After breakfast with Tony and Pam at the Retreat House, we made our way back to the mainland and north to the town of Stirling.  For those who are familiar with Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning  movie Braveheart, Stirling Bridge is where William Wallace won his famous battle over the English.  After winding through the streets of Stirling up to the castle, we made a quick pit stop for lunch before heading into the castle.

Stirling Castle was built in the 1500's and was quite huge, covering a small mountain that would have controlled all traffic in the region in its days.  The displays did a neat job of sharing what life would have been like in that time.  They even were in the process of making a tapestry that was about 8-10 feet high and about 20 feet long just as they would have five hundred years ago - quite a project.  For the history junkies in the group, they had an impressive museum dedicated to the Argyll & Southerland Highlanders, one of Scotland's most decorated military units.  It was particularly interesting to hear the story of Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans from the British viewpoint.

By 4:00, though, we were done and it was time to make our way back to Glasgow for the night.  Again, we had the adventure of dealing with Glasgow's rush hour traffic, the traffic roundabouts, and getting off the correct road, but we finally made it!