Saturday 26 May 2007

Stirling Sojourn

I had to visit Stirling University today for my final tutorial. All of us went - my other half and the children spent time in the (lovely) grounds while I spent a bewildered hour and a half in a stuffy classroom. As we were in the area, we then visited Stirling Museum, which I first heard about on Carol's blog (thanks Carol!). It was very good and they had an interesting photography exhibition on as well as their permanent exhibits about Stirling's past. Local children had also done an exhibition about the Titanic and they had put a lot of work into it. I relived my past with an enthusiastic response to an old mangle they had there (those were the days...) Lucy and Adam enjoyed doing some brass rubbings and managed to feign mild interest when I pointed out an old record player and tried to explain LPs to them. I'm afraid William Wallace's sword was far more interesting!

The gardens of the Museum were lovely and I took a few photos while wandering...

I have no information about this, but it is lovely isn't it?



These little wooden seats were so comfortable. That 'path' they are on is actually in the shape of a long leaf (you can make out the central vein) and it has the 'bottoms' of different coloured bottles set into it randomly (you can see them if you click on the photo), it was really lovely. The shape of the seats reminds me of the Moomin Trolls.



This was great - when you jumped on the end of a plank it played a note! Fantastic fun. Must be a system of bellows or something else clever.



I was thinking a teddy bear's picnic would be good here. Unfortunately, we didn't have any teddies with us, or any picnic either.



There were lots of really pretty flowers. It was quite a 'wild' garden, which are the kind I love best.





There was a little path with various mosaics set into it. Carol showed some of these on her blog so I've shown a different one here. I love the colours in this one.



I would recommend the Museum if you are ever in the area. Even if it's not your cup of tea, there is a cafe and admission is free!

7 comments:

Alis Clair said...

What an interesting day you had. What a fabulous place.

Carol said...

I thought the kids would like the rubbings and of course the SWORD!! I am so glad you and the kids enjoyed themselves as did Norman and I.

AC said...

Looks like a great day out for the kids:-)
We might get to Stirling in August as we are up in St Andrews for two weeks.
Alison x

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed your account of the University gardens. Thanks for sharing.

Dianne said...

What a great place!! Maybe I'll get over that way some day (wish, wish......).

Anonymous said...

I googled the phrase at the bottom of the sculpture. As far as I can tell: It is the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom when used in Scotland.

Nemo me impune lacessit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one wounds me with impunity, literally meaning (lacessere = to appeal to, to provoke, to attack): No one provokes me with impunity) is the royal Scottish motto, used historically for the Kingdom of Scotland where it appeared on the Royal Arms of Scotland. Today it is the motto the monarch of the United Kingdom uses when in Scotland, and it appears on the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom when in use in Scotland.

FARBTUPFER said...

Very nice pictures, this must be an excellent place!