Wallace Monument

Today's Blip was taken from the campus of the University of Stirling, looking over the small loch to the Wallace Monument. It was taken during my lunch break when the weather was very dull with the odd drop of rain. I therefore thought a black and white photo was appropriate, giving a better sense of the general gloom.

The Wallace Monument was constructed following a fundraising campaign, which accompanied a resurgence of Scottish national identity in the 19th century. In addition to public subscription, it was partially funded by contributions from a number of foreign donors, including Italian national leader Giuseppe Garibaldi. Completed in 1869 to the designs of architect John Thomas Rochead at a cost of £18,000, the monument is a 220 ft sandstone tower, built in the Victorian Gothic style.

The monument stands on the Abbey Craig, a volcanic crag above Cambuskenneth Abbey, from which Wallace was said to have watched the gathering of the army of King Edward I of England, just before the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

The monument is open to the general public. Visitors climb the 246 step spiral staircase to the viewing gallery inside the monument's crown, which provides expansive views of the Ochil Hills and the Forth Valley.

A number of artifacts believed to have belonged to Wallace are on display inside the monument, including the Wallace Sword, a 5 ft, 4in long sword weighing almost three kilograms.