Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1890s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, has made it an important fortification in the region from the earliest times.
A crag is a rocky hill or mountain, generally isolated from other high ground.
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
The Stirling council area is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 94,330. It was created under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former Central local government region, and it covers most of Stirlingshire and the south-western portion of Perthshire. Both counties were abolished for local government purposes under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
Drymen is a village in the Stirling district of central Scotland. Once a popular stopping place for cattle drovers, it is now popular with visiting tourists given its location near Loch Lomond. The village is centred around a village green which is an unusual feature in Scottish villages but more common in other parts of the United Kingdom.
Fintry is a village in central Scotland, around 19 miles (31 km) north of Glasgow.
Kippen is a village in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. It lies between the Gargunnock Hills and the Fintry Hills and overlooks the Carse of Forth to the north. The village is 9 miles west of Stirling and 20 mi (32 km) north of Glasgow. It is 4+1⁄2 mi (7 km) south-east of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Scotland's first National Park.
Clan Graham is a Scottish clan who had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands.
Buchlyvie is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated 14 miles (23 km) west of Stirling and 18 miles (29 km) north of Glasgow. Lying within the Carse of Forth, to the north is Flanders Moss and to the south are the Campsie Fells. The village lies on the A811, which follows the line of an eighteenth-century military road between Stirling and Balloch. According to the 2001 census the village's population was 479.
Culcreuch Castle is a Scottish castle close to the village of Fintry, near Loch Lomond. It had been the home of the Barons of Culcreuch since 1699. In the 1980s the castle was converted into a hotel, which it was run as until early 2020 when it was closed to the public.
Fintry is a housing scheme in Dundee, Scotland. Fintry is located in the north of the city with Mill o' Mains to the west and Whitfield to the east. On the north, Fintry is bordered by farmland, including the Powrie Farm and Powrie Castle. Local parks include Powrie Park and Finlathen Park. Fintry had a population of 6592 in 2011.
Mains Castle is a 16th-century castle in Dundee, Scotland. The castle consists of several buildings surrounding a courtyard, although several of the original western buildings no longer exist. The northern and eastern buildings are where the family would have lived, with the servants occupying the southern quarters. The castle also has a large, six-floor, square tower house with dressed cornerstones, which is typical of 16th-century construction. It is a Category A listed building.
The Endrick Water or River Endrick is a river which flows into the eastern end of Loch Lomond, Scotland.
Airthrey Castle is a historic building and estate which now forms part of the buildings and grounds of the University of Stirling in central Scotland. The 18th-century building with 19th-century additions occupies a beautiful setting in landscaped grounds in the southern edge of the Ochil Hills, above the Forth valley. It is located close to Bridge of Allan, 2 miles from the historic city of Stirling.
Loup of Fintry is a notable waterfall on the River Endrick around 2 miles to the east of Fintry in Scotland and 17 miles from Stirling, 10 miles from Denny. The total height of the waterfalls is 28.6 m (94 ft) Lowp or "Loup" means leap in Scots.
The Grahams of Fintry were a sept of the lowland Clan Graham based in the county of Angus Scotland.
Ballikinrain is an independent residential school in Stirling, central Scotland. It is run by CrossReach, a social care outreach arm of the Church of Scotland. The school is housed in the 19th-century Ballikinrain Castle, situated in the Parish of Killearn, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-east of Balfron and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of Fintry.
James Scott of Balwearie was a Scottish landowner and supporter of the rebel earls.
Robert Graham of Fintry was the 12th Laird of Fintry near Dundee and was one of Robert Burns's most supportive patrons, correspondent and loyal associate. Appointed a Commissioner of the Scottish Board of Excise he assisted Burns with his Excise career and during his 'loyalty' difficulties. He was a great admirer of his poetry and Burns wrote several epistles to him. Burns referred to him as "Friend of my Life - True Patron of my Rhymes."
