Historic Scotland, shared with a small dram of whisky!
Stirling was the battlefield of a young nation. Major battles during the wars of Scottish Independence took place at the Stirling Bridge and at the nearby village of Bannockburn involving William Wallace and Robert the Bruce respectively.
Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s grandest castles due to its imposing position and impressive architecture, Stirling Castle commands the countryside for many miles around.
It towers over some of the most important battlefields of Scotland’s past including Stirling Bridge, the site of William Wallace’s victory over the English in 1297, and Bannockburn where Robert the Bruce defeated the same foe in the summer of 1314.
Visit the Stirling Castle website www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk to plan your visit
The Old Town is like a walk through history - the Castle and the Church of the Holy Rude, mansions, town walls, graveyards and ghosts.
The National Wallace Monument, the Church of the Holy Rude – all icons of Scotland’s royal and often tempestuous past. The city has many more unexpected sites from a jail to a working brewery. The museums and gallery experience spans archaeology to contemporary Scottish art.
Stand shoulder-to-shoulder with medieval warriors and armoured knights while learning about the tactics of two opposing kings in a truly immersive experience.
Witness the sights and sounds of medieval battle first-hand including ancient battle strategies, weapons and armour. Battle of Bannockburn
Doune Castle
Doune Castle was built around 1400 by Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, Earl of Menteith and Fife. Younger brother of the weak and feeble Robert III, he was the effective ruler of the kingdom from 1388 until his death in 1420. He is known to history as ‘Scotland’s uncrowned king’, and his seat at Doune was virtually a royal castle.Only after Albany’s death did Doune Castle finally gain the status its builder had desired – it became a kingly residence. It never rivalled the great royal castles at Stirling and Edinburgh. Rather, it was used as a royal retreat from the burdens of state, a pleasant summer residence where the royal family could relax and hunt in the nearby forests in the Trossachs. Only when James VI left for London in 1603, to become James I of England also, did Doune’s role as royal retreat effectively come to an end. Less than 10 minutes from Callander