only in 2002 as part of Queen Elisabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations - Golden means 50 years - and is now one of six cities in Scotland. It is often called 'The Gateway to the Highlands'.

So, what's so special about Stirling? Well, there's the castle. It was built on top of a hill with three sides of it almost impossible for an attacking army to climb, so therefore strategically very important. The castle played an important role in Scotland's many battles with England. Now it's a national monument which you can visit all year round.

Ok, so does Stirling have anything else? Of course. You can go and see the centuries-old Church of the Holy Rude (rude means cross). Why is this so special? Well, it's the only church in Britain other than Westminster Abbey in London where a King or Queen has been crowned. In 1567 the son of Mary Queen of Scots, who was only a small boy at the time, was crowned King James VI of Scotland.

Right, so there's the castle and the church, but I sense you want more. Therefore I'll also tell you that Stirling was the site of one of the most famous battles in Scottish history - The Battle of Stirling Bridge. Now many of you will be familiar with William Wallace. If that name doesn't ring any bells, then maybe 'Braveheart' does. Remember the film with Mel Gibson playing a Scottish warrior? Well, that's the story of William Wallace.

Wallace was fighting for Scottish independence and had a lot of success against the English armies. Stirling was, as mentioned before, The Gateway to the Highlands, so whoever controlled Stirling also controlled the lands to the north. On the 11th September 1297 the English advanced on Stirling but Wallace was waiting for them. He had significantly fewer men than the English commander, The Earl of Surrey, but his tactics were better and he won a famous battle very easily. After this he became Sir William Wallace and had the title of 'Guardian of Scotland and Leader of its armies'. King Edward of England was furious.

However, Edward had his revenge a year later and Wallace escaped to France to ask for King Phillip's help in their war of independence. He even stayed there for a while and fought for the French in a couple of battles, again against the English.

When he returned to Scotland the English were desperate to capture him. Finally, in 1305, he was betrayed by a Scottish knight who was loyal to Edward. They took him to London and gave him a trial, where he was obviously found guilty. He famously said "I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject."

He was executed on 23rd August 1305. First they hung him until he was nearly dead. Then they cut off his head and his limbs, arms and legs. They put his head on a pole on London Bridge and sent his limbs to Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Aberdeen.

In 2005 it was the 700th anniversary of his death. There were many events to commemorate this, including an exhibition in New York. Here there was Wallace's sword, which was the first time it had ever left Scotland.