The Scotland's Places website has already earned its place amongst the best on-line resources for Scotland's past. Now new resoures have been added including information from the wonderful Ordnance Survey Name Books of the mid nineteenth century, reports of medical officers of health and much more.

Search is quick and simple and can yeild all sorts of useful stuff. For some of the most recent and detailed material there is a subscription of £15 for three months usage - but if you save up the enquiries, that is a good bargain!

Stirling's Old Bridge or Auld Brig was probably built around 1400. However there was certainly at least one older bridge. It appears, for example, on Matthew Paris's mid thirteenth century map of Britain, is depicted on the town's seal in 1296 and played a key role (obviously) in the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.
Ron Page and friends conducted important investigations into the probable site of the ancient bridge in the 1990s and Ron published the outcomes, with historical information, at the time.
He has now published photos and drawings on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronpage1924/sets/72157628820767245/

The full published version of Ron's paper can be downloaded at https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1tWr0-5tVI_OGRkMWVjYjctOTNkMC00ZjUyLWFhMTgtMTA2OGI5MzBhNTE3&hl=en

Ron and Cathy page have been amongst the most assiduous researchers of our local history for many years.
They have published important papers about their investigation of the ancient bridge, about roads and about the former Blackfriars' site, off Station Road, which they excavated in 1994, their archaeological work backed up by extensive and dilligent work in the archives.
We already mention their work on the Stirling's History/  burial grounds/ Blackfriars' page of this site.
Ron now sends a link to his Flickr pages of photos of the excavations, drawings, background information and references.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronpage1924/sets/72157629268276887/
In the next few days I will be posting similar material about the ancient bridge.

Doors Open Day and Scottish Archaeology Month have become well-established fixed points in the calendar in recent years. And deservedly so as there are alway some treats on offer, places to visit you can't usually get into, interesting guided walks and things to do.

This year the local offerings are such a bumper crop that it's difficult to know where to start. Lime kilns at Cambusbarron, Stirling Tolbooth, the Allan's School Bastion, a long walk round the Bannockburn battle site and a training dig are just a few of the things that caught my eye.
There is also much that is more up to date - including Stirling's favourite eyesore, the old Tax Office on Spittal Street and the opportunity to visit the Stirling Islamic Centre.

And, for those who have not yet had a visit, why not see our own Stephen Digney on a guided walk at the King's Knot when he will explain the most recent findings.

Much too much to put it all on here, anyway. But the link will give you dates, places, booking arrangements and even some pretty pictures.

So, click and browse through and choose your own favorites

http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/opendays/area_programmes.aspx?areaid=35