William Wallace statue returns following £260,000 facelift
- Published
Drew Leslie and Dan Lea inspected the statue before it was raised back into place
The William Wallace statue has been returned to the National Wallace Monument in Stirling following a £260,000 restoration.
The 14ft bronze sculpture underwent 10 weeks of repair work, including cleaning and restabilising, from specialists in England.
It was dismantled and removed from the landmark's entrance for the first time since being unveiled in 1887.
The monument celebrates its 150th anniversary in September.
The statue's head was cleaned as part of the restoration work
Stirling Council's senior manager for infrastructure Brian Roberts said restoring the statue of Wallace, who was executed in London, had been a "hugely challenging and complex project".
He said: "What happened on Wallace's last trip to England is obviously well-known, and very much in the past.
"But, this time, thanks to (restoration company) Lost Art's painstaking work, he has returned across the border in peak condition and ready to greet visitors from all over the world as they arrive at the monument."
The William Wallace statue was created by renowned Edinburgh sculptor David Watson Stephenson and was added to the monument in 1887.
The project is part of the overall restoration of the monument, which is being funded by Stirling Council and is expected to cost £515,000.
The National Wallace Monument attracts about 140,000 visitors every year.
The restoration work took 10 weeks to complete