Stirling controlled the lowest crossing of the River Forth for five hundred years. The castle sits on a volcanic rock above the town - the same geology as Edinburgh's castle, the same strategic logic - and the flat river plain below was the site of two of the most significant battles in Scottish history. ScotRail connects Edinburgh to Stirling in 45 minutes.
Getting There
ScotRail from Edinburgh Waverley to Stirling: 45 minutes, running west through Falkirk. Services run frequently throughout the day. The station is at the base of the castle rock; Stirling Castle is a 20-minute uphill walk from the station (or a short taxi ride for post-marathon legs).
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle (Historic Environment Scotland, entry approximately £17.50) is the most complete surviving Renaissance royal palace in Scotland. The Great Hall (1503) was the largest medieval hall in Scotland; the Royal Palace (1540s) has the celebrated Stirling Heads - carved oak roundels depicting figures from the Scottish court, now reconstructed and repainted as they would have been when James V commissioned them.
The castle stands at 75 metres; the climb from the town involves sustained steps and slope. Day One recovery: take the taxi. Day Two: walk up.
The view from the castle walls covers the Forth Valley in all directions: the Wallace Monument on its hilltop to the northeast, the Ochil Hills to the east, Dumyat above Menstrie, and the flat plain of the Carse of Stirling where the Bannockburn battlefield lies 2 miles south.
The Old Town
The old town below the castle occupies the volcanic ridge between the castle and the railway. The Church of the Holy Rude (open May to September) is where James VI of Scotland was crowned in 1567 aged thirteen months - one of two churches in the UK where a coronation took place that is still in regular use. The churchyard has views north to the Ochil Hills.
Broad Street and the Mercat Cross are the centre of the old town. The Smith Art Gallery and Museum on Dumbarton Road (free) has the oldest football in the world (1540, found in the castle walls during renovation in 1981).
The River and the Paths
From the old town, paths descend to the flat Forth riverside and the King's Knot - the geometric garden below the castle walls, a 16th-century pleasure garden that is now grassed over but whose geometric earthworks are clearly readable from the castle above.
The riverside path east from the Stirling Bridge (medieval, the scene of the 1297 battle) runs flat along the Forth toward Cambuskenneth Abbey (2 km, the burial place of James III of Scotland and the Augustinian monastery that supported the Stirling court). The walk there and back is manageable at Day One post-marathon pace.
Where to Stay
Park Lodge Hotel on Park Terrace: Victorian villa hotel above the town, short walk to the castle and old town. Mercure Stirling Kings Park Hotel on Laurencekirk Road: larger hotel with pool, on the southern edge of town. The Stirling Highland Hotel on Spittal Street in the old town: the most atmospheric option, in a converted Victorian school building.
Where to Eat
Brea on Baker Street: the best independent restaurant in Stirling, seasonal Scottish cooking. Darnley Coffee House on Bow Street: the correct choice for the post-castle recovery coffee with castle views from the garden.
Practical Notes
- Stirling is 37 miles west of Edinburgh.
- Day One: train from Edinburgh, castle (taxi up), old town walk, Forth riverside path.
- Day Two: Bannockburn Heritage Centre (2 miles south by taxi), then return to Edinburgh.
- Bannockburn (National Trust for Scotland, entry approximately £12): the 1314 battlefield where Robert the Bruce's army defeated Edward II. The visitor centre has a 3D battle simulation. The battlefield itself is flat.
- Return: ScotRail from Stirling to Edinburgh Waverley, 45 minutes.