A friend and I (women in mid-20s) are planning a trip to Ireland and the UK, planning to spend two and a half days based in Edinburgh. I was thinking about doing a day trip to Stirling, and wonder how much time we should plan on spending there. I know the main things would be the castle and the Wallace monument - anything else we should make sure to see? Would a half day be reasonable, or should we plan on a full day (or somewhere in between)?

Also - is Stirling pretty walkable, or should we plan on using busses to get where we want to go?

Thanks so much!

- jennifer

Yes very walkable, compact and a sweet regional town. Also the Gaol )sp?) the Old Jail which i found interesting look into Victorian justice. No need for buses in town but i think the Wallace Monument is well out of town. Sterling views of the highlands from Stirling Castle.

Be sure to go to Bannockburn which is a few miles south of town. Pretty good heritage center there. I would plan on spending a day in Stirling.

http://www.instirling.com/sight/bannock.htm

I was looking at the hop-on, hop-off bus tours for Stirling - it sounds like that might be useful, especially with the Wallace monument and Bannockburn centre being a little ways out of town, plus we'd get some history in a Scottish accent as well! Has anyone done this tour?

Stirling is walkable as stated but be aware that it is a bit of an uphill hike to the castle.

The Bannockburn Heritage Centre is worthy of a visit but not within walking distance (for most). It's about two miles south of central Stirling. The Wallace Monument is not located in city centre either but is north/east of Stirling.

jent,

Apparently we posted about the same time. I haven't done the hop-on/hop-off bus but if you want to do Bannockburn and/or Wallace, I think it would be your best bet. Plan on a full day.

ttt

Sure Stirling is walkable - but a lot depends on what you consider "walkable. If you can deal w/ a lot of steep hills, then it is pretty compact and walkable.

Otherwise, plan on using buses - and that would be necessary to get to the Wallace Monument and Bannockburn in any case.

The castle alone is worth at least 3 hours so Stirling would be pretty much a full day trip from Edinburgh.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! That definitely helps me plan.

If you can swing it, Doune castle is nearby and worth a visit. I've only done Stirling and area as a day trip with a car from Edinburgh.

yes, walkable. particularly like to stone-paved walkway around town. I would say 1/2 day to not more than a days is sufficient for Stirling

Definately recommend the tour bus. You can pick this up outside the train station. Plan for a full day to take in the old town, the castle (as someone said allow about 3 hours for this), bannockburn heritage centre/battle site, wallace monument, old stirling bridge (the site of battle of stirling as NOT depicted in braveheart).