Scotland: Stirling Castle
After leaving Edinburgh, we began our road trip journey through the countryside of Scotland. Our first stop: Stirling Castle, followed by a drive to Oban.
Leaving Edinburgh
It took a little thinking to devise our final itinerary, as I could not figure out the best way to travel around Scotland. We knew driving would be best for the rest of the trip, but everything I read said Don’t have a car while in Edinburgh! After I found the train to Glasgow for a day trip, the rest fell into place! We rented a car from one of the rental agencies at the airport, so Evan and Tim took the train from the hotel back to the airport stop. After picking up the car, they came back for Evan’s dad and me.
When picking out our hotel, I actually read reviews for car pick ups and looked at google street view to make sure we could pull the car up close to the hotel. Our hotel had a loading zone right at the front door making this process very easy!
Our Edinburgh hotel
Our Ride:
Meet Walter 🙂
We wanted a car comfortable to seat 4 adults (two being well over 6′ tall) and all of our luggage. Evan opted for the biggest car possible, and we got a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. It is marketed as a 3 row car; however, we Just fit in the front two rows with our luggage packed to the brim in the back!
On the Road!
Driving in Scotland is the Opposite of driving in the states. Evan did an amazing job navigating for our entire trip! He only forgot twice to drive on the opposite side of the road. 😉 Tim and I opted to pay the extra $10 a day to have our data while in Scotland. So, we used our phones throughout the trip for maps. Prior to leaving, I also printed out directions to each stop in case we came into an area without cell service. The first leg of our trip took us from Edinburgh to Stirling Castle which took about an hour or less of driving time.
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle (link to their website) was listed in most of the travel guides I read. It was a nice segue into the countryside and fit well into our travel route. As far as the castle itself, it did not quite meet my expectations. I found it a bit over commercialized and updated. When we arrived, we walked around the entrance a bit then joined on of the tour groups. I highly recommend taking one of the free guided tours. Our tour guide Frank was AMAZING! Not only was he hilarious and informative, he put a group of school kids in their place and got them to sit quietly for a history lesson of the great hall! Thank you Frank! After the guided tour ended, we walked around a bit on our own before heading into town for lunch.
Outside Stirling Castle
Castle Walls
Frank, our tour guide
Views from the Castle Walls
William Wallace Monument
Storm Coming!
You could walk all around the outer walls for amazing views of the city. Again, we were surprised by the lack of security railings or signs! The temperatures dropped and the wind picked up during our visit! The open area outside of the castle was very cold!
Lunch Time!
Tim did another amazing job picking out a place to eat. We drove into the town area and found an area for paid meter parking. We walked from there into the downtown area for lunch!
Evan’s dad and I ate burgers while Tim and Evan chose the meat pies.
Contining the journey:
From Stirling Castle, the next stop on our trip was Oban. I may save this until tomorrow as this post is already a little long! 🙂
Click here for our entire itinerary!
My name is Ali and I'm learning how to be a country girl! I'm a physical therapist, wife, lover of running and reading and I love to travel!