The Brooch & Crags — Stomping Feat.

Feb 28

Feb 28 The Brooch & Crags

Stirling is a short drive from Glasgow, which makes it a great place to spend a short day out of town and is probably why it was our first trip away from our new home. We spent the morning exploring the brilliant Stirling Castle and the afternoon hiking the North Third and Sauchie Crags walk.

The medieval town of Stirling was significant and was once known as the ‘brooch that clasps the Highlands and Lowlands together’. It is strategically placed, as the nearest crossing of the Forth River and is (somewhat) easily defensible thanks to naturally occurring crags and hills. Stirling Castle is a historical castle of power for the Scottish royals, and it has bore witness to many military sieges and the crowning of many Scottish Kings and Queens over the years.

The castle itself is beautiful, well preserved and foreboding. All things that you are looking for in a castle. The history presented in the castle is interesting, clear and thorough. In short - if you like looking at beautiful things and reading a lot of very informative plaques in a place of great historical significance, Stirling Castle is a great day out. I would argue a better day out that Edinburgh Castle as there a lot less people to get in my way during all the plaque reading.

Hike the Crag, North Third Reservoir and Sauchie Crag

Hiking in central Scotland is plentiful, which is no great surprise given the interesting geology (see above RE ‘crags’) and history; many other Scots of importance lived and built castles/estates in the area, to be near the royals and also take advantage of the strategic position of Stirling and the Forth River. We took a short hike up the North Third and Sauchie Crags to fill the afternoon with some good views.

The walk is a great one to fit into an afternoon. Only a mile (2.5km) long, it meanders through Craigs Wood, a forest of beech, larch and oak trees, alongside an old stonewall. The path steepens up the craggy Lewis Hill escarpment, and the view opens to reveal the North Third Reservoir down below to the left.

Sauchie Crag to North Third Reservoir, Stirling

Allow plenty of time to admire the view at the top, and if you are lucky enough to do the walk on a day half as beautiful as the one we nabbed, you will need your sunnies to admire the view over towards some highland Bens. The walk continues on and around to the dam wall, or back the way you came if the sun is setting as it was for us.