Same Shirt, Different day-2012 Adventures of the "Devonport Wonder Babes"

Tuesday 10^th July Paisley and Stirling.

Since my visit to Islay Family History Society which wasn’t very productive, I had spent some time sleuthing online ( using Find My past census records which now includes Scotland) and found two census records for the McArthur family (great grandmothers grandparents) that I hadn’t seen before, one in 1851 in Scarabus,Kilarrow,Islay (tho father is absent this night) and then the other in 1861 with the family now in Silk Street Paisley, south of Glasgow and fathers occupation changed from Agricultural labourer to Engineers labourer.

So Lyndsay and I went with Paul down to Paisley ( ¾ hr drive from old Kilpatrick), found the street, which was small and some of which was original but rest circa 1960’s. The occupations of the two teenage daughters of family at this time were thread worker and shawl fringer and interesting to note remains of some mills still in area.

Silk Street in Paisley

Then headed off to to the northern side of Glasgow to Stirling (about an hour’s drive) firstly to Banockburn, site of one of the few Scots victories ever over the English in 1314.. Has a somewhat tired visitor centre but they are just starting to build a new one. Quite good video of leadup to battle, actual battle and aftermath. Then man dressed in chain mail gave rather gruesome display of the various weapons used at the time and their effects on human bodies.

Site of battle at Bannockburn 

Bannockburn warrior 2012

Then spent another hour or so walking up through Stirling to the Castle, lots of plaques that tell you who/what happened on this spot.

 Janet, I thought you would like this about Argyll  and Nova Scotia. 

and then Then an hour’s drive home through torrential rain to nice hot dinner. 

Robert the Bruce surveys very wet Stirling