History is one of the reasons I love Stirling. I can walk a few feet into my living room right now, look out the window and see the illuminated stone walls of the castle (the same castle that oversaw the Wars of Scottish Independence and Mary, Queen of Scots' rule, among others). Every time I walk over Stirling Bridge, I can only think of the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. On the way to university, the Wallace Monument, while acting as a beacon, reminds me of how ingrained history is within everything around Stirling, and Scotland itself. 

Even at the top of Gowan Hill (or as we affectionately call it, The Cannons), just to the side of the castle there's history. A caged beheading stone sits beside a pair of retired cannons. The stone had a lot of use back in the day, and you can clearly see the gash in the surface where many an axe made contact with it. Ghastly, I know, but fascinating all the same. Each time I think of the executions, my mind takes a very Game of Thrones view of the whole situation.