National Wallace Monument

A well known landmark, the 19th Century Wallace monument standing sentinel on Abbey Craig (362ft-110m) commemorates the patriot. Sir William Wallace (1270-1305), responsible for rallying Scottish forces against English rule in the period from 1297 to 1305. Hero of the hour at the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297). he became Guardian, prior to the introduction of a collective system of rule.

Following the Scots submission in 1304, Wallace, hunted and captured, died a traitor's death in London the year after. The 19th Century cult of Wallace was revived towards the end of the 20C, with the popular success of Mel Gibson's film Braveheart, a highly romantic account of the hero's derring-do. An upper chamber within the monument contains Wallace's War Tent, with a gripping audio-visual presentation of his conflict with the English. Another chamber, the Hall of Heroes, is lined with the busts of such figures as Sir Walter Scott, Robert the Bruce, and Robert Burns. The viewing platform (246 steps) has a tremendous panorama view of Stirling in the flat carselands of the Forth.

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