{infobox Scotland council area|
|Council= Stirling
Sruighlea
|Image=
|image_logo = Stirlingcouncillogo.png
|image_coat = Stirling_arms.png
|SizeRank= 9th
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Stirling is one of the 32 unitary local government council areas of ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and has a population of about 85,000. It was created under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former Central
local government regionThe local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....
, and it covers most of the former county of Stirling (except
FalkirkFalkirk Falkirk Falkirk is a town in central Scotland lying to the north west and north east of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. According to a 2007...
) and the south-western portion of the former county of Perth. Both
countiesThe counties of Scotland were the principal divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them.-Origin:...
were abolished for local government purposes under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
.
The administrative centre of the area is the city of
StirlingStirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and mediæval old-town beside the River Forth...
.
The area borders the council areas of
ClackmannanshireClackmannanshire or Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife....
(to the east),
FalkirkFalkirk is one of the 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland. It borders onto North Lanarkshire to the south west, Stirling to the north west, West Lothian to the south east and, across the Firth of Forth to the north east, Fife and Clackmannanshire...
(to the south east),
Perth and KinrossPerth and Kinross is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...
(to the north and north east),
Argyll and ButeArgyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead....
(to the north and north west), and both
EastEast Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the North-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of the city's commuter towns and villages. East Dunbartonshire also shares a border with West...
and
West DunbartonshireWest Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. Bordering onto the west of the City of Glasgow, containing many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages as well as the city's suburbs...
, both to Stirling's southwest.
The majority of the population of the area is located in its southeast corner, in the city of Stirling and in the surrounding
lowlandThe Scottish Lowlands , although not officially a geographical area of the country, in normal usage is generally meant to include those parts of Scotland not referred to as the Highlands , that is, everywhere due south and east of a line The Scottish Lowlands (a' Ghalldachd, meaning roughly 'the...
communities:
DunblaneDunblane is a small cathedral town and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth...
and
Bridge of AllanBridge of Allan is a town in Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. It was formerly administered by Stirlingshire and Central Regional Council....
to the north,
BannockburnBannockbum is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
to the immediate south, and the three former coal mining communities of Cowie, Fallin, and
PleanPlean is a former mining village, in the Stirling Council area of central Scotland located on the main A9 road from Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Plean had a population of 1,740.-References:...
(known collectively as "The Eastern Villages").
The remaining 30 percent of the region's population is sparsely distributed across the rural, mainly
highlandThe Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east...
, expanse in the north of the region. The southern half of this rural area comprises the flat western floodplain of the
River ForthThe River Forth , 47 km long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland....
, bounded on the south by the Touch Hills and the
Campsie FellsThe Campsie Fells are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west, from south Stirling to Dumgoyne in East Dunbartonshire. The highest point in the range is Earl's Seat which is 578 m high. The range overlooks the villages of Strathblane and Blanefield to the South, Killearn...
. North of the
glenA glen is a valley, typically one that is long, deep, and often glacially U-shaped; or one with a watercourse running through such a valley. The word comes from the Irish language/Scottish Gaelic language word gleann, or glion in Manx. In Manx, glan is also to be found meaning glen...
lie the
TrossachsThe Trossachs itself is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben A'an to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west and Loch Achray to the east...
mountains, and the northern half of the region is generally mountainous in character.
The Council
As with all local authorities in Scotland, Stirling Council has a number of multi-member wards electing representatives under the Single Transferable Vote System.
The wards and their councillors are:
Stirling East (3 Councillors):
Corrie McChord (Lab),
Stephen Paterson (SNP),
Ian Brown (LD)
Stirling West (3 Councillors):
Neil Benny (Con),
Scott Farmer (SNP),
Andrew Simpson (Lab)
Castle (3 Councillors):
John Hendry (Lab),
Jim Thompson (SNP),
Graham Reed (LD)
Bannockburn (3 Councillors):
Margaret Brisley (Lab),
Alasdair MacPherson (SNP),
Violet Weir (Lab)
Bridge of Allan & Dunblane (4 Councillors):
Callum Campbell (Con),
David Goss (LD),
Colin Finlay (Lab),
Graham Houston (SNP)
Forth & Endrick (3 Councillors):
Graham Lambie (SNP),
Alistair Berrill (Con),
Colin O'Brien
Trossachs and Teith (3 Councillors):
Paul Owens (Lab),
Tony Ffinch (Con),
Fergus Wood (SNP)
Towns and villages
- Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle is a village in the region of Stirling, Scotland, northwest of Glasgow.The town is situated at the base of Craigmore and on the Laggan, a head-water of the River Forth...
- Ardchyle
Ardchyle is a village in Stirling, Scotland....
- Ardeonaig
Ardeonaig is a hamlet on the southern shore of Loch Tay in the Stirling Council area of Scotland. It is approximately 5 miles east of Killin and lies at the mouth of the Finglen Burn where it enters Loch Tay....
- Arnprior
Arnprior is a village in the the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is located on the A811 about 12 miles west of Stirling and is one of the smallest community council areas in Stirlingshire with a population of about 200....
- Balmaha
Balmaha is a hamlet on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in the council area of Stirling, Scotland.The name Balmaha comes from the Gaelic for St Maha's Place which suggests the village may have ancient origins, perhaps as a hermit's residence...
- Bannockburn
Bannockbum is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
- Blair Drummond
Blair Drummond is a small rural community near Stirling in Scotland, predominantly located along the A84 road....
- Boreland
- Bridge of Allan
Bridge of Allan is a town in Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. It was formerly administered by Stirlingshire and Central Regional Council....
- Brig o' Turk
Brig o' Turk is a small community in the Trossachs, a range of hills in Stirling, Scotland. Its name is derived from the Gaelic Tuirc meaning wild boar...
- Buchlyvie
Buchlyvie is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is 24 km west of Stirling, south of Flanders Moss in the Carse of Forth. The village lies on the A811, which follows the line of an eighteenth century military road...
- Cambuskenneth
Cambuskenneth is a village in the city of Stirling, located in central Scotland. It has a population of 250 and is the site of the historic Cambuskenneth Abbey. It is situated by the River Forth and the only road access to the village is along Ladysneuk Road from Alloa Road in Causewayhead...
- Campsie
Campsie may refer to:* Campsie, New South Wales, AustraliaScotland* Campsie, Stirlingshire, Stirlingshire* Campsie Fells* Milton of Campsie...
- Callander
Callander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, on the River Teith. The town is located in the former County of Perthshire, and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....
- Cowie
- Craigdownings
- Craigruie
- Crianlarich
Crianlarich is a village in Stirling district, Scotland, about six miles north-east of the head of Loch Lomond. Until 1975, it was in the historic county of Perthshire...
- Croftamie
Croftamie is a small village near Drymen in Scotland.The village was traditionally part of Dunbartonshire, but a minor change in boundaries means that it is now under Stirling Council....
- Doune
Doune is a burgh in the district of Stirling, Scotland, on the River Teith. Traditionally and geographically, Doune lies within Perthshire . However, administratively Doune is under the control of Stirling Council...
- Drymen
Drymen is a village in Stirling district in central Scotland. Drymen lies to the west of the Campsie Fells and enjoys views to Dumgoyne on the east and to Loch Lomond on the west...
- Dunblane
Dunblane is a small cathedral town and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth...
- Fallin
- Fintry
Fintry is a small village in central Scotland, nestled in the strath of the Endrick Water in the Campsie Fells some 35km north of Glasgow. It is within the local government council area of Stirling. As of the 2001 census, Fintry and the surrounding rural area had a population of 691 people.Fintry...
- Gargunnock
Gargunnock is a small village in the Stirling council area approximately seven miles west of Stirling, in Scotland. The 2001 census population was 944. It is situated on the south edge of the Carse of Stirling, at the feet of the Gargunnock Hills, part of the Campsie Fells...
- Inversnaid
Inversnaid is a village on the east bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland, near the north end of the loch. It has a pier and a hotel, and the West Highland Way passes through the village. A small passenger ferry runs from Inversnaid to Inveruglas on the opposite shore of the loch. To reach Inversnaid by...
- Killearn
Killearn is a small village of approximately 1700 people in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The village is located about north of Glasgow, and away from Loch Lomond. The Glengoyne distillery is also situated just outside the village...
- Killin
Killin is a village situated at the western head of Loch Tay in Stirling , Scotland....
- Kinbuck
- Kinlochard
- Kippen
Kippen is a small village approximately west of the city of Stirling, Scotland . It lies between the Gargunnock and Fintry hills and overlooks the strath of the River Forth...
- Lecropt
Lecropt is a rural parish lying to the west of Bridge of Allan, Scotland.The population of the parish of Lecropt is estimated to be around 75, consisting entirely of isolated farms and houses, as well as the Keir Estate owned by the landed Stirling family...
- Lochearnhead
Lochearnhead is a village on the A84 Stirling to Crianlarich road at the foot of Glen Ogle, 14 miles north of the Highland Boundary Fault...
- Mid Lecropt
Mid Lecropt is a farm and cottage situated, as the name suggests, in the middle of the Carse of Lecropt, north-west of the Scottish town of Bridge of Allan near Stirling....
- Mugdock
- Port of Menteith
Port of Menteith is a village and parish in the Stirling district of Scotland, the only significant settlement on the Lake of Menteith. It was established as a burgh of barony, then named simply Port, in 1457 by King James III of Scotland...
- Plean
Plean is a former mining village, in the Stirling Council area of central Scotland located on the main A9 road from Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Plean had a population of 1,740.-References:...
- Raploch
The Raploch is a district of the city of Stirling, which lies to the south of the River Forth in central Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to by people from outside the area as "Raploch", but locally it is invariably preceded by the definite article "the"...
- Rowardennan
Rowardennan is a small hamlet on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in Scotland.Rowardennan is at the northern end of the public road, but the West Highland Way passes through the village and continues north along the side of the loch. Rowardennan has a hostel and camping for hikers on the West...
- Strathyre
Strathyre is a district and settlement in the Stirling local government district of Scotland. It forms the south-eastern part of the parish of Balquhidder and was, prior to the 1973 reorganisation of local government, part of Perthshire...
- Stronachlachar
- Thornhill
Thornhill is a village in the Scottish council area of Stirling. It lies 14 miles from Stirling itself, south of Callander, east of Aberfoyle and west of Doune....
- Throsk
- Torbrex
- Tyndrum
Tyndrum is a small village in Scotland. Its Gaelic name translates as "the house on the ridge". It lies in Strathfillan, at the southern edge of Rannoch Moor....
- St Ninians
- Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and mediæval old-town beside the River Forth...
- Strathblane
Strathblane is a village and parish at the extreme south of the Stirling council area, in central Scotland. It lies at the foothills of the Campsie Fells and the Kilpatrick Hills on the Blane Water, north of Glasgow, east-southeast of Dumbarton, and southwest of Stirling...
Places of interest
- Carse of Lecropt
Lecropt is a rural parish lying to the west of Bridge of Allan, Scotland.The population of the parish of Lecropt is estimated to be around 75, consisting entirely of isolated farms and houses, as well as the Keir Estate owned by the landed Stirling family...
- Culcreuch Castle
Culcreuch Castle is a Scottish castle close to the village of Fintry, near Loch Lomond. It has been the home of the Barons of Culcreuch since 1699, was turned into a hotel, venue and visitor attraction in the 1980s.-History:...
- Inchmahome Priory
Inchmahome Priory is situated on Inchmahome , the largest of three islands in the centre of Lake of Menteith, close to Aberfoyle, Scotland....
(a ruined Augustinian priory on an island in the Lake of MenteithThe Lake of Menteith , or, until the 20th century, the Loch of Menteith, is a loch in Scotland, located on the Flanders Moss, the flood plain of the upper reaches of the rivers Forth and Teith, upstream of Stirling. The only settlement of any size on the Lake of Menteith is Port of Menteith.The are...
, used as a refuge in 1547 by Mary, Queen of ScotsMary I was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King James V. She was six days old when her father died and made her Queen of Scots...
)
- Breadalbane Folklore Centre
- Cambuskenneth Abbey
Cambuskenneth Abbey is a ruined Augustinian monastery located on an area of land enclosed by a meander of the River Forth near Stirling in Scotland. Although the abbey is largely disused, the neighbouring village of Cambuskenneth continues to be inhabited....
(formerly the seat of the Scottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood" , is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
)
- Doune Castle
Doune Castle is a late 14th century stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling district of central Scotland. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith, across a bridge from the village. It lies north-west of Stirling, where the Teith flows...
- Falls of Dochart
The Falls of Dochart are situated on the River Dochart at Killin in Stirlingshire, Scotland at the western end of Loch Tay. A bridge crosses over the river just as you enter Killin giving a fabulous view of the falls as they cascade down over the rocks and around the island of Inchbuie, which is...
- Falls of Lochay
- Glen Dochart
Glen Dochart, in Perthshire, is a glen, in the Scottish Highlands, which runs from Crianlarich, where Strath Fillan and Glen Falloch meet, eastwards to Killin, following the course of the River Dochart as it flows through Loch Dochart and Loch Iubhair. It is met by Glen Ogle at Lix Toll....
- Lake of Menteith
The Lake of Menteith , or, until the 20th century, the Loch of Menteith, is a loch in Scotland, located on the Flanders Moss, the flood plain of the upper reaches of the rivers Forth and Teith, upstream of Stirling. The only settlement of any size on the Lake of Menteith is Port of Menteith.The are...
- Lecropt Kirk
Lecropt is a rural parish lying to the west of Bridge of Allan, Scotland.The population of the parish of Lecropt is estimated to be around 75, consisting entirely of isolated farms and houses, as well as the Keir Estate owned by the landed Stirling family...
- Loch Achray
Loch Achray is a small freshwater loch 11 kilometres west of Callander in Stirling district, Scotland.The loch lies between Loch Katrine and Loch Venachar in the heart of the Trossachs and has an average depth of 11 metres. The south side of the loch is wooded and well served by woodland tracks and...
- Loch Ard
Loch Ard is a body of fresh water in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park of the Stirling District in Scotland....
- Loch Earn
Loch Earn is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the districts of Perth and Kinross and Stirling...
- Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is a national park in Scotland centred on Loch Lomond, and includes several ranges of hills, the Trossachs being the most famous...
- Loch Katrine
Loch Katrine is a freshwater loch in the district of Stirling, Scotland. It is roughly 13 kilometres long by 1 kilometre wide and runs the length of Strath Gartney...
(The source of most of the drinking water for the city of GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
)
- Loch Venachar
Loch Venachar is a freshwater loch in Stirling district, Scotland, situated between Callander and Brig o' Turk...
- Moirlannich Longhouse
- Queen Elizabeth Forest Park (run by the Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
)
- Scottish Institute of Sport
The Scottish Institute of Sport is the national sports development body in Scotland. It is part of sportscotland, a publicly owned company which is partly funded by the UK's National Lottery.The SIS was established in 1998...
(on the grounds of Stirling University)
- Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, a volcanic crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
- The University of Stirling
The University of Stirling founded in 1967, in Stirling, Scotland. The original vision for the university at its inception, reflecting the national zeitgeist of expanding the University sector, was to provide higher education for people from all walks of life, encouraging them to fulfil their...
- Wallace Monument
The National Wallace Monument is a tower standing on the summit of Abbey Craig, a hilltop near Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish hero....
- West Highland Way
The West Highland Way is a linear long distance footpath in Scotland, with the official status of Long Distance Route. It is 153 kilometres long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the route...
External links