The Abbey Craig from Stirling Castle

Image: © kim traynor Taken: 27 Nov 2011

A view from the esplanade of Stirling Castle showing the Old Stirling Bridge over the River Forth and the Wallace Monument against the splendid backdrop of the Ochil Hills. "As this little, but very pleasant spot, was on the north side of the castle, we had from thence a most agreeable prospect indeed over the valley and the river; as it is truly beautiful, so it is what the people of Sterling justly boast of, and, indeed, seldom forget it, I mean the meanders, or reaches of the River Forth. They are so spacious, and return so near themselves, with so regular and exactly a sweep, that, I think, the like is not to be seen in Britain, if it is in Europe, especially where the river is so large also. (...) The form of this winding may be conceived of a little by the length of the way, for it is near twenty miles from Sterling to Alloway [Alloa] by water, and hardly four miles by land."-- Daniel Defoe, A Tour Thro' The Whole Island of Great Britain, 1724-6

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