Apologies for the long time since the last posting but flu and the Christmas holidays got the better of me.
The picture above is the view from the men's loo at the SNH Stirling office and since the end of November last year I have been seeing an awful lots of it. Not I hasten to add for any health reasons but, because of the poor weather I have been spending lots more time in the office. And every time I used the facilities this fantastic view of the Wallace monument has been in front of my eyes. The tower was built as a national monument on the spot where Wallace stood watching and planning for his greatest victory against the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. But what has this got to do with Flanders Moss? Well you may not know it but Flanders Moss has played a key role throughout Scottish history including the Battle for Stirling Bridge and more famously the Battle of Bannockburn. It was the presence of Flanders Moss and other large raised bogs along the length of the Carse of Stirling that presented a barrier to any armies moving north or south. Further west and you are into the Highlands and Loch Lomond which are equally impassable. So if any commander wanted to move any number of soldiers quickly then they had do so on the east side of the country and cross the River Forth at Stirling. There were roads across the Carse since the Romans used a Ford at Frew (south east of Flanders, near the Kippen roundabout) that would have been used by travellers and local people but these roads were not passable for the fast movement of large numbers of men and certainly not in the wetter winter months. So Stirling castle and the crossing of the Forth were of strategic importance and all because of the presence Flanders Moss to the west. Maybe one day someone will write a book about the role of Flanders Moss in Scottish history ?
