📌 Causewayhead, Stirling
★★★
If you’re visiting Stirling‘s famous Wallace Monument, take an extra hour or so to explore Abbey Craig, the hill on which it stands. This rocky mound directly overlooks the neck of land in between meanders of the River Forth to the south, where Sir William Wallace and his Scottish army overwhelmed English forces as they piled across an old timber bridge over the tidal river. Behind is Stirling Castle atop its own rocky mound, with the West Highlands providing a distant backdrop to the city’s northern suburbs. To the east the Ochil Hills are even nearer, but views in this direction are partially blocked by trees – the top of the monument is a better bet. Paths are steep in places, so you can probably justify a snack afterwards in the monument visitor centre’s cafe.
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at National Wallace Monument car park, B998 just north of the A9 junction, 3 mi north of Stirling city centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 808958
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.139791,-3.919443
🚌 Hillfoots Road (B998) at monument turnoff
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 3 mi / 2 km | ▲ 170 m | ⌛ 1 hr
Features: ✞ National Wallace Monument ★★★; △ Abbey Craig (111 m)
⬤ Easy | Wide paths, but steep in places & nearby cliff edges. ⚠️ If also visiting the monument interior, buy tickets from the visitor centre at the start first.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start & visitor centre – National Wallace Monument – edge of woodland near Craigmill via top of southern escarpment – Ochil viewpoint via north side of hill – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Small woodland birds.
Weather: Clouds scudding across blue skies and a strong westerly wind.
February 2017
