Day 0, Stirling, Cape Wrath Trail

Stirling is a underrated wee city. Medieval castle with all the old town trimmings, Stirling Bridge and Wallace: the meeting point of Lowland and Highland. Yet it has its own rough underbelly cheek by jowl with cobbled streets.

The castle dominates the landscape. It’s been looked after well and feels accessible, not preserved. Old skills have been relearned to redo old halls and chapel. Big enough to show coach parties (who need to be diverted to the rest of the city), small enough to appreciate its scale.

We followed the Forth trail to find where Jimmy (my Dad) was born, Abbey Road Place. On the way the information boards broadened horizons. I hadn’t realised Stirling had once been a major port.

The Albert Halls rounded off the day with Blazin Fiddles and Karen Matheson in a grand Victorian pile.