Majestic Grandeur

An early form of shock and awe.

Cast your imagination back a few centuries if you can. This is the view you would get a few centuries ago if you were approaching Stirling Castle in Scotland from the north. The view is from the Old Bridge in Stirling - the only (then) nearby crossing over the River Forth. The castle standing majestically on the hill fills the vision and I'm sure it would infuse a sense of awe and respect in those who dared to approach. Of course the castle itself has undergone many adaptations over the centuries but its imposing position on the hill is unchanged.

The view still captures the imagination even though I've seen it many times.

Footnote - somewhat perplexingly there were workmen doing 'stuff' to the external finishing of the Great Hall (the yellowish coloured building). From examining other photos taken today I suspect they may be re-painting the stonework to freshen it ahead of the grand opening of the multi-£m refurbishment of the Royal Palace in June. We'd been led to believe that the original yellowish painting was authentic to the era when the Great Hall was built and would age over time to look like the rest of the castle. Not if they keep painting it it won't. I'm probably being too churlish and speaking from insufficient knowledge of what is going on but it sure does seem odd and its certainly out of keeping with the rest of the fine stonework in the town. It won't put me off photographing it though.