Dunblane and Doune
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Frequent trains, bus #58 (and bus #358 in school term-time) make the journey four miles north of Stirling to DUNBLANE, a small, attractive place which has been an important ecclesiastical centre since the seventh century, when the Celts founded the Church of St Blane here. Despite the length of its history, however, it is the more recent past which the town prefers to put gently to one side, Dunblane having witnessed a horrific massacre in March 1996, when one Thomas Hamilton entered a local primary school and shot dead fifteen children and their teacher before turning the gun on himself. Scene of an intensely moving memorial service following the killings, Dunblane Cathedral (April-Sept Mon-Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun 1-6.30pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 9.30am-4.30pm, Sun 2-4.30pm; HS; free) dates mainly from the thirteenth century, and restoration work carried out a century ago has returned it to its Gothic splendour. Inside, note the delicate blue-purple stained glass, and the exquisitely carved pews, screen and choir stalls, all crafted in the early twentieth century. The cathedral, praised in the highest terms by John Ruskin ("I know not anything so perfect in its simplicity, and so beautiful, in all the Gothic with which I am acquainted"), stands serenely amid a clutch of old-world buildings, among them the seventeenth-century Dean's House, which houses the tiny cathedral museum (May-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-12.30pm & 2-4.30pm; free) with exhibits on local history.
DOUNE, eight miles northwest of Stirling and three miles due west of Dunblane, is a sleepy village with a violent past. The fourteenth-century castle (April-Sept Mon-Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun 2-6.30pm; Oct-March Mon-Wed & Sat 9.30am-4.30pm, Thurs 9.30am-1pm, Fri & Sun 2-4.30pm; HS; £2.50) is a marvellous semi-ruin standing on a small hill in a bend of the River Teith. Built by Robert, Duke of Albany, it eventually ended up in the hands of the earls of Moray (whose descendants still live here), following the execution of the Albany family by James I. Today the most prominent features of the castle are its mighty 95ft gatehouse, with spacious vaulted rooms, and the kitchens, complete with medieval rubbish chute. Close to the castle, accommodation is available at the excellent Glenardoch House, Castle Road (tel 01786/841489; £40-50), an eighteenth-century country-house B&B with two comfortable en-suite rooms and a beautiful riverside garden.
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