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the pineapple
The Wallace Sword
Stirling Castle view
Stirling Castle (Scotland, U.K.)
I'm off to Stirling for a couple of days in December and I'll be checking out Stirling castle, the Wallace monument and going up to Callander.
What else should I not miss. I've looked at a lot of internet sites so don't need pointing in that direction.
I'd like someone from the region or who knows the region well to make some suggestions. There seems so much and I have so little time.
Thanks
Just down the hill from the Castle is Argyll's Lodging (ticket price included in Castle) and this is well-worth a visit. So is the church just up the hill from the lodging - sorry, cannot remember it's name but you go to the Lodging and then follow that road up the hill.
There's also the jail but haven't been so don't know if it is worth a visit.
The Bannockburn site is very interesting.
However, I see you are going for only a couple (2?) days, one of which will be in Callendar - so,, with the Castle and the Wallace monument and possibly Argyll's Lodging, that's more than enough for the remaining day.
If you are Stirling for a short trip, a good way to get about is to take the Stirling Tour.
The coach will stop at fixed points, and covers most of the important sights which should not be missed.
Adults £7.50
Senior Citizens
Students £6.00
As befits the home of golf, in Scotland it is still a 'people's game', not just about status and snobbery* but still played by the working classes (though I never got the hang of it). Clubs are widespread, and most allow guests to play. I'd estimate there are at least twenty within half an hours drive of Stirling (some, like Gleneagles, may be a little harder to get into).
In addition, there are pay and play facilities, like the Airthrey course at Stirling University, and Brucefields family golf centre at Bannockburn. Both of these are 9-hole par 3 parkland courses, with club hire available.
The picture shows a hole at the Airthrey Course, with Airthrey Castle and Dumyat hill behind.
* OK, that is a pretty wide ranging insult, apologies to all international golfers to whom it does not apply. Contact venues for details:
Stirling Golf Club: www.stirlinggolfclub.tv Tel. 01786 471490
Airthrey: http://www.sports-dev.stir.ac.uk/facilities/index.php (all sports - golf specific link not populated at time of writing) Tel: 01786 466901
Brucefields: Tel. 01786 818 184
List of local courses (note- includes some very unlocal courses!): http://www.golf-link-scotland.co.uk/courses-central.htm
Official tourist site with info for all of Scotland: http://golf.visitscotland.com/
When I was visiting Stirling I met VT-member zizkov, who took me in his car to see the surroundings. When we arrived to Doune Castle they were going to close earlier that day and we got only 15 – 20 minutes to see the interior. It was a quick tour through the kitchen, Great Hall, Lord’s Hall, stairs and towers. It was a pity we had to be in a rush, but the good thing was that we didn’t have to pay.
Doune Castle was built in the 14th century for the first Duke of Albany. During James I reign the castle became a royal retreat and hunting lodge. The castle has been renovated but is anyway one of the least changed castles in Scotland.
Doune Castle is the castle used in the movie Monty Pythons and the Holy Grail.
The castle is situated 8 km northwest of Stirling (along A84).
Admission is 3 pounds.
Opening hours:
April – September 9.30 – 6.30 (open every day)
October – March 9.30 – 4.30 (closed Thursdays and Fridays)
The castle at Dollar (Castle Campbell), built by the first Earl of Argyll. The castle, which is about 12 miles from Stirling, was once known as Castle Gloom but the name was changed when the Campbells took it over. There is a large tower house which you can climb to the top of for good views over the Ochil hills behind, as well as down to Dollar and beyond. The rest of the castle was built later but destroyed by fire so is now in a more ruinous state of repair. John Knox is believed to have preached here and Mary Queen of Scots also visited.
Free entry to members of Historic Scotland or the National Trust for Scotland and £2.50 to everyone else
If you want to see some bleak empty scenery, but don't have time to get to the Highlands, then visit Sherrifmuir. North of Stirling, West of the A9, its the kind of place that can be bleak cold and windswept even in the middle of summer. Oh, and there is a pub in the middle (Sherrifmuir Inn).
Sheriffmuir was the site of an crucial battle in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. Despite superior Jacobite numbers, the battle was inconclusive: the Jacobite forces withdrawing, rather than press on for victory. This demoralised the Jacobite cause and more or less ended the rebellion. There is a monument to the battle above Dunblane. There is an account of the battle on the Clan Cameron website.
And an account in verse from Scotland's second most famous poet William McGonagall.
To reach it (by car) turn right just past the University (from Stirling) or by the golf club (Dunblane) - there are also two roads in from the A9 north of Dunblane. If you are feeling energetic, a 3-4 hour walk round, starting from the University. And just behind the University, but quite elevated, there is a place to park which can give you easy access to Dumyat (the first summit of the Ochils).
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Address: Glasgow Road, Stirling, Stirling, FK7 0LJ, United Kingdom
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