The French Spur, Stirling Castle
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The French Spur, Stirling Castle by kim traynor as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The French Spur, Stirling Castle
Image: © kim traynor Taken: 27 Nov 2011
A display notice informs the visitor that "Stirling Castle has the Auld Alliance with France to thank for this state-of-the-art artillery fortification. In the 1550s, the French king Henry II* invested more than 1 million pounds Scots and sent 6,000 troops to keep the English out of Scotland. His men probably built the spur some time after 1554." Its 11 guns guarded the castle entrance and the Old Bridge over the Forth; and the outside wall bears a fleur-de-lis carved by the French soldiers who built it. *This is the unfortunate king who died in a jousting accident in 1559 when the lance of Montgomery, captain of his Scottish bodyguard, splintered and pierced Henry in one eye through his visor.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
56.123732
Longitude
-3.946547