Monday was St Andrew’s Day in Scotland and as always The National Wallace Monument at Bridge of Allan (and Historic Scotland properties) are free to enter.
We chose to visit the Wallace monument on the Sunday with my parents, my brother and his family. We thought it would be nice to have some time together. However, the day started with heavy snow and chilly winds, but we headed out with our winter clothes anyway.
The National Wallace Monument was erected on Abbey Craig (a rocky outcrop) in 1869 to commemorate William Wallace, a Scottish hero. An architectural competition to design the monument attracted 106 entries and the winning entry was this amazing tower by J.T Rochead.
You pay at the visitor centre at the bottom of the hill and then can either walk or take the minibus up to the base of the tower. We took the minibus up as the sleet was whipping into our faces.
The tower sits on top of a rocky crag and stands 67m high. Inside the tower there are 246 steps to the crown at the top, which has spectacular views across the Stirling area, with views to the Trossachs mountains and Ochil hills. On the way up you can stop at the 3 rooms to learn more about William Wallace and the National Wallace Monument. You more than likely will have to step into the rooms as it’s difficult to pass on the spiral stone staircase. A couple of times we had to go back up a few steps after attempting to go down and getting blocked by other visitors.
The first room you arrive at has the story of the Battle of Stirling bridge, with maps showing where it happened and a great video of ‘William Wallace’ and ‘Andrew De Moray’ discussing the aftermath of the event.
Up some more stairs is the Hall of Heroes (15 busts of Scottish heroes including David Livingstone and Sir Walter Scott) and Wallace’s sword. Wallace’s sword is on display in a perspex box, all 5ft 4 inches of it, I still can’t believe that someone could successfully wield it in battle, I think I would be dragging it behind me trying to shop off legs at the ankles!
The final room is the Royal Chamber where children can recreate the building of the tower using blocks (O’s favourite place) and a giant jigsaw. The boards in this room describe how the tower was designed and constructed.
A final few more steps, with the wind blasting through the narrow windows of the stairwell we reached the top and managed to work our way round and into the the crown, which was very, very windy and freezing cold (we didn’t choose the best day to visit!), but there were amazing views!
Once we managed to get back down the steps we headed back down to the visitor centre, I walked down carrying A on my back (he was very grumpy and I hoped the walk might stop him crying!) and daddy took the minibus back down with O. It only takes 5 minutes to walk back down the road, although last year when I visited with friends we walked by via the woodland paths and it took a good 30 minutes to get down, we may have got a little lost!
The cafe was lovely and has amazing looking cakes, although I didn’t get a chance to try them this time. The massive black forest gateaux and chocolate eclairs looked fantastic!
If you’re ever in the area I would definitely recommend a visit to the National Wallace Monument, it’s an iconic feature of this area of Scotland and very interesting to find out more about its history.
J x
Susan Mann says
Looks wonderful. I do love this monument xx
Jenny Eaves says
Thank you Susan, it’s such an iconic feature and O loves to point it out. 🙂 x
lizzie ( firstooth ) says
I looks fabulous. It’s great that you still went even in snow and hail (I’d have taken the bus too). Sounds like a fun day and when we tend to star indoors more during winter it was probably nice to enjoy the fresh air. Thanks for hosting #whatevertheweather x
Jenny Eaves says
Yeah, I don’t like to let the weather stop us, although the wet and wind today isn’t looking appealing. Still lots of fun in castles and towers though! 🙂 x
Tracey @ mummyshire says
Snow! Mine would be jealous to see snow, although it also looks cold! But it’s grea that you still got out.
The photos are amazing. We love doing visits like this too, the children can get so much out of it, at all ages
Xx
Seychellesmama says
We have never been to Scotland, I would love to go! We are trying to fit it in to our trip back to the UK next summer! This looks like a great place! Love that there’s a mini block version of the tower for kids to make that’s such a great idea! Bit jealous of the snow too Although I’m not sure if I could function in that cold weather any more haha! Views from the top of the tower look incredible!
Lisa Savage says
What a great day out! The weather does look uber cold, but what about those views? Beautiful! #whatevertheweather
Lucy says
Amazing views – enough to make the cold worthwhile? Great to have a trip that engages the kids with their heritage as well. #whatevertheweather
Mum in Brum says
This looks like such a fab place to visit – well done for braving it through the snow! I think I would have to have a Brave Heart session the night before visiting this 😉 #whatevertheweather
Marta says
What a great place! I love that they had the blocks to rebuild the actual tower: such a good idea to keep the kids engaged with the place while playing. You didn’t put a picture of the cakes but I can hardly resist reading their NAMES: I don’t think I would have resisted the temptation, in person!
Beth says
Looks like a lovely place to visit! The views are stunning. I love visiting places like this. x
Jenny Eaves says
Aww, you should come to Scotland, we get lots of snow in winter! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Lol, you just need lots of warm layers for the snow! You should definitely come up to Scotland, so much to see and do! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
It was a fantastic view from there, I love being able to see all the way to the mountains. 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Definitely worth the cold! We were only out at the top for 10 mins or so because of the wild weather, but still fantastic! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Lol, yes, definitely need to watch Braveheart before visiting! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Ha ha! No pics as we didn’t eat them, just drooled over them at the counter! The games are the best thing to keep little ones entertained and involved. 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
It really is a great place to visit, probably at it’s best on a clear summer’s day though! 🙂 x
Pitter Patter Travelers says
I can’t imagine wielding that sword either!
Jenny Eaves says
It’s giant isn’t it! 🙂 x
Mini Travellers says
Gosh it looks very very cold, great day out though. Glad there was cake! #whatevertheweather
Annette says
That looks like a brilliant day out! It looks like Rapunzel lives there. It’s so nice to be able to get out and about even in this weather – cozy looking jackets ;-)#WhateverTheWeather
Maestro mummy says
Brilliant pics of what looks like a fab day out. Thanks for sharing 🙂 #whatevertheweather
Joanna @mumbalance says
I’ve never been to Scotland, though it is a country I would like to visit. The landscape looks stunning.
It’s nice to see that someone thought about providing a treat for the kids at the top of the tower. It’s quite rare in these sort of places.
You’ve done well to get all the family out in such weather conditions!
Su {Ethan & Evelyn} says
Wow! What a stunning view! It sure is popular with visitors that you had to go back down and getting blocked to make room on the stairwells. But totally worth it with that view! Glad you’d enjoyed your day out. x #Whatevertheweather
Mae @ OutdoorsMom says
You had me at chocolate eclairs. 😉 The views look amazing too. #whatevertheweather
Ruth says
My eldest would love that. Anything that resembles a castle! Looks like you had a great day. I love that your making memories with your boys and your Dad. I wish my Dad had got to meet my boys, they’d be the best of friends I’m sure! #whatevertheweather
Chloe says
I am so jealous you have snow! What a fascinating place!!! I love the story of William Wallace (although I’m going by the film version), it sounds like an incredible place to visit. I can’t understand how any of them could wield such heavy steel either! Especially when they used to walk mile and miles. Such beautiful views from the top too!! xx
Jenny Eaves says
It was a lovely day out despite the cold weather! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
I’d never thought about it looking like a Rapunzel tower, but it does! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Thank you! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
You should definitely visit Scotland, it is a beautiful country, although of course I’m biased! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Definitely popular, but we also chose to go a busy day when it was free entry! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Lol! They are gorgeous views! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
Castles are great fun for all kids to explore! I’m sorry that your boys didn’t get to meet your dad. 🙁 xx
Jenny Eaves says
Don’t worry, we’ve not had much yet and it melts quickly, need some colder spells and more of it so we can go sledging! 🙂 x