Stirling Travel Forum

I plan on touring Stirling Castle on my way to the Isle of Skye. Since I will be driving to Mallaig to catch the ferry the same day, I am wondering how much time I should reasonably allocate for touring Stirling Castle before continuing on my journey.

Golly, how long is a piece of string! You could gallop round in an hour, or give the place justice in a three hour visit. Stirling Castle is an excellent site and much better than Edinburgh (sorry!). Suggest you arrive at opening time, so it will be moderately quiet. If you are going to Skye, you could always drive over the bridge to the island and then you wouldn't have a ferry deadline. By the way, once one is off the motorways, distances in miles in Scotland cannot be translated into driving time. This is especially true with regard to heading towards Skye. If you have to catch the ferry, then it is far more important to calculate how long it will take you to drive from Stirling to Mallaig, and then see if there is any time left over for the Castle. There's more to Stirling than the Castle, so I would recommend that you stay overnight somewhere in the vicinity and then have a leisurely drive to Skye the next day.

Hi Alan
I agree with every word writen above. We first strolled around the castle by ourselves, then took the guided tour witch made the whole castle come alive, and on top of it stayed for the Kilt demonstration, which was fun as well as very educational. All in all we spend at the castle half a day, not to mention other things to see around. We drove later (after two days in the trosachs) to the Isle of Skye, via Malaig. The drive took more then we expected, as Haskhead says, it's not the miles that counts. The last Ferry left prety early, so we spent the night in a B&B in Malaig. Nice litle place with beautiful views.
I agree with hawkhead, if you don't have the time, skip stirling. You will not enjoy it just rushing through.

Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm curious as to what else Stirling has to offer other than the castle. Please be so kind as to advise.

thanks

Alan

Galy

Thanks for your informative feedback. Based upon your experience, how long did it take to drive to Mallaig? Was this your first time on such a journey, meaning you were stopping to take in the scenery or was it because of the road conditions being narrow, curvey require low speeds to travel the 130 miles?

Thanks for your helpful information.

regards.

Alan

There's also Argyll's Lodging, situated on the upper approaches to the Castle. Entrance ticket to the Castle also allows entry here. NOT vice versa. Well worth taking the time. You can park in the Castle forecourt. Supposed to be for max 2 hours but I have never known anyone to be counting! There's the Jail. There's a fascinating church and especially the churchyard (and you have a wonderful view over the countryside from here) also near the Castle. The walk around the area near the Castle is charming, with lots of interesting buildings and nooks and crannies. There's also Wallace's Monument, which you will need to drive to from the Castle. Info on the Castle & Argyll's Lodging can be found on www. historic-scotland.gov.uk

I agree with the previous replies. Stirling castle is worth at least an hour but thats just hurrying around. Not really any point in paying to go there if thats all you are going to do. And as stated above entry to Argyll Lodging is included on the ticket [if you visit the castle first]. I spent two days in Stirling last summer and had plenty to keep me busy.

The top of the town in Stirling is undoubtely the place thata is not to be missed. There's also a spectacular graveyard up there. Otherwise the town is often used as a base for touring round battlefields - the most famous being Bannockburn and the Battle of Stirling Bridge (Robert the Bruce and William Wallace). There's also the Wallace Monument, a tower that was built by public conscription and can be visited and climbed.

I did the trip you describe with an American friend last year. We left Edinburgh late in the afternoon, drove through Stirling and spent the night in Ballachuilish. We then headed on to Fort William and along the Glenfinnan road to Mallaig. To be honest I think you'll be a bit frustrated driving at speed through that part of Scotland, as you pass some spectacular scenery, not least of all the Great Glen (Glen Coe).

From Balla we made a mid-morning stop in Fort William and then another at the monument and viaduct at Glenfinnan. Arriving on Skye by ferry, we also managed to fit in a visit to the Tallisker distillery before arriving in Portree to find a B&B.

The thing about Scotland is really the scenery and it is good to travel those little roads when you're not under pressure of time.

Having said this I've done several whistlestop tours of Scotlands western highlands with friends and it is possible to cover a lot of ground in a day if you don't want to go hillwalking or island-hopping.

ps I agree that Stiling Castle is much better than Edinburgh. Years ago there was a guide who worked there who started his tour by observing that, compared to Stirling castle, Ednburgh caste is made in Hong Kong!

Just had a thought - I don't know when you are planning to catch the ferry to Skye but I strongly recommend that you book, as you could easily arrive and find there is no room.

There are great shopping facilities in Stirling as well. Once you have been to the castle there are lots of great cafes and resturants you could visit.