Scotland 2025: Highlands - Falkirk, Kelpies, Stirling

After spending 7 days in Edinburgh and 4 days in Glasgow, our visit to Scotland was half over. We had front-loaded our stays in the country’s two largest cities so now for a change of pace, we would rent a car and explore the areas of Scotland to the north. Since we prefer creating our own adventures rather than following the beaten path, we decided not to head west to traverse the North Coast 500 or visit the Isle of Skye. This route would have involved significantly longer stretches of driving between destinations with our time spent predominantly outdoors, leaving us at the mercy of any inclement weather.

Instead, we planned a route along the east coast, intending to go as far north as Aberdeen before heading west into the Scottish Highlands and then south back towards Edinburgh.  This would provide us with more eclectic experiences as we toured smaller towns, fishing villages, castles, cemeteries, sculpture gardens and museums while still enjoying outdoor hikes along cliffs, coastal shores, beaches and forested areas. On average, each day’s drive would be at most 1-2 hours, resulting in less time in the car and more time to enjoy our surroundings. Our first day on the road would take us to Falkirk and The Kelpies before ending up in Stirling.

Just over half an hour north-east of Glasgow is the Falkirk Wheel, a gigantic (115ft / 8-storey-tall) rotating boat lift that can raise and lower boats by almost 80 feet, spanning the elevation difference between the Forth and Clyde Canal at its lower basin and the Union Canal up above. Open in 2002, it is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world and resembles a ship’s propeller. Each arm of the wheel holds a water-filled container of about 500,000 litres.  When a boat enters a container either at the top or bottom of the wheel, the appropriate amount of water displaces, maintaining the weight balance between the two arms. A central motor causes the arms to rotate around a central axle, taking 5 minutes to complete a half rotation which brings a boat from top to bottom or vice versa. Prior to the creation of the wheel, it took boats almost a full day to traverse 11 locks in order to make the journey between these two canals. In addition to being an engineering feat to be marveled, the Falkirk Wheel is a major tourist attraction drawing over 500,000 visitors annually. It is free to watch the wheel turn but costs £4 for parking and around £18 per adult to take a 60-minute boat ride along the two canals via the wheel.

From the Falkirk Wheel, it is about a 15-minute drive to Helix Park to see the Kelpie Horses, two monumental steel sculptures of Clydesdale draught horse heads situated by a pool of water. Each horse stands almost 100 feet high and weighs over 300 tonnes. The sculptures were unveiled in 2014 as a tribute to Scotland’s industrial history of using horses to pull barges and wagons along canals. They honor the mythical Kelpie, a shape-shifting water spirit from Scottish folklore that is said to haunt rivers and streams in the shape of a black horse, luring a victim onto its back before drowning him. Along with the wheel, these horses are yet another fun tourist attraction to visit in this area.

In addition to the Kelpie Horses, Helix Park offers play areas, sensory gardens, splash pads and a 350-hectare greenspace with extensive walking rails through wetlands, woodlands and parklands.  Some of the trails have wide, wooden accessible boardwalks.  On our short walk, we spotted wildlife such as birds, ducks and a swan, a houseboat named “Annie D”, zigzag paths, and artwork including an owl in flight made from pieces of wood, and carvings in stone.

Continuing on, we headed for the city of Stirling where we would be spending the night. Our first stop when we arrived was the National Wallace Monument.  The structure was built in 1869 as a tribute to Sir William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish hero famous for victories in the First War of Scottish Independence including the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. The 220-foot-tall Victorian tower sits atop Abbey Craig Hill, overlooking the sites of these battles.  Getting to the base of the tower from the carpark involves a 20+ minute walk up a steep uneven path called Wallace Way, or taking a free shuttle bus that leaves every 15 minutes.  After grabbing a quick lunch in the cafeteria, we decided to take the shuttle bus to the top to get a closer look at the monument and then walk back down on a separate trail where sculptures could be found along the route.

The ornate monument consists of a polished sandstone tower with Gothic revival features including several small turrets and a stone spire shaped like a crown.  A bronze sculpture of William Wallace depicted in a heroic pose stands at one corner of the tower while a large coat of arms with heraldic details attributed to him hangs above the entrance. Inside, paid visitors can climb 246 spiral steps to explore exhibits at different levels including a Hall of Arms, Hall of Heroes and Royal Chamber. The crown-shaped platform at the top offers a panoramic view of Stirling and the surrounding areas. Outside at the base of the monument, a costumed interpretive actor brings Wallace’s story to life through scripted shows describing his background and battles. Since we arrived in Stirling late in the afternoon, we decided that we didn’t have enough time to climb the tower, choosing instead to enjoy the sculptures and statues found on the walk down.

We still had some stunning views at from the top of Abbey Craig Hill.  Out in the distance, we could see Stirling Castle which we had tickets to visit the next day. We also saw the curvy River Forth weaving through the countryside. Looking at the site map, we saw that there were four possible walking paths with two traversing the grounds around the monument and two leading back down to the car park. The Stirling Trail is a 1.5km loop providing panoramic views of the city while the Abbey Trail is a 2km trail that runs deeper into wooded areas.  The Wallace Way is the fastest route between the monument at 0.5km and the car park.  We chose to take the Woodcarving Trail, a steep 0.8km path that winds through forested areas where cedar wood carvings are interspersed.

Installed in 2017, the wood sculptures were created by Scottish chainsaw sculptor Iain Chambers who is renowned for his large-scale outdoor wood carvings found across Scotland.  These works reference various periods in the history of Stirling and Abbey Craig with references ranging from the Ice Age through to early 20th Century.  Because we walked down the hill as opposed to walking up, we came across the sculptures in reverse chronological order.  There was a tribute to Scotland’s first flight by the Barnwell Brothers in 1909, a replica of the Wallace Monument from 1869, and busts of poet Robert Burns next to King Robert the Bruce. A bench with the headless bodies of a Roman, a Pict and a Viking represent various invaders of Scotland. Another sculpture depicts a metal worker forging bronze and gold around 2000BC. Carvings of a Highland cow, a pig and a sheep represent farm animals kept for meat, milk, wool and leather as far back as 3800BC, while the carving of a whale harks back to whale bones from 5000BC.

Driving towards Stirling’s old town from Wallace Monument, we passed by the location of the Old Stirling Bridge located on the site of William Wallace’s famous battle in 1297. The current picturesque stone bridge with four arches dates back to the 1400s, replacing the narrow wooden bridge where Wallace and his soldiers defeated English troops led by the Earl of Surrey.

A short distance from the bridge are the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey, which King David I established in 1140 for the Arrouaise religious order. This is where parliament met in 1312 after the Battle of Bannockburn, and where the royal house of Stuart was established in 1371. The main church was mostly destroyed during the Scottish Reformation in 1559. Only some brick foundations remain including small portions of the nave, cloister, refectory and chapter house.  These are dispersed around a large grassy span representing the former footprint of the Abbey, beside a small kirkyard with a collection of medieval grave slabs.  King James III, who died in 1488 after the Battle of Sauchieburn, was originally interred by the high altar of the abbey beside his queen Margaret of Denmark who died in 1486.  In 1864, Queen Victoria ordered that their bones be excavated and reburied within a railed enclosure at the east end of the ruins, where a stone tomb with the crest of the Royal Arms of Scotland acts as a monument.

Above ground, a free-standing 13th century 3-storey belltower may have survived because it was useful as a lookout over Stirling. The tower was restored in 1865 but the grotesque carved heads below the parapet may date back to the 1300s. The belltower is only open in the summer months, so we were lucky that we visited the ruins on the last day of August and were able to look inside. The ground floor is relatively well persevered with a vaulted ceiling that has a central hole used to hoist bells to the belfry. In addition to the belltower, a stone arch representing the abbey’s west doorway stands in front of the kirkyard.

Leaving the abbey, we finally reached the central part of downtown Stirling.  On Corn Exchange Road, we passed the bronze statue of Rob Roy McGregor, the famed 18th-century Scottish outlaw and folk hero known as the Scottish Robin Hood. We parked our rental car across from the old Gothic Revival-styled high school open in 1854 with an observatory tower and an ornate 16th century doorway that is flanked by carvings of zodiac signs on either side.  Above the entrance are carvings of the Trees of Knowledge and Life.  The building was converted into the Stirling Highland Hotel in 1990.  A unique building known as the Athenaeum was originally open in 1817 with elegant shops on the ground floor, a private library and meeting space for the town’s wealthier residents on the next level, and a steeple with a clock tower in the centre.  In 1859, a porch and statue of William Wallace were added to the entrance.  Today it is a cultural landmark but the interior is no longer in use.  The Stirling Arcade is a beautifully restored Victorian shopping arcade on King Street that was originally the Crawford Arcade built in 1879 for China merchant William Crawford.  In the 19th century, it housed hotels, shops, flats, workshops and the Alhambra Theatre.

Following our quick tour of the outskirts of Stirling and the areas known as “Top of the Town” surrounding the medieval Old Town (which we would visit the next day), we stopped for dinner at Brea Scottish Restaurant, a popular eatery specialising in Scottish cuisine and locally sourced seafood.  Focusing mostly on seafood, we ordered a starter of slow braised pork belly and king prawns served with celeriac puree and Parma ham. For mains we concentrated on seafood, selecting pan fried lemon sole fillets with potato and greens served with mussels, crayfish, and a garlic cream sauce, as well as a rolled haddock stuffed with smoked salmon and mash potato, served with seasonal vegetables and a dill cream sauce.  Because Stirling was one of the larger cities that we would be staying at on our road trip, we stopped a big Sainsbury supermarket and loaded up on fruit and snacks that we could take along with us to as breakfast and snacks for the next few days. We stayed overnight at the Marston’s Highland Gate Inn which was just outside the downtown core.

We had a packed schedule the next day since we needed to complete our exploration of Stirling before heading to the village of Glamis (1.5 hrs northeast) to visit Glamis Castle. Once done, we would finally head to the coastal fishing village of Arbroath where we would stay overnight.  As we had so much to get through in the day, we wanted to get an early start so that we could wander around Stirling’s medieval Old Town before our 10am entry to Stirling Castle. It was not clear how early we could get into the parking lot at the castle and were warned that the lot filled up quickly so we might not get a spot at all. As an alternative, we decided to park for free at the Castleview Park & Ride which opens at 7:30am. From there, we could take the P2 bus to the Old Town. The ride takes 5-10 minutes and the bus comes every 15+ minutes at a cost of £1 per person for a return trip. This ended up slightly cheaper than the £5 it would have cost us to park in the castle lot and allowed us to get an earlier start.

Perched on Castle Hill, Stirling’s Old Town features steep, narrow, cobblestoned streets with many historic buildings including Stirling Castle at the top of the hill, dating back to medieval times. Prior to our entry time for the castle, we wandered around looking at some of the other buildings in the Old Town. A stone structure built in 1929 as the “Stirling Boys’ Club” was created as a recreational and development space for boys not already associated with Scouts organizations.  Above the door is a shield with the St. Andrew’s Cross and the words “Boys Club”, “1929” and “Play the Game” while on either side are crests of an anchor and a fleur-de-lys.  Other mottos including “Keep Smiling” and “Quarreling is Taboo” are found beneath other windows. Today, the historic building is used as a generic community space.  The Stirling Old Town Jail was built in 1847 and in use up to 1888 when it was converted to a military detention barracks until 1935. This “newer” jail replaced the 1703 Tolbooth, which had been dubbed “Britain’s worst prison” for its overcrowding and filth. Today, the Town Jail is open for public tours while the Tolbooth operates as a music and arts venue.  Mar’s Wark is a Renaissance ruin built in 1570 as the townhouse and lodgings of John Erskine, Earl of Mar and Regent of Scotland.  At the Cambuskenneth Abbey the day before, we had read that stones from its ruins were used in the building of Mar’s Wark. By 1733, the building was leased to Stirling’s town council and turned into a workhouse, thus giving it the name “Wark” (meaning work).  The building was damaged during the Jacobite Rising in 1745.

Located just south of Stirling Castle, the Church of the Holy Rude (often spelled "Rood") dates back to the 1400s, replacing an original church founded by King David in 1129.  Named for the Holy Cross, the medieval church with an oak roof and Gothic arches was built in Scottish-Gothic and is the location where King James VI was coronated in 1567. The church sits on the grounds of the historic old cemetery named Holy Rude Kirkyard, which is clearly visible from the Stirling Castle’s outer walls and ramparts. The cemetery was established in the 12th century and became the town’s main burial ground from 1400s through 1850s.

Two major monuments of note stand out in the kirkyard. The Star Pyramid (also known as Salem Rock or Covenant Monument) is a gigantic sandstone pyramid dedicated to Scottish martyrs fighting for civil and religious liberty, including the Covenanters massacred in the 1600s. The stepped base leads to marble bibles affixed to each triangular side, as well as motifs of rosettes, thistles and crowns. Psalm verses and mottos such as “Throne of Right” are carved into the top of the base.  The marble figures encased in an octagonal glass and iron canopy in the Martyrs Monument depict an angel guarding two females with a lamb at their feet.  The monument commemorates a pair of Covenanters who were convicted and drowned for their Presbyterian faith in 1685 during the Killing Times. Another point of interest in the cemetery is the tomb of Mary Stevenson whose corpse was stolen by a local gravedigger just a few days after she was buried in 1822. The theft was discovered before the body could be sold to a medical student to use for dissection. Mary’s remains were recovered and re-buried with a new specially carved headstone that depicted the body snatchers in action, acting as a warning and becoming a local curiosity.

Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most historically significant castles in Scotland with its origins dating back to 1110 when King Alexander I dedicated a chapel on the site.  Building of the castle continued through the centuries with most of the current surviving Renaissance structures dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries.  Situated at the top of an extinct volcanic crag, its elevation and sightlines of the surrounding areas made it a strategic stronghold that played a major role in battles and sieges during the Wars of Independence. The castle served as both a military fortress and a principal residence for Scottish royalty, especially during the Stuart era. Viewing the façades of the castle from afar, you can see the grey sandstone 14th century structures which include outer defences, military barracks and service buildings, while the yellow structure houses the Royal Palace including the royal apartments, a Great Hall, and a Royal Chapel.

Today, Stirling Castle is accessed from the south via the “Forework Gateway”, an arched passage flanked by two smaller pedestrian entranceways commissioned by King James IV in early 1500s. On either side of the entrances are semi-circular decorative drum towers used for ceremonial purposes as opposed to defence.  On the esplanade leading up to the gateway are two sculptures, one of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots from 1306-1329 and one of a Highlander soldier that acts as a war memorial commemorating the Second Boer War.

As there was a threat of rain that morning, we tried to explore the grounds and walls of the castle before heading indoors. We started with Queen Anne’s Garden, a large rectangular flat green space dating back to 1400’s that includes several rose beds, one red and one gold to match the castle’s main decorative colours.  In the 1620s, the leveled land was used as a bowling green and in 1700s, the garden was named after Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland. Castle walkways and battlements overlook Queen Anne’s Garden as well as surrounding landscapes that include the King’s Knot, an octagonal mound 3 metres high in the shape of a star pattern and a smaller Queen’s Knot beside it, that is mostly flattened today.

Walking along the inner walls and parapets, we saw gun ports and peepholes for defensive firing during sieges, and small round “pepper-pot” gun turrets or towers that housed sentries who could spot approaching enemies and sound the alarm to raise the drawbridge. From the walls, you get excellent views of the surrounding countryside including important sites in Scottish history during the Wars of Scottish Independence. On the East Wall, you look towards the River Forth and Stirling Bridge where William Wallace and Andrew Moray ambushed the British led by King Edward I in the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297).  Abbey Crag and the Wallace Monument can also be seen in this direction where almost 10,000 hidden spearmen charged downhill, thus attacking the enemy from both sides of the bridge. On the South Wall, you look onto Stirling Old Town including the Cemetery and Church of the Holy Rude to the South. But 4km further south is the village of Bannockburn which was the site of the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) where Scottish King Robert the Bruce led his forces against King Edward II.

The Royal Palace was constructed in the 1540s for King James V and is known for its Renaissance architecture and lavish interiors. This was also the childhood home of Mary, Queen of Scots. Restoration work ending in 1999 restored the yellow façade as well as the crenellated parapets, turrets, battlements and heraldic decorations. Stone statues lining the palace walls carvings of soldiers, King James V, the devil, Saint Michael, the Greek Goddess Venus, and other planetary deities.  Inside the palace are separate apartments for the King and the Queen, each with an outer chamber, inner chamber, and state “bedroom”.

The Queen’s Rooms form private apartments that have been restored to how they were in the 1540s when King James V’s second wife Mary of Guise (the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots) occupied them. The Outer Hall was a waiting area for people seeking an audience with the Queen. It has a coffered wood ceiling and two bands of red and white friezes decorated with images of cherubs and unicorns.  Above the fireplace is the heraldic coat of arms of Mary of Guise featuring a shield flanked by a unicorn and an eagle. The Inner Hall is a smaller private space for more personal meetings. The panels in the green and beige coffered ceiling alternate between the symbol “IM” which is a Latin symbol for James V, and small portraits of James and Mary. Seven replicas of a famous series of tapestries titled “Hunt of the Unicorn” hang on the walls. We would see an exhibition later that detailed the labour-intensive project to reproduce these works. A canopied regal chair is positioned at the back of the room where the Queen would greet her visitors. Finally, the Queen’s Bedchamber was an exclusive room for the most honoured guests or for state business.  A four-poster state bed is merely symbolic as the Queen actually slept in a small room nearby.  Gold leaf designs bearing the Guise arms are painted on the green paneled ceiling and the walls are covered with brocade while small Persian rugs are found on the floor.

The King’s Rooms are symmetrical to the Queen’s rooms, mirroring each other in layout and function but differing in décor.  The Outer Hall is where courtiers wait for an audience with the King with the staff deciding who would be invited into the next room. A banner of grisaille painted lions and leaf-like designs circle the top of the walls while the panel above the fireplace depicts a shield with the red lion of Scotland with unicorns bearing pennants on either side. The Inner Hall is notable for the 37 vibrantly coloured replicas of the iconic Stirling Heads on the ceiling, installed during a 2011 restoration. These are round, oak medallions carved with portraits of Scottish royalty and nobles, as well as Roman Emperors, classical, biblical, and mythical characters.  We would see some of the original medallions in the Stirling Heads Gallery.  The King’s Bedchamber (once again with a symbolic bed) is decorated with a gold-leaf ceiling with royal symbols, coats of arms and chivalric orders like the Thistle.

Out of the original 56 Stirling Heads medallions carved in oak and brightly painted in the 16th century, only 38 survived a roof collapse in 1777.  Of those surviving roundels, 35 are on display in the Stirling Heads Gallery while 3 are in the National Museums of Scotland. Although they have lost their bright painted hues, the original, intricately carved, 1-metre-wide medallions seem in incredibly good shape. They depict subjects including royalty such as James V, Mary of Guise, Margaret Tudor, Roman emperors including Julius Caesar, classical and mythical characters including Hercules, King Arthur, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne and Gods such as Apollo.  These heads are considered some of the finest examples of Scottish Renaissance woodcarving. A striking sculpture created by woodcarver John Donaldson as part of the 2011 restoration, depicts a moment of intimacy between King James V and Queen Mary of Guise, surrounded by imagery that illustrates their status including the lion and unicorn, Scottish crown, and characters from the Stirling heads.

The Great Kitchens feature life-sized dioramas recreating medieval scenes of staff preparing for royal feasts with dishes featuring roast pig, venison and swan, as well as daily fare involving baking bread, preparing stews and pies. The displays include authentic replicas of kitchen tables, utensils and tools, open fires in massive stone hearths with turnspits rotating entire animals, cast iron pots hung over flames for boiling and stone ovens for baking.  Walking through these scenes provide visitors an immersive experience of 16th century life from the perspective of the kitchen staff.

Built by King James IV around 1500, the Great Hall is one of the largest medieval banquet halls in Scotland at 138 feet long by 47 feet wide. At the time, it was decorated with a hammerbeam timber roof, bright yellow limewashed walls with decorative trim, tall windows featuring coats of arms, and five fireplaces. The space served as a grand venue for banquets, dances, and parliamentary meetings. The roof, fireplaces, and much of the decorations were removed in the 1800s when the army took over the castle and used the hall as barracks. A 30-year project ending in 1999 architecturally restored the space to much of its former glory although currently it remains unfurnished.  The current Chapel Royal was rebuilt by King James VI in 1594 for the baptism of his son Prince Henry, making it one of the first Protestant churches. You can still see a frieze encircling the top of the walls depicting royal symbols, Honours of Scotland, stylized fruit, and a trompe l’oeil window. Tall arched Renaissance windows lead up to a barrel-shaped ceiling.  Like the Great Hall, this space was also stripped of much of its glory when taken over by the military.

We left the Royal palace to walk along the outer walls that were enhanced in the 18th century to include ditches, caponiers (covered areas for firing weapons) and casemates (vaulted chambers) for garrison protection during attacks.  We visited the main guard house and cells for disciplining soldiers or holding political prisoners.  In the Nether Bailey’s Studio at the farthest end of the castle walls was an exhibition detailing a 14-year (2022-2015) £2 million project called “Weaving the Unicorn” where 18 current day weavers recreated seven Unicorn Hunt tapestries once hung in the palace during King James V’s reign.  The recreated tapestries now hang in the inner hall of the Queen’s apartments. 

After our tour of Stirling Castle, we had a quick bite to eat in the café before heading off to our next adventure in the village of Glamis. We left with some regret since in retrospect, we did not have enough time to see everything that we wanted to in Stirling and could have used one more day here.