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Stirling Castle visit
Trossachs drive
Loch Lomond photo & refreshments stop at Luss
- Entrance to Stirling Castle is paid by voucher. Entrance can be congested.
- Call ahead re tours & special events, which are often staged in the castle grounds – historic battle reconstructions, concerts in chapel etc…
- Loch Lomond is no longer mentioned on itinerary the details remain here as it is your choice if you think this will add something to your day.
Opening times, entrance fees, telephone numbers etc. in yellow pages.
08.45 Departure from Edinburgh. Continue on the A904, then M9.
Junction 3& 4 Linlithgow Castle on left. Birthplace Mary Queen of Scots
Just past Junction 6 left hand side you see “The Kelpies” sculpture. Installed in 2014 the 30-metre-high horse head sculptures are the largest equine sculptures in the world. Café & Visitor Centre. Good Place to Stop.
Junction 9 – Signs for Bannockburn.
Leave the M9 by Exit 10.
10.15 Arrive at Stirling Castle.
Coaches are generally allowed to stay on the esplanade. However, they sometimes
send coaches away to return at an appointed time. Bring the group through the first
entrance, toilets are on the left-hand side. As group use the toilets, TM can deal with
tickets. There is now a charge for audio guides Visitor will be given a ticket which
needs to be scanned upon entry. Guided Tours of the Castle depart at the Castle
Well on the hour and are half hourly at peak times. Castle has toilets, shop and a
restaurant (light lunches).
On arrival point out:
The Wallace Monument on Abbey Crag (the hillside opposite)
Ensure that group is aware that once they have left the castle complex (that 2nd gate) after their visit, they will not be able to re-enter.
11.45 Depart Stirling. Take A84 to Callander.
12:30 Lunch Options: Callander has cafes and stores. Parking with toilets on Station Road. Kilmahog Woollen Mill, (on right, 1 mile after town). Home of the descendants of Hamish the Highland Cow. If you have not seen any other evidence of the “big hairy beasties”, makes for a good photo stop.
13.30 After lunch continue on the A821.
Drive along banks of Loch Venachar & Loch Achray (past the Trossachs hotel) Continue through Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, Down the Duke’s Pass to Aberfoyle. There is a Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle, (toilets, tartans, shortbread, hot & cold food but has been looking tired.
From Aberfoyle return to Edinburgh via A81 then M9.
If you wish to add Loch Lomond then continue as below.
From Aberfoyle take the A81 (south), then A8111 to Balloch. After Balloch take A82 North to Luss.
15.30 Luss (Loch Lomond). Half hour photo stop. Pay Toilets across road from the coach park).
You can walk the group through Luss (v tiny village) to Loch side (it’s signposted) or let them roam free. There are gift & tea shops in the village, including ‘Coach House’ tearooms. Decide with group/driver if you want to give the group a little more time to explore, bearing in mind your return to Edinburgh, dinner and any evening activities that may be planned. If you have a very active group the Visitor center at the back of the car park has free maps of local walks, which take you via a footbridge over the A82 into the surrounding hills for a good view of the Loch and the village.
16.00 Depart Luss. Take A82 direction Dumbarton, Glasgow. Then take M8 to Edinburgh.
- Arrive Edinburgh.
(If you have lost time during the day, another option is to stay on the east side of the Loch, leave the A811 at Drymen and travel to Balmaha. You get a more limited view of the Loch. But the islands that you can see in the Loch form part of the Lowlands/Highlands geographical fault line. Returning to the A811 you can trace your path back to Stirling and then onto M9. Or follow the A811 south then A82/M8. – Be aware that this route would take you through the center of Glasgow during the rush hour.)