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Stirlingshire.

Stirling Castle · Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire

Stirling Castle.

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Loch Earn, Stirlingshire  4° · Partly cloudy
Stirlingshire

Where to go, eat and stay in Stirlingshire.

High on its crag above the flat green fields of the Forth, Stirling Castle is quite a first sight. This is where the Lowlands meet the Highlands, and for centuries any army heading north had to pass this way.

A royal castle, battlefields and the KelpiesPlaces to visitGorges, waterfalls and the Ochil HillsWalks and the outdoorsOld inns, cafés and coffee in the old townFood and drinkShops, studios and makersShops and makersCountry house hotels and old innsPlaces to stayDays we have driven, stop by stopDays out
The guide

Our guide to Stirlingshire.

All of Stirlingshire, part by part: what is where, how to get round, and where to eat and stay. Photographed by us.

Read the guide to Stirlingshire
Just addedAdded today

We've just added Arnprior Farm to the website.

A family farm on the A811 west of Stirling with a pick-your-own pumpkin patch in October, lambing days in April and a private indoor pool.

Find out more about Arnprior Farm
WildlifeThis weekSeen 3 times · Hamilton GardensDipperSeen twicePink-footed gooseSeen onceGolden eagleSeen once · Ruchazie, GlasgowWhooper swanSeen once · DunblaneBeaverSeen once · Argyll and Bute CouncilRed deer

The wildlife people spotted in Stirlingshire this week.

This week the dipper was the animal reported most often round here: 3 sightings, the latest near Hamilton Gardens, Glasgow. These are the animals people have reported most in Stirlingshire and nearby in the last seven days, the most seen first. Every sighting is logged with a photograph or a recording on iNaturalist, the wildlife recording site, and each card opens them on its map.

From our guideNear DunblaneCromlix

Where to stay in Stirlingshire.

High on its crag above the flat green fields of the Forth, Stirling Castle is quite a first sight.

Read it
Just addedAdded today

We've just added WoodWinters to the website.

A wine and whisky merchant on Henderson Street in Bridge of Allan, importing wines from growers around the world, with whisky, artisan spirits and evening tastings.

Find out more about WoodWinters
Hidden Scotland, the magazineThe magazine

Issue 13

The autumn and winter issue is here.

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Days outA morningDunblane Cathedral and Doune CastleBy carA morningCallendar House on a wet day and lunch in its tearoomNo car neededA morningThe Pineapple's walled garden and the KelpiesBy carA morningSupper at the Corbie Inn and a film at the HippodromeBy carA morningKinneil Estate and a heritage train from Bo'nessBy carA morningA walk to the Avon Aqueduct at MuiravonsideNo car needed

New days out in Stirlingshire.

Ready-made days, the newest first, each with its drive times, its stops and somewhere to eat.

See every day out in Stirlingshire
Did you know1 minute agoGraeme JohncockWritten byGraeme JohncockRead Graeme’s piece

Castle Campbell, above Dollar Glen in the Ochil Hills, was renamed in the 15th century by the Earl of Argyll, with King James IV's permission.

‘Up until then, the stronghold perched above the Burn of Care and the Burn of Sorrow went by the equally melancholy name of Castle Gloom. The word Gloom probably came from the word for gorge rather than the atmosphere that lurks here.’

Graeme JohncockWritten byGraeme JohncockRead Graeme’s piecePhotograph: Paul Kerr on Google MapsSee Castle Campbell · Stirlingshire
WildlifeOn Sunday

Whooper swans were seen near Ruchazie, Glasgow.

Whooper swans are big wild swans with lemon-yellow bills that come to Scotland's lochs and fields each autumn for the winter. The nearest of our places to them is St Aloysius Church, 2 miles away.

See St Aloysius Church
From the magazine30 minutes ago

Two of The Treehouses at Lanrick, near Doune, are joined by a rope bridge, which makes the pair a great choice for families and groups travelling together.

Staying in one is a chance to live out a childhood fantasy, and youngsters and the young at heart alike will love looking out onto the forest canopy from the cosy lounges or the large raised decks. The owners, Simon and Louisa Dickson, have given each custom-built treehouse a personality of its own, with hand-crafted tables, upcycled furniture, outdoor bathtubs and wood-burning stoves. With the bridge strung between them, the two connected treehouses let a bigger party stay together high among the trees.

Read the full story in Issue 7
From our archive45 minutes ago

Finnich Glen, Stirlingshire.

A deep, mossy gorge of red sandstone near Killearn, where the burn runs blood-red past the rock called the Devil's Pulpit.

See the place
Did you know59 minutes ago

Mary was crowned Queen of Scots at nine months old, thirty years to the day after Scotland's worst defeat.

Her father had died six days after she was born, and England was already pressing over who the child would marry. So they crowned her, on 9 September 1543, which was thirty years exactly since Flodden, where a Scottish king and much of the nobility were killed by an English army in a single afternoon. Nobody in the chapel that day would have needed it explained. She was carried in and held up while the crown was touched to her head and the sceptre and sword laid against her, too small to sit up for any of it.

See Stirling Castle · Stirlingshire
From the JournalThe journal1 hour ago

Stirling Castle and the Murder of the 8th Earl of Douglas

Stirling Castle is a magnificent example of the power and ambition of the Stewart dynasty.

Read the story