If you have seen Outlander then you may recognize that many scenes were filmed here. More important…read morethis is a very important historical place and former Royal Palace. After all Mary Queen of Scots was crowned here. I joined one of the free tours offered (they do deserve a great tip!) and got about 50 minutes you get a great introduction and a lot of history. Some people chose self-guided tours but I preferred the opportunity to ask our guide questions. We enjoyed a nice sunny day and although it was a winter day, it was also nice to explore their gardens. A place worth visiting!

This was one of the last castles that my mother and I stopped at when we went to Scotland earlier…read morethis year and it didn't disappoint. The signage all over was good and informational. The employees that were working were very helpful. The mini museums across the castle were really cool and informational as well. This is one of the coolest castles that we saw in Scotland and I would definitely go back.

We were super excited to find a game shop while traveling across Scotland. We had seen some video…read moregame shops but no hobby shops. We love board games, MTG, table top games, Warhammer, and more. It was nice to find somewhere that felt like home! Starting from the outside, this shop is a bit hard to locate but luckily they have a gorgeous geek friendly mural on the outside walkway! You are greeted by all of your favorite sci-fi and video game characters which instantly puts you in a great mood! When you enter there are two separate rooms divided by a kitchen. The left room has plenty of tables to play whatever games you wish. May it be noted that we found out afterwards that you are supposed to pay to use a table! They also have a shelving unit full of games available to test. We played a few games and really enjoyed them. On the right is the actual shop which is fully stocked with games of all types. We even found a Minecraft Card game in both English and German as a souvenir for my little brother. The kitchen has an assortment of beverages and foods available for purchase. Sadly I have a wheat allergy and dairy allergy as well as being a vegetarian so I settled on some plain hot tea. My partner however, had a Haggis grilled cheese and he seemed quite pleased by it! The staff is very welcoming and friendly. Appears to be run by a family. The other customers were also very friendly and a few even came up to talk to us about the games we were playing. Overall this is a very well stocked and welcoming game shop. Definitely recommend if you enjoy these types of games! Would have been 5 stars had I of been able to eat anything there. ;)

Stirling Fringe Festival is like the Edinburgh Fringe's bashful little cousin; young, eager and…read morejust finding its feet in the comedy-arts festival world. Whilst just finished its second successful year, Stirling Fringe Festival is certainly holding its own as an annual event in Stirling, creating a good-spirited buzz around the city whilst involving local independent businesses. - Think Loving Food Truck serving up their delicious street food concoctions while a local band play their hand-penned tunes in the background. This was just one of the events over the 9-day extravaganza. The result is a pleasant slice of the best of what Stirling's got to offer. So this year brought music, performance art, musical theatre and even an evening of Parisian Indulgence. I do not know what a night of Parisian Indulging entails but I imagine it was a relaxed affair with gypsy jazz chords and an abundance of red wine. Seriously, though, for a festival in its second year, Stirling Fringe is shining bright. Whilst hosting stage to names like Daniel Sloss, at the heart of the festival there is real community, with plenty of workshops and groups to get stuck in to. And if you're keen to help out with the planning and organising of the festival, there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer. Stirling Fringe may be a young 'un in the festival industry but I've seen it grow from its first year to its second year and, hopefully, it'll continue to flourish. Of course, it isn't the Edinburgh Fringe, nor does it try to be, but that's testament to Stirling's size; it has done a wonderful job of catering to Stirling's creative community and slots in just nicely alongside the rest of the city's happenings. A huge well done to Barry and the Stirling Fringe team who made this year's festival such a success. Next year...Get yourself a programme, hop on a train, and enjoy!

Almost four years in Stirling and I've only just visited this place. Thoroughly ashamed! Whilst I'd…read moreheard a little about the museum, it seemed a little out of the way from the city centre. (It's not, it's a five minute walk from the Albert Halls and ten from the castle!) Today was a fleeting but entertaining day at the museum, with a quick caffeine stop at the cafe and a whisk around the museum. The building itself is large and historical. It's certainly nice to look at and has a traditional museum feel without seeming out-dated. We were headed straight for the cafe to start when we were welcomed by a friendly cat. - Yes, a cat! Not just any cat but Oswald, the museum's resident cat! Yes, he actually lives there! He would often pop in to the museum when he lived nearby and when his owner's moved, Oswald got so sad that they brought him back to where he truly belonged. - The museum! Talk about a welcome! Purr! The cafe makes for a pleasant stop for tea and coffee and service was fast and friendly. I can't comment on the food since I didn't eat but the cakes looked lovely and they even had a few gluten free options available. There's also some small replica war-time recipe/ration/sewing guide books for sale by the cafe which are cheap and kitsch. They certainly caught my eye! Whilst we didn't have a great deal of time to wander round the museum itself on this occasion, everything we laid eyes on was interesting. I particularly liked the old Stirling cinema chairs and posters. I'd definitely like to spend some more time in here and soak it all in a bit more. I especially love the fact that they feature local artists! Staff were so welcoming and knowledgeable, telling us the history of the museum and the story of Oswald the cat. With free admission, it's definitely worth a visit if you're in Stirling. If only to meet Oswald!

Although the Museum is quite messy (there's lot of pieces everywhere), you end up undestanding the…read morewhole history Stirling, its most important people and the legends. The best thing of the Museum is its staff. They are very helpful and friendly. Even one of them offered himself to guide us through the exhibition. I will return to the Museum to visit it again, even though it doesn't have Free Wifi....

We got the Greek salad, chicken taouk, moussaka and a pitcher of sangria. Everything was very tasty…read moreand the presentation attractive. The service was very good and the owner very friendly. (The sangria was a little weak, though, but we would definitely go back.)

This was a wee night out to the lovely city of Stirling on an UYE visit to this fabulous restaurant…read morechosen and kindly organised by fellow Yelper Nicola C. She did a cracking job and it was a great introduction for a meal out in Stirling. I'm not a biggest fan of Mediterranean food but I do enjoy certain aspects to it and I'm always up for trying different flavours and foods. There was seven of us in total and I was unsure what to go for so an excellent mutual decision was made to go for the Chef's Selection for £14.95 each, which allowed you to try lots of options from their menu. This was a brilliant idea so if there was something I wasn't too keen on there was someone else happy to munch in, so nothing went to waste. There was so many courses, I forgot how many there was that it felt like a never ending amount of food came to our table. It was awesome! My favourite was the wee cheeky side order I had of halloumi but make sure you get the lutza halloumi as it comes with pork medallions. Yum! The chorizo was the best I've ever tasted, I'm not the greatest fan but the way it was cooked made it really tasty. We had falafel, chicken wings, lamb kofte, olives, hummus, lots of pita bread, Greek gyros and baba ghanoush. By the last course though I had to force myself, I think I may have had too many helpings of pita and hummus. Ooops! But is tasted so goooood. It's an alternative meal out with good quality food and the staff are lovely. We did have a few waits in between courses but then it's a popular restaurant but with good company and banter it didn't seem so bad. Thanks again to Nicola C. and look forward to the next Stirling UYE. Nudge nudge, wink wink! Hehe!

You know a good tattoo when you see one, I have been looking for the right artist for the past 6…read moremonths to put together and create something really special. I found Chris through recommendation and went for a consultation at his new studio, which is immaculate. First impressions, to me mean everything and I was so impressed. Chris at Studio 52 has a huge selection of books with loads of different art work, from totally old school to new stuff. I had a small idea of what I wanted, which I told Chris and he managed to tweak and perfect the most amazing tattoo at a very reasonable price! I am so pleased and can't wait to get another one, studio 52 comes very highly recommended.

I've been to the Albert Halls on serveral occasions, most recently playing a private event as a…read moreband in the lesser hall upstairs.The venue itself is extremely versatile and, in the past, I'd attended several wedding fairs for work and left impressed with just how well the building suited the event and how lovely staff were.There's the large, main hall downstairs and the adaquately-sezed lesser hall upstairs. Whilst it's not the sort of place I'd find myself in for a night of music, as it mainly caters to tribute acts, there's occasionally some great acts booked that aren't quie suited to the Tolbooth music venue in town. When we found out we were going to be fed at the private event, we had no idea what to expect but were pleasantly surprised when the in-house Henderson's Bistro served up delicious offerings of Balmoral Chicken for main course. Delightful! Whilst Albert Halls doesn't quite have the personality or quaintness of other venues in town, it's certainly a good size and is extremely versatile. And you can't go wrong if you need a catered event!

I have only been to this venue to see a live music performance and to be honest it's not very well…read moresuited for the job. The sound didn't carry particularly well. There was no proper bar, a folding table with a limited choice of drinks was all that was on offer. There were no drinks allowed in the main hall so you couldn't enjoy a drink while watching the band which was a bit of an inconvenience. However, the venue was quite nice in itself and would maybe be better suited to another type of performance.

We arrived at the end of the Great Escape with our instruments; we were closing the festival. We'd…read moredid our bit to promote but, naturally, the festival had begun to wind down. The food vendors and stalls had packed up and all that was left was the music stage. We played, and it was probably the quietest point in the day. That was okay for us, but it felt a real shame that we'd been booked for a paying gig that wasn't the busiest. A little chalkboard by the stage listing who was on when would have been really useful, as people most probably thought that the event was already coming to a close as the DJ played before our set. I think there definitely could have been a lot promotion around the event, as unless we were booked, we probably wouldn't have found out about it. There wasn't even a mention on the day from Destination Stirling on Twitter, which when you think about the power of the retweet, is a crying shame. Great that they are supporting local musicians but, next time, shout it from the heavens. - A food and drink festival with music and entertainment is just bound to go down a storm!