| 1 Day Tour - Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. |
| Day Tours | ||
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It was thought that he whoever controlled Stirling effectively controlled Scotland. During the Wars of Independence Edward 1st of England took Stirling Castle in 1296, but Scottish forces led by William Wallace (Braveheart) defeated the English army at the battle of Stirling Bridge! The Wallace Monument standing on Abbey Craig was commissioned to commemorate Scotland’s 13th century hero. In 1314 the English army where defeated again at Bannockburn a short distance from Stirling Castle by King Robert the Bruce who then tried to destroy the Castle to prevent it from being used as an English garrison but to no avail. A short walk from the Castle esplanade there’s the 17th century Argyll’s Lodgings a fine original mansion Townhouse or you can visit the Castle Jailhouse on your way down the hill.
Leaving Stirling we head to the bustling town of Callander and the beginning of the Trossachs National Park, we stop for lunch here and an opportunity to browse around Callander’s many gift and art shops. From Callander we take the scenic road over the dramatic Dukes pass to Loch Katrine, a favourite place for day trippers from Glasgow. You can take cruise on the Loch aboard the world famous steam ship Sir Walter Scott named after the author and poet or just have a leisurely stroll along the banks of this beautiful loch surrounded with stunning mountains and ancient forest. Leaving Loch Katrine we head back over the Dukes pass through the national park to Balmaha our next stop on your tour. This picturesque village sits on the shores of Loch Lomond possibly Scotland’s most famous Loch. Stretching 24 miles long this is Scotland’s largest inland Loch by surface area and second largest to Loch Ness by water volume there are around 40 islands on the Loch known as Inchs with Inchmurrin named after St Mirrin one of the largest. If you are feeling energetic there’s a short climb to a fantastic view point with stunning views of the Loch and surrounding mountains. From Balmaha we make our way to Glengoyne distillery our final stop for the day. Glengoyne have been producing Highland single malt whisky here since 1833 there are regular tours of the distillery where you’ll be welcomed with a dram before a behind the scenes tour ending at the whisky shop where you can purchase a bottle of their single malt for yourself if you wish. Leaving Glengoyne we drive back to your accommodation and the end of what we hope was a wonderful tour of Stirling and the National Park with Ricki & Ian at About Scotland.
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