We had tried twice before, on our second and third days in Scotland on July 25 and 26 to tour Argyll’s Lodging, which is located down the hill and around the corner from Stirling Castle.  Both days it was closed.  But this day it was open.Argyll’s Lodging is under the care of Historic Scotland and guided tours are arranged through the ticket office at Stirling Castle.  The mansion was built in the 1670’s as the residence of a high ranking nobleman serving in the royal court.  It is named for the Campbells of Argyll and is considered to be the most complete aristocratic townhouse of its period in Scotland. Visitors get to witness the high-status domestic life of the 1600s. There are so many historic castles, abbeys and buildings in Scotland that it must be a challenge to  vary  the  displays  and  make  each  one  a unique  place  for  people  to  visit.  Argyll’s  Lodging  did  a great  job  portraying  life  in  the  kitchen  of  a great  house.All  of  the  photos  below  were  part  of  the goings-on  in  the  big  kitchen. We wandered onto the lower grounds of Stirling Castle and checked out the powder magazine where all the gunpowder used to be kept. The Castle  certainly  shows  a formidable  face  to  those  arriving  from  the  cliff side.