Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle is in many ways a sister castle to Edinburgh. Crowning a volcanic rock which overlooks the town, it stands as a majestic landmark in the Forth floodplain and is visible for miles. It has at its core a citadel area which has probably been occupied for thousands of years, and was of critical strategic importance throughout the history of Scotland, guarding the lowest medieval crossing point of the River Forth.

It was fortified by the Kings of Scots from the 12th century, and repeatedly strengthened as the principal castle of the realm. By the end of the 13th century it was a formidable fortress, and worthy of a more martial defence that the garrison supplied in 1296 at the approach of Edward I of England, when they simply ran away leaving the porter to hand the King the keys. After this it was besieged many times by both sides, famously in 1304. Below is a link to a reconstruction of the castle in this year, which I helped the artist design.

In the 15th and 16th century it changed beyond recognition, and James V built his Renaissance palace here by 1539. Mutiny saw the castle surrender to the English in 1651, by which time it was principally a military garrison, and was besieged many more times, including by Jacobites in 1746.

The castle is one of the most visited ion Scotland, and is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. It is not cheap to get in, but is justifiably famous – I prefer it to Edinburgh personally. There is ample parking, and public access is straightforward as one might expect.

Official Stirling Castle website
Official Historic Scotland page

HES Canmore database entry

Reconstruction fly through of Stirling in 1304 by Bob Marshall