Affordable day trip to discover Stirling

Affordable day trip from Edinburgh to Stirling

Recently, my family came over for a visit and that means the perfect opportunity for a sightseeing day trip. After the day trip to North Berwick, it was time for a visit to a different city and that was Stirling. North Berwick and Stirling are the perfect 1 day tours from Edinburgh. That means an hour train ride for approximately 10 pounds per person. It is a perfect day trip if you are visiting Edinburgh for a weekend trip or during a longer stay. If you are thinking to visit Stirling as well, it is also possible to take the car but when you do not want to rent a car, it is easy and cheaper (even cheaper compared to organized day trips) to take the train from Edinburgh Waverley Station. Before going on a day trip, do not forget to visit the nearby supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s etc. in Edinburgh to buy for you and your fellow travelers some drinks and snacks. It is cheaper than buying a morning coffee and/ or snack at the train station. So, when you arrive in Stirling, it is time to explore the beautiful city. What are the top 3 things to see and where should you start? 

• Train costs approximately 10 pounds return from Edinburgh Waverley Station

Stirling is a city known for the Stirling castle, the battles for Scottish independence and the National Wallace Monument that will turn 150 years old this year. My own journey started at the first stop: The Stirling Old Bridge next to the Bridgehaugh Park where Stirling County Rugby Football Club is situated. The bridge provides amazing reflections in the water and is definitely worth a visit.

Stirling Old Bridge with National Wallace Monument in the background

The next stop is walking to the National Wallace Monument, it is roughly half an hour walk or you could take a bus to save time. At the National Wallace Monument, there are cafés, toilets and a shuttle bus that takes you up to the monument and up there, on a clear day you have great views on where the battle of Stirling took place many years ago. It has amazing views on the Stirling castle and its surroundings as Ben Lomond and the Trossachs in the West. Even the Pentland Hills in the East are visible and Forth Valley past the city. It is not called entrance to the Highlands without a reason. 

Stirling Castle and Views of National Wallace Monument

In 2019, it is the monument’s 150th anniversary and that means an update on the interior exhibition galleries. At the moment, the Wallace monument is being renovated. Therefore, if you visit the galleries the ticket price is temporarily reduced. Be sure to check out the website to see if the monument is open when you are planning a visit: National Wallace Monument. After a visit to the monument and enjoying the amazing views, it is time to take the bus back to the city and visit the castle. The Stirling castle is a great place to visit that has audio tours and guided tours to learn more about its history. It has several different rooms and places as the Royal Place, the Stirling Heads Gallery, the Queen gardens and many more. Don’t miss out on discovering the Stirling Castle! 

Around two o’clock, it is time to take the train and make a quick stop on the way back to Edinburgh in Falkirk. The city Falkirk is home to the Kelpies. A kelpie is a mythical Scottish Water Horse and known in Gaelic as ‘cailpeach’. The statues are situated at the Scottish Canals and reachable by a short bus ride of roughly 10 minutes. The journey starts in the Helix park across the Falkirk stadium. Walking through the park, in approximately 20 minutes before you will reach the huge and impressive horse heads sculptures. It is the world’s largest equine sculptures of 30 meters tall and each statue weights approximately 300 tonnes. If you decide to join the Kelpies tour, you have the changes to see the statues more up-close and look inside. Did you know that the two kelpies are based on real horses? These are the Clydesdale Horses called Duke and Baron and together they formed the inspiration for the Kelpies design by the artist Andy Scott. It is definitely worth a visit if you got the time, or a quick stop with the car because it is situated next to the highway but also visible from the highway.

The Kelpies in Falkirk

After a visit to the Kelpies, it was time to go back to Edinburgh and have a nice dinner in the city. I hope it gave you some inspiration to discover new places in Scotland and if you have any questions, leave a message in the comments. 

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When it is cold enough to stand on ice ❄️#reflection

A post shared by 📸 J & A (@dutchie_adventure) on Feb 4, 2019 at 2:31am PST