How The Movie "Braveheart" Inspired me to Travel to Scotland
I liked Mel Gibson's movie "Braveheart." It has inspired me to love my own country. After watching the movie, I realized that I just take my country for granted. I think my patriotism was sparked because of the movie. But this movie also inspired me to see Scotland. So I read about Scotland and its history. I also scanned the internet for the best reviews and chanced upon the Travel Republic review. I was comfortable with what I read so far so I used them to help me with my flight details and bookings.
In the movie "Braveheart," Gibson as William Wallace rebelled against the English because of what had been done to his wife, Catherine McCormack as Murron MacClannough. She was almost raped by an English soldier with Wallace defending her. She was captured when they attempted to flee. She was then executed in public. This event led Wallace to exact retribution on the English. As the leader of hundreds of Scots, Wallace was victorious at the Battle of Stirling Castle.
There were many battle scenes in the movie so naturally when I visited Scotland, I was happy to see Stirling Castle. It is one of the largest and major castles in Scotland. The castle stood atop steep cliffs on three sides for good defensive position. There were some Scottish Kings and Queens that were crowned at the castle. I think the most famous was the crowning of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, in 1543. I was awed when I saw the castle. It was immense. Even from far away, the defences of the castles can be seen as strategically located around it. And from a vantage point, I can really tell that this area had witnessed many interesting things. In fact, there were at least eight sieges of the castle. I hope there won’t be any need for a new one.
I also visited Falkirk. In the movie, this was where Wallace was defeated by the English because he was betrayed by his two countrymen. Wallace killed the noblemen Mornay and Lochlan as his revenge for their betrayal. Falkirk lies in between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This town is famous for its Falkirk Wheel. It is a revolving boat lift that connects the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal. I also visited the Antonine Wall. This was built by the Romans and covered about 39 miles or 63 kilometers of land. The wall was more or less 3 meters or 10 feet high and 5 meters or 15 feet wide.
Because of this movie, I was able to see that patriotism is good for one’s own country. And I was able to visit Scotland, a country rich in history and tradition. I have seen some of the sites for a few of the movie’s scenes. I was quite pleased with myself for what I accomplished. And I also learned that loving one’s country might need sacrifices on my part. I just hope that my country would not go through what Scotland had gone through in the time of Wallace in the present time.