Whirlybirds

It's the start of Stirling's Big Weekend today, so went for a wander around the place to see how things were shaping up.

Biked it up to Bannockburn first, where there's a (paid) massive two day music & history event taking place to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the 1314 battle. Lots of activity up there, stages and tents erected, press being led around and the sound of the 1314 re-enactment going on just out of sight. Thousands of saltire waving visitors expected. Been on the cards for a while (700 years?) and couldn't really take place elsewhere.

There's also an equally huge Armed Forces Day celebration going on at the same time. Lots of roadworks, painting, planting and tidying up going on for this free event. British military parading and lots of heavy metal on display on the ground and in the skies and lots of union flag waving. This always takes place the last Saturday in June, just seems odd Stirling was chosen above many other locations around the UK.

And it all kicked off tonight with a huge pipe band procession from the castle down through the city streets, right past the bar we thought we had booked a quiet meal in, before heading off for something musically a bit less bagpipey down the road.

Not going anywhere near the place with four wheels tomorrow, got no idea where everyone's going to squeeze in. But I'll head out and see if I can bag a good spot to watch all the aerial activity going on around the sky above Stirling. It's all been kicking up a bit of fuss on social media and elsewhere over why both events have been scheduled for the same weekend, with both sides of the Scottish Independence Referendum debate wiring in to each other at every opportunity.

Think this big chopper will be part of all that, snapped it as it came in to land on a practice run over the city. Pretty close that was, near blew me off my feet.