Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:

Q1. Stirling


Q2. Oliver Bulleid


внимание друзья! Oliver Bulleid is listed in some of his biographies, as Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid.

The initial clues, seem to me to place us in Stirling, which was according to some of the references I checked, awarded city status c 2002, to celebrate her majesty's golden jubilee. A king who died in Stirling c 1124, is most likely Alexander the first of Scotland (father Malcolm III) and the member of parliament for the Stirling burgh and secretary of state for war c 1866, seems likely to be Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman. The captain of the Scotland football team in the world cup of 1974, who was also born in Stirling c1942, was Billy Bremner.

The doggy film the puzzle author is referring to, is most likely 'The Adventures of Greyfriar's Bobby', which was made c 2005 and released in the UK c 2006. Some of the references state that scenes from this film were shot in the graveyard and around the castle, in Stirling. Edinburgh, where the Greyfriars Bobby story originated, lies about thirty miles or so, south east-ish from Stirling.

Travelling a mile or so east of the cemetery would bring us to Cambuskenneth abbey, which some sources such as Historic Scotland, claim was used first by an Arouaisian order and subsequently by Augustinians. It seems to have been founded by David the first of Scotland c 1140. King David's wife is referred to as Matilda in a lot of his biographies but digging a little deeper, turns up the fact that his spouse was also known as Maud, countess of Huntingdon. The royal couple who are buried at Cambuskenneth abbey are most likely James III (mother, Mary of Guelders) and his wife Margaret of Denmark (father Christian the first, of Denmark).

The hill to the north east which is shown as having heights of  418 and 419 metres is, Meml Dumyat, where lies a monument to the Argyle and Southern Highlanders (formed c 1881). Two and a half miles or so to the west of the eminence, sits Bridge of Allan, a town which used to be a centre of hydropathic therapeutic establishments. An engineer who was schooled at the settlement's 'Spa College', is according to some sources, Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid (born c 1882 at Invercargill, New Zealand). One of Bulleid's bios, says that he succeeded Richard Maunsell as chief engineer of the Southern Railway, c 1937.