We have unexpectedly had use of the car this week, my husband has been off work ill, which is rubbish for him, but on the upside, we have been able to get a bit further afield. Us leaving the house is probably good for daddy too, he actually gets some peace and quiet for a few hours, rather than the constant noise that two small children make.
Today was a lovely sunny morning and so we headed over to Sheriffmuir, a famous battle site in the Jacobite uprising. The site lies North of Stirling, just above Dunblane, on Sheriffmuir.
You need to park near the Sheriffmuir monument, a large structure beside the road, there is only space for a few cars, but it’s rarely busy here, so easy enough to find a space.
Walk up the path beside the monument through the woodland and onto the moorland itself.
It is such a serene place, until you hear two loud children shouting as they dance along the path!
We have visited this moorland a few times, it’s a great place to pick wild blaeberries and the boys can both identify heather and Mr O can now identify the blaeberry bushes too. Although it’s fairly obvious later in the year when they actually have blaeberries on them!
After Mr O walked into a ditch and got stuck in the peat bog, I explained to him that he should be careful in the mud here, it’s all too easily to go into a boggy area and then get your foot stuck! Fortunately we got his foot out before he took his foot out the welly to free himself!
They both loved running and jumping along the moorland and especially in a particularly muddy area near the Gathering Stone. Mr O got stuck a further twice before he realised that he should avoid the wettest areas!
The Gathering Stone is a fallen stone now protected by hoops, it is said that this is where the Jacobite standard was placed at the start of the battle and where 600 men killed in battle were buried.
If you want to read more about the Battle of Sheriffmuir then head over here. There is a further stone next to the Gathering Stone to let passers by know that the path to the Gathering Stone was cleared in memory of Lawrie Boyd Wilson in 1990.
Several trees have fallen/been cut down near the Gathering Stone and Mr O had great fun climbing over them.
We’re looking forward to our next visit to pick the blaeberries!
Do you have any moorland’s near you?
J x
Laura - dear bear and beany says
What a lovely place to go and let the kids just ramble about. We have somewhere similar near us, but at this time of year it is just a big mud bath. Hopefully soon it will dry up as we love it in the summer x
Plutonium Sox says
Wow, this looks so beautiful. We also love being outside, I never manage to take stunning photos like this though!
Nat.x
Sarah - Craft Invaders says
What a beautiful place, eerie to image that battle taking place there all those years ago, and all those men who fell there. Maybe one day you’ll find treasure there!
Alice Project: Wanderlust says
Isn’t it lovely to be outside in the spring weather. What a wonderful place to be able to take the children
David Mellor says
This looks like a beautiful area of classic Scottish moorland. So nice and interesting too that the area has such history. Perfect weather too…sunshine but with still enough mud and water around to make it even more fun for kids. We’ll look out for it on our next visit up and over the border.
Lauren (The Helpful Hiker) says
I always love your pictures of your boys enjoying the outdoors. They always look so happy and interested in everything. Looks like a great place, although I can sympathise with O getting stuck in the bog, it’s very easy to do as I have found too many times!
Debbie says
What a lovely place to explore, it looks like you all had a fantastic time! I’ve been reading a bit about the Jacobites recently so this was a well timed post for me 😀
Helena says
I love historical walks like yours. Much better than sitting in a classroom learning about it.
Stephanie says
Great fun being able to get out and explore there, it looks fun for the kids. I like going somewhere where the kids can learn a little history too.
Jenni says
What beautiful photos! I love the little bridge. My son enjoys a fallen tree to climb on too! Lovely to see the similarities and differences to our Cornish moorland.
Cornish Kids says
This looks like a great place to explore, I can smell the fresh air just looking at your photos! Interesting to hear the history of the place. We found mud to stomp in this week too. #whatevertheweather
Sarah says
It certainly looks like a gorgeous place to go exploring. We don’t really have any moorland nearby to us. Sarah #whatevertheweather
Claire at Tin Box Traveller says
We have plenty of moors near us in Devon but we’re yet to visit any of the larger ones. It looks like you had a great time getting a bit further from home #whatevertheweather
Jess Mrs Puddleducky says
Hooray for getting out in the car! But hope the hubby wasn’t I’ll long! Looks a lovely place to visit, all that history and wilderness. Looks like a gorgeous day for it too! #whatevertheweather
Erin @Nourishing My Scholar says
What a fun place to explore! Love your photos! You really captured the joy of being in a glorious outdoor space.
Chloe says
This is such a beautiful place to visit! It’s so great when you have a car and you get to explore further. It looks like the perfect open space for them to explore and that’s really impressive that they can recognise the bushes. They’re going to be such nature enthusiasts. Oh dear about getting stuck feet! At least you managed to get it out ok. I hope your husband feels better soon! xx
Wave to Mummy says
Looks like a lovely place to visit and seems like you had a great time. sorry to hear hubby has been ill – hopefully his recovery was swift! Thanks for hosting #whatevertheweather 🙂
Christine says
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a blaeberry, I’m embarrassed to say I’m not even sure what they’d look like! (Off to Google them in a minute). I’m guessing there weren’t too many midges around on your walk, a good time of year to go. #Mondayescapes
Me, You and Magoo says
What a beautiful place to let children run free & also lots of history attached to this special place. You’re lucky to have such amazing countryside so close to your home #whatevertheweather
Ting at My Travel Monkey says
This looks like the perfect place to roam free and explore. Sheriffmuir would be right up our street too. Lovely photos! I’ve also had the misfortune of getting stuck in muddy bogs! Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes