To many people, the perception of William Wallace is that of a diminutive Australian actor with blue and white face-paint screaming 'Freedom' as he is brutally beheaded. That a stone statue was controversially built close to the site of the Wallace Monument in Stirling bearing that same actor's features did little to allay the myth. At 220 feet, the sandstone tower which sits atop the 300-foot Abbey Craig, the crag from where Wallace supposedly plotted the famous victory over the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297, casts an imposing figure across the city skyline. Despite living in the area for the best part of forty years, I decided to make only my second trip there. Staying in a town littered with historical buildings, it's easy to take these types of places for granted. For example, I wonder how many Florentine residents have ever climbed the Duomo or visited the Uffizi gallery.
On what was a brisk spring day, I set off to explore the monument, and was greeted with a welcoming sight as soon as I reached the base of the hill. The aforementioned statue had been thankfully removed, replaced with a new reception area and visitor centre. The climb up to the foot of the monument is a short, but steep one. A lightly gravelled path, initially adorned on either side with wild shrub before expanding into a more dense wooded area, slowly winds its way towards the spectacular pillar. Other paths would branch off at intervals during the ascent, giving the walk an element of mystery, an illusion cruelly shattered by a shuttle bus carrying the less energetic visitors to the top of the hill. Undeterred, I soon arrived at the base, and marvelled at the fine view that the top of the crag afforded. I wasn't here for this view however, and as I entered the monument, it felt like I was transported back in time to the thirteenth century. The monument itself was built during the 1860's, funded by the public, with donations from ex-patriate Scots from all corners of the globe as a homage to Wallace.
Unlike many structures of its type, it's not just one long dizzying climb up a spiral staircase to the top. The walk is broken up by three large, cavernous, stone chambers, each containing many stories and artefacts from Scotland's rich history. The first chamber contains the purported actual broadsword used by Wallace in battle, and it's a mightily impressive sight. Standing over six feet in height, one can only wonder how the man ever lifted the thing, far less battled effectively with it. I continued my ascent before reaching the second of the chambers, which is by some way, the most interesting of the three. Taking pride of place across the four walls of the room are large marble busts of many of Scotland's prominent historical figures. The intricately carved faces of Robert the Bruce, Thomas Carlyle, David Livingstone (I presume), and Adam Smith all seemed very much at home in a room labelled 'Hall of Heroes', and I couldn't resist a smile on noticing the eyes of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, two of Scotland's best loved pen-smiths, seemed to be locked on one another. The third and final cavern is the most basic of the three, with various newspaper cuttings and old photos imposed onto a framed structure. After the magnificence of the previous chambers, this seemed little more than an afterthought, sadly.
And so, the final climb. The last few steps to the viewing gallery up ahead. After being harangued by an American tourist coming the other way for only wearing a T-shirt, letting me know in no uncertain terms it was 'bitterly cold' at the top, I finally arrived. There are few things in life which genuinely take your breath away, but the view from the top of this fine building was magnificent. Thankfully it was a clear day, which allowed me to see over to the Forth Bridges in the east, the ragged peaks of Ben Ledi and Ben Lomond to the west, the subtle contours of the Ochil Hills to the north, and the entire city of Stirling, complete with the foreboding castle to the south.
The monument is a fitting epitaph to William Wallace in many ways, and I think the great man himself might just have approved. I believe the Australian was quite taken with the place too....
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