Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Step into a world of plots, passion, intrigue and high fashion with the people of the palace.
Stirling Castle is a great symbol of Scottish independence & a source of national pride. Knights, nobles and foreign ambassadors once flocked to the Royal Court at Stirling Castle to revel in the castle's grandeur.
The castle is perched high on a volcanic crag above an ancient crossing of the river Forth and, for my money, Stirling Castle is one of the most impressive man-made sights in the whole of Scotland. It’s a steep climb up the streets of the town below, but worth the puff. This is where an infant Mary Queen of Scots was protected from Henry VIII, where James IV allowed his alchemist to attempt to fly from the castle walls (he landed in a rubbish dump) and where Edward I tested out War Wolf, probably the biggest trebuchet ever conceived, during a siege in 1304.
As you approach the main gate, you pass a statue of Robert the Bruce, the hero of the battle of Bannockburn. Lean out from the parapets and you can see Stirling Bridge: the site of another great Scottish victory in battle against the English, under the leadership of William Wallace, now better known as Braveheart. But for all that Anglo-Scottish hostility, Stirling is also the place where James VI grew up – the first king to rule both Scotland and England.
There's more than ever to see and do at Stirling Castle:
Educational Visits
School and community group visits are very welcome at Stirling Castle. Our free educational visits scheme is open to organised groups visiting our properties all year round. To qualify, visits must have a genuine educational purpose and planned educational activity that will be carried out as part of that visit.
Scottish school group visits
Scottish school group visits to Stirling Castle in May and June are exclusive to our Schools Programme and early booking is recommended.
Other educational groups
All other educational groups visiting Stirling Castle between May and August will have an entry charge of £2 per child aged 15 and under; the full admission rate is charged for young adults aged 16 and over.
Accompanying supervisory adults are free as per our required adult to child ratio. Extra adults will be charged full entry.
Did you know? John Damian was the resident alchemist at Stirling Castle in the early 16th century. He spent a vast amount of the king’s money trying to turn metal into gold. He failed, perhaps because one of his favourite scientific substances was whisky. He also failed in his stated ambition of proving that he could fly to France, throwing himself off the castle walls and landing, ignominiously, into a rubbish dump or Midden.
Did you know? Mary Queen of Scots was crowned Queen of Scotland here at Stirling Castle aged just 9 months old.