Must-see attractions in Central Scotland

  • Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom – December 20, 2019: Stirling Castle is a fortified wall sitting atop Castle Hill and is part of the Stirling Sill, a quartz-dolerite formation millions of years old. Records date it back to the early 12th century and the inner grounds are home to replicas of the famous Unicorn Tapestries. The castle offers spectacular views of Stirling from the Outer Defences.

    Stirling Castle

    Stirling

    Hold Stirling and you control Scotland. This maxim has ensured that a fortress of some kind has existed here since prehistoric times. You cannot help…

  • Reflections of The Falkirk Wheel at night
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    Falkirk Wheel

    Central Scotland

    Completed in 2002, the Falkirk Wheel is a modern engineering marvel, a rotating boat lift that raises vessels 115ft from the Forth & Clyde Canal to the…

  • Innerpeffray Library

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    Scotland’s oldest lending library (founded in 1680) houses a huge collection of rare, interesting and ancient books, some of them 500 years old. If you…

  • Kelpies

    Central Scotland

    The Kelpies, the stunning equine statues gracing the eastern entrance to the Forth & Clyde Canal, are named after mythical Scottish water-horses. The two…

  • Old Town Jail

    Stirling

    This impressive Victorian prison building lay derelict from the 1960s until 2015, when it was reopened as a visitor attraction. Costumed guides lead tours…

  • View of the Wallace monument from the castle of Stirling in Scotland.

    National Wallace Monument

    Stirling

    Perched high on a crag above the floodplain of the River Forth, this Victorian monument is so Gothic it deserves circling bats and croaking ravens. In the…

  • Bannockburn Heritage Centre

    Stirling

    Robert the Bruce's defeat of the English army on 24 June 1314 at Bannockburn established Scotland as a separate nation. The Bannockburn Heritage Centre…

  • Castle Campbell

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    Castle Campbell is one of central Scotland's most dramatically situated castles, on a spur between two deep, wooded ravines known as the Burn of Sorrow…

  • St Serfs Church & Dupplin Cross

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    The village of Dunning is dominated by the 12th-century Norman tower of St Serfs Church. The church's Romanesque architecture is interesting, but the main…

  • Lochleven Castle

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    Evocative Lochleven Castle served as an island fortress and prison from the late 14th century; its most famous captive was Mary, Queen of Scots, who was…

  • Argyll's Lodging

    Stirling

    This elegant building is Scotland's most impressive 17th-century town house, built for a wealthy local merchant and later acquired by the Earl of Argyll…

  • Famous Grouse Experience

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    At the old Glenturret Distillery, the highly rated Famous Grouse Experience has a better-than-average, one-hour distillery tour that's strong on the…

  • Meigle Museum

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    Tiny Meigle Museum has 26 beautiful carved Pictish stones dating from the 7th to the 9th centuries, all found in the local area. Motifs range from…

  • Smith Art Gallery & Museum

    Stirling

    Oswald the museum cat greets visitors to this treasure trove of local history, which tells the story of Stirling from prehistoric to modern times. The…

  • Stirling Old Bridge

    Stirling

    Dating from the 15th century, this graceful arched stone bridge is one of the oldest in Scotland, now reserved for pedestrians and cyclists only. An…

  • Earthquake House

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    This tiny stone building, set on a hillside less than a mile west of Comrie, was the world's first seismic observatory. It was built in 1874 to monitor…

  • Deil's Cauldron

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    A mile north of Comrie, the River Lednock cascades out of a deep, wooded gorge and into a circular, rock-girt pool known as the Deil's Cauldron (the Devil…

  • Church of the Holy Rude

    Stirling

    The Church of the Holy Rude has been the town’s parish church for 600 years; the infant James VI was crowned here in 1567, making it the only British…

  • Beheading Stone

    Stirling

    According to legend, this lump of stone was used as a chopping block for executions during the 15th century. It is displayed beneath a canopy of iron bars…

  • Cowane's Hospital

    Stirling

    Cowane’s Hospital was built as an almshouse in 1637 by the merchant John Cowane. It has been closed since 2015, but there are plans to restore the…

  • Mar's Wark

    Stirling

    Mar's Wark (wark is an old Scots word for 'building') is the ornate facade of a Renaissance town house commissioned in 1569 by the wealthy earl of Mar,…

  • Alyth Museum

    Lowland Perthshire & Kinross

    If you’re looking to escape the rain, the displays on Alyth's agricultural history in this little museum offer a fine way to pass an hour or so.

  • Mercat Cross

    Stirling

    The Mercat Cross is topped with a unicorn (known as the 'Puggie'), and was once the focus of a bustling market.

  • Tolbooth

    Stirling

    The Tolbooth, built in 1705 as the town's administrative centre, is now an arts venue.