Here is my review of the “Loch Lomond Stirling Castle and Kelpies” Day tour. I scheduled this day-tour, that departed from Edinburgh. through Viator/TripAdvisor. The tour operator was Timberbush Tours. Schedule this tour on this Viator website for day tours out of Edinburgh.
My blog on Edinburgh provides a list of things to do if you want to stay in the city.
Disclosure, I am a Viator Marketing Affiliate.
The tour to Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle and the Kelpies cost $70.81/person with the taxes. This tour fee covered the bus transportation across the itinerary with the driver serving as a guide.
The tour did not cover entrance fees to any of the attractions, meals and/or refreshments, or gratuities.
Loch Lomond Stirling Castle and Kelpies – Loch Lomond
There are two stops at Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
The first stop was at Loch Lomond Shores. This area includes a strip mall, SEA LIFE Loch Lomond, Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Center, and Tree Zone Loch Lomond.
The tour allocates about 60 minutes at this location. This gives you an opportunity to have a cursory look around, and a walk along the shores. Unfortunately, it is not long enough to take advantage of some of the attractions.
The second stop is about 5 minutes away to the village of Balloch. In the village of Balloch, the tour stops for an hour to allow guests to walk around the village or take a boat cruise on Loch Lomond.
We took the opportunity to head out on the water. Sweeney’s Cruise Company operates the cruise onto Loch Lomond. The boat loads on the shores of the river Leven and heads out on the Loch. The cruise travels along the southern end of the loch, providing views of some impressive homes that line the shores. We saw some of the 33 islands in the loch, including Inchmurrin Island. This island is home to the ruins of Lennox Castle where Robert the Bruce hid as a fugitive before he became King of Scotland.
Tickets for the cruise are:
- Adults: 15.00 GBP
- Youth (13-15) 13.00 GBP
- Children (5-12) 10.00 GBP
- Under 5 are free.
Guests can purchase refreshments onboard.
Loch Lomond Stirling Castle and Kelpies – Lunch
After the Loch Lomond visit, the tour heads out to Stirling Castle with a stop for lunch in Aberfoyle.
Aberfoyle is a small village with several restaurants and shops.
An interesting attraction is the Scottish Wool Center. Besides the store, there are some sheep on display and a presentation that you may be lucky enough to catch depending on your time of arrival.
Personal note of awareness.
The tour allocates an hour allocated for lunch. If there are several tour buses in town, I would recommend not going to a sit-down restaurant/pub. The restaurants and pubs are small. The rush of customers can overwhelm the kitchens.
We experienced this and ended up leaving without lunch despite the server assuring us that the kitchen could meet our departure. Just my recommendation to pick up something quick or wait until you get to Stirling Castle to eat to avoid disappointment and frustration.
Loch Lomond Stirling Castle and Kelpies – Stirling Castle
The tour allocates about two – two-and-a-half hours at the castle. While you can spend most of the day here, this gives you plenty of time to visit exhibits. If you don’t want to visit the castle, there is a church with an imposing graveyard just down the hill from the parking lot.
We chose to visit the castle. Stirling Castle has served an important role in the history of Scotland in general, and in the battle for Scottish Independence in particular. While the story line in the movie Braveheart took some creative license, and was not the most historically accurate, the battle of Stirling Bridge was a historical event. The legends of Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, and Rob Roy had a large setting in the surroundings of Stirling.
Guided tours of the castle are available. However, you don’t have to join one to investigate the castle. We explored on our own and had a wonderful experience.
Visitors have access to all the expected points of interest of a castle structure, such as the Royal Palace, The Great Hall and the kitchens.
As an Army veteran, I appreciated the Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The Castle houses a great collection of military memorabilia of the Highlanders.
Queen Anne Gardens is wonderful to meander through. It’s not an exceedingly large garden, but it is lovely and well maintained.
The cost of the tickets is:
- Adults (16-64): 17.50 GBP online. 19.50 GBP walk-up
- Concession for 65+ and unemployed: 14.00 GBP online. 15.60 GBP walk-up
- Youth (7 -15) 10.50 GBP online. 11.70 GBP walk-up
- Under 7 are free
Discounts are also available for families, Scottish Military and other categories. Visitors can buy tickets in advance online. We didn’t have any issue purchasing tickets as a walk up.
The Website is www.stirlingcastle.scot
The castle operates a gift shop as well as a café. The café has hot and cold selections. They have a tasty mac and cheese…just sayin’.
Loch Lomond Stirling Castle and Kelpies – The Kelpies
The last stop on the tour is to the Kelpies. The Kelpies is a giant sculpture of two stainless-steel horse heads that measure 3-meters (98 feet) in height and each weigh 300 Metric tons. Inspired by Clydesdale draft horses, the Kelpies represent water spirits that inhabit the Scottish lochs and rivers in their physical form.
The sculpture is in Helix Park in Grangemouth near Falkirk. Scottish sculptor Andy Scott designed the Kelpies. The project finished in October 2013 and opened to the public in spring 2014.
Loch Lomond Stirling Castle and the Kelpies – Driver and Bus
This is kind of the table stakes for a tour, but worth mentioning. The bus was a standard tour bus. It was clean, comfortable and air conditioned. A bonus feature of the bus is that it had USB ports installed in the chairs. This is helpful to keep your phone powered up if you are using it for pictures and video recording.
Our Driver, Paul, was excellent. Besides being knowledgeable of the history of the itinerary, Paul was funny and very personable.
I also want to give Paul a tip of the hat for being caring and conscientious. One of the passengers had left his walker at our previous stop in Balloch. As the passengers got off for lunch in Aberfoyle, Paul went back to pick up the walker. The walker was damaged at the Balloch parking lot. Paul worked with the passenger to make the walker serviceable. Paul also worked with the passenger on the process to make a claim to have it replaced by the tour operator.
This was an enjoyable tour that enabled us to see more of the Scottish Lowlands without the hassle of driving around ourselves.
Next time you travel to Scotland, check out the day tours, like the Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, and the Kelpies Tour, that are available on Viator/TripAdvisor. They offer a nice resource to enhance your vacation.
Travel Well! Pursue experiences.
O.M.I.A.H.