Stirling

Cabinet 16

‘Soon after crossing the bridge of the Esk at Longtown, a striking contrast is observable in the appearance of the country, of the people, and of the cattle, upon the two opposite shores of the Solway Firth.’

So wrote Scottish-born but London-based John Knox (1720-1790) as he entered his home country.

Knox made some 16 trips to Scotland in 23 years; a remarkable feat considering travel in remote areas was often difficult. Indeed, he noted that while travelling through Sutherland one had to climb like a goat and jump like a grasshopper.

Here in his A Tour through the Highlands of Scotland and the Hebrides Isles are his remarks on Stirling, the ‘Gateway to the Highlands’.

John Knox, A Tour through the Highlands of Scotland, and the Hebrides Isles, in MDCCLXXXVI. London: Printed for J. Walter [and six others], 1787.