Highlands Road Trip: Stirling

Castle Hopping from Stirling to Edinburgh, Scotland

Stirling is a central city in Scotland, nearly equal distant from Edinburgh and Glasgow, making it a popular day trip from either city. Or, as was the case for us, a stop on our drive through the Scottish Highlands en route back to Edinburgh from the west side of the country.

An overview of our complete 10-Day Scottish Highlands Road Trip itinerary can be found here.

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After a full day of driving through scenic Glencoe and The Trossachs National Park, we arrived in Stirling late in the afternoon. While in Stirling we stayed at the Stirling Highland Hotel, the former High School for Stirling. The hotel location was within walking distance to the main attractions we wanted to see, as well as our dinner reservations.

Above photo: Stirling Highland Hotel

While Jason put his feet up, I ventured out on my own to explore the town center. There are a surprising number of coffee shops — but then again, it is a college town. There were also a fair number of artsy shops. If you missed an earlier opportunity to pickup locally made souvenirs, Stirling has some super cute boutiques, as well as a larger shopping mall.

Above photos: Stirling Old Town

Dinner was at Brea. Oh my goodness – this place was so good! It is a casual restaurant with burgers and such on the menu, but everything is made with super fresh ingredients and a creative Scottish flair. I love restaurants that feel kicked-back and relaxing, yet serve up truly incredible flavors. Apparently the word is out because every table was taken on a Wednesday night.

Above photos: Brea Restaurant, Stirling

The following morning, we were able to walk up the hill to Stirling Castle without moving our rental car from the hotel parking lot (nice). Again, the history just left me speechless as we walked in the footsteps of Kings and Queens through the castle gates and the many rooms of the fortress.

Above photos: Stirling Castle

Although much of the castle has been reconstructed over hundreds of years as it suffered attacks and passed hands, the restoration work gives you a glimpse into the past and what it may have been like to live there. The Stirling Heads Gallery, a collection 16th-century oak medallions carved with the faces of famed individuals, was my favorite exhibition.

Above photos: Stirling Castle

The gardens surrounding Stirling Castle offer panoramic views of the Stirlingshire and the Wallace Monument.

Above photos: Views from Stirling Castle

Right next to the castle is the Church of the Holy Rude where the infant King James VI was crowned. Also in close proximity are other historic buildings of Old Stirling.

Above photo: Church of the Holy Rude

Above photos: Buildings in Stirling and the Old Jail (right)

As we left Stirling and continued to drive east, we stopped off to see the Kelpies in Falkirk. Kelpies are mythical water horses, but they just look like regular gigantic horse heads. The Kelpies serve as a monument to horse-powered heritage across Scotland.

Above photos: The Kelpies

This was the point in our itinerary where we had planned to visit Linlithgow Palace. Unfortunately, the palace was closed due to masonry inspections. So, we carried on to Midhope Castle, also known to Outlander fans as Lalybroch. The castle interior was closed to visitors, but we were able to view it from the outside.

Above photo: Midhope Castle

Our final castle for the day — and for our trip — was Blackness Castle situated on the Firth of Forth. This was one of the more authentic castle visits we had while in Scotland. It proudly displays its battle wounds from sieges during its role as a fortress and scars from prisoners during its role as a prison.

Above photos: Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle is known as the “ship that never sailed” due to its shape, which appears as a ship from the seaward side view. There are also fantastic views of the Forth Bridge.

Above photo: Forth Bridge

With all of our castle boxes ticked off, we still had a little time on our hands to squeeze in one more thing before heading to our airport hotel. So, we decided to go looking for the Colinton Tunnel on the banks of the Water of Leith. This old Victorian train tunnel was abandoned and became a pathway for walking and cycling. The tunnel was taken on as a project by Mike Scott and artist Chris Rutterford, who filled its walls with an amazing mural and lines from a poem crafted by Robert Louis Stevenson, who was one of the commuters who traveled the line when it was in operation. What a find! If you have the time, this was such a cool thing to see (and take photos of).

Above photos: The Colinton Tunnel

To see my photo gallery from our walk through the Colinton Tunnel, click here.

Exhausted and weary from our travels, we spent our final night in Scotland at the Hampton Inn at Edinburgh Airport. It was directly across from the rental car return. So, we returned the car that evening to avoid the hassle in the morning. It was about a 10 minute walk to the airport terminal the next morning so we didn’t even need a cab. Not only did the location work out great, but the hotel had all the modern conveniences we needed (e.g., USB outlets, restaurant, flight monitors, etc.) to ensure we were organized and feeling good for our long flight home.

Our journey through the Highlands was nothing short of magical. I loved the time of year that we visited (early – mid September) and the route that we traveled from Edinburgh to St. Andrew’s, through the Cairngorms and Inverness, over to the Isle of Skye, and back down through Fort William, Glencoe, and Stirling. At first, ten days sounded like a long trip. But, I don’t see how we could have possibly squeezed everything we wanted to see and do in a shorter amount of time without sacrificing the quality of our time truly enjoying each of the incredible places we visited and the warm people of the Highlands that we met along the way.