Great Britain 2012, Stirling Castle (UK Landmarks) - 1st

Great Britain - Stamp 2012

Stirling Castle (UK Landmarks) - 1st

- - - - - - -

Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland.  It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1890s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, has made it an important fortification from the earliest times. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century.

Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543.  It is now a tourist attraction managed by Historic Scotland.