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…
Must-see attractions in Central Scotland
Perth
'So thanks to all at once and to each one, whom we invite to see us crowned at Scone.' This line from Macbeth indicates the importance of Scone …
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…
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…
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…
Fife
Of the many new distilleries popping up all over Scotland, this one – opened in 2017 – has a unique historical claim. It's a stunning modern building …
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…
Fife
Falkland Palace, a 16th-century country residence of the Stuart monarchs, is prettier and in many ways more impressive and interesting than the Palace of…
Stirling Region
Magnificent Doune Castle is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Scotland, having remained largely unchanged since it was built for the duke…
St Andrews
All that's left of one of Britain's most magnificent medieval buildings are ruined fragments of wall and arch, and a single towering gable, but you can…
Fife
This fascinating – and chilling – monument to Cold War paranoia was built in the 1950s to serve as one of Britain’s regional command centres in the event…
Fife
More large house than palace, the 17th-century residence of local laird Sir George Bruce features an interior largely unchanged since his time. The…
Fife
This excellent museum covers the history of the Scottish fishing industry in fascinating detail, including plenty of hands-on exhibits for kids. Displays…
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…
Perth
Housed in Balhousie Castle on the edge of North Inch park, this museum honours what was once Scotland’s foremost army regiment (it was subsumed into the…
Perth
Beautifully set in a circular cast-iron building that was once a waterworks, this gallery exhibits an extensive collection of paintings by the Scottish…
Fife
Dunfermline Abbey was founded by David I in the 12th century as a Benedictine monastery. The abbey and its neighbouring palace were already favoured by…
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…
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 Andrews
The castle is mainly in ruins, but the site itself is evocative and has dramatic coastline views. It was founded around 1200 as a fortified home for the…
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…
Fife
This museum and art gallery showcases Kirkcaldy's history as a trading port and producer of linen, canvas and linoleum (floor covering); the kids will…
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…
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…
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…
Fife
Long a residence of the Douglases of Morton, this impressive structure exhibits several architectural phases, from tumbled 12th-century masonry with…
Fife
The mile-long Isle of May, 6 miles southeast of Anstruther, is a spectacular nature reserve. Between April and July the island's cliffs are packed with…
Perth
This elegant neoclassical building, based on the Pantheon in Rome, houses one of the oldest purpose-built museums in Britain. There's a varied range of…
Fife
Cambo Estate, 2.5 miles north of Crail, is the country seat of the Erskine family. Its walled garden, with an ornamental stream running through the middle…
Stirling Region
Dunblane Cathedral is a superbly elegant example of Gothic architecture – the lower parts of the bell tower date from the 11th century and the rest mainly…
Fife
If the kids are tiring of historic buildings, a trip here might make them feel more kindly towards Fife. Situated at North Queensferry, beneath the Forth…
St Andrews
This museum provides a comprehensive overview of the history and development of the game and the role of St Andrews in it. The huge collection ranges from…
Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum
Fife
The cottage where the great American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 is now a museum. Carnegie emigrated to the United…
Fife
An authentic example of Lowland Scottish domestic architecture, Kellie Castle has creaky floors, crooked little doorways, superb decorative plasterwork…
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…
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
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…
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…
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…
Fife
This distillery opened in 2015 and uses Fife-grown barley to create a distinctive Lowland whisky – it takes a minimum of three years' maturation to create…
