Well my dream is come true and I am taking a trip to Scotland this November. I will spend seven days in Edinburgh with a side trip to Stirling. Of course I will see the Wallace monument there and Stirling castle. Can anyone recommend an arms collection I might see while I am there? A dream woudl be to actually document some of the swords I see, but alas, I have absolutely no contacts in any museums. Anyway, I would love to photograph as much as possible while I am there. Any tips, hints and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Joel

Hi Joel,
I just returned from Scotland in June. You may want to follow the link below to my Picture trail site. We did not get to Stirling, but you will LOVE Edinburgh. Easy to get around via public transportation. Eat at Dirty Dick's Pub on Rose Street. Rose street has several great places to dine. Do the Edinburgh Underground as well. Would love for you to check out might site, and sign my guest book.

Best regards,
Ron
www.picturetrail.com/turcael

I visited Edinburgh and Stirling in 1999. In Stirling, the Wallace Monument houses the sword claimed to be William Wallace's. Didn't visit the Castle, though. In Edinburgh, the Castle has several swords on display (make sure to visit the cafeteria; it is bound to give some interior decorating ideas). While I didn't visit the Museum of Scotland http://www.nms.ac.uk/mos/index.htm, I have an acquaintance who worked there for a while, and according to him, there are several interesting swords there. It might be of interest that there's a museum in Glasgow, the Burrell Collection http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=1, that has several swords on display, among them some claymores.

Unfortunately the Kelvingrove museum in Glasgow is undergoing renovation and as such all of the arms and armour are boxed up and will be off display for some time.

I had not palnned on visitnig Glasgow, but it looks like I may haev to change my plans slightly. I'll try to take as many photos as I possible can and share them when I get back. :D

Joel, have you seen Juan Perez' thread on Edinburgh Castle at SFI?

Swords at the Edinburgh Castle (I)

Thanks Scott,
I am no longer a member of SFI, for idealogical reasons and I do no even go there anymore for fear of the PC police. Thanks for the link though.

Joel

:D That's certainly a good rule. Bjorn, you sure look spiffy in your Viking outfit. Do you wear it to work? LOL Since you have some experience inthsi area, how approachable are most curators? I am not expecting large crowds when I go in November, and it would be very cool to dcoument some of the swords I see (weight, length, POB, COP etc). But I wond't want to step on any toes or appear pushy. Any advice?

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Well, it's more of a late 12th century outfit. It was a cold day when that pic was taken (during a TV documentary shoot), and it was interesting to note that it is rather unpleasant to feel one's nose getting colder and colder, as it was in contact with the nasal bar most of the time that ice-cold day... :eek:

My usual tactic when approaching curators is to email them well in advance, stating who I am and what I would like to see. That is pretty obvious. It is good to know what swords you want to see, either their item numbers or the book where they can be seen. Be flexible; don't try to see a dozen swords. 4-5 swords will keep you occupied for a couple of hours. Some swords are part of the permanent exhibition, and thus hard to remove from their display cases. If that is the case, ask the curator if there's a similar sword in storage that would be easier to get access to.

I've been lucky in my contacts with curators, and have been turned down just once (and that was due to erratic communications). If you are to take pics, you might be asked to sign an agreement not to use the pics for commercial purposes. I've found that as long as one is humble and earnest, it is easy to get access even to world famous collections like the Wallace Collection and the Royal Armouries in Leeds. You're a teacher, right? You don't have to be specific (maths, was it?), but mentioning that in passing might work in your favour. Good luck!