The Stirling council area ( sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about ( estimate). It was created under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

local government region, and it covers most of Stirlingshire (except

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had ...

) and the south-western portion of

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

. Both counties were abolished for local government purposes under the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...

. The administrative centre of the area is the city of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, with the headquarters at

Old Viewforth Old Viewforth is a municipal facility on Pitt Terrace in Stirling, Scotland. The facility, which is the headquarters of Stirling Council, is a Category B listed building. History The first house on the site, which was known as "Viewforth" was ...

. The area borders the council areas of

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the ...

(to the east), North Lanarkshire (to the south),

(to the south east),

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland ...

(to the north and north east),

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

(to the north and north west), and both

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...

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 lowland communities: Bridge of Allan and

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

to the north,

Bannockburn Bannockburn ( Scottish Gaelic ''Allt a' Bhonnaich'') is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing i ...

to the immediate south, and the three former coal mining communities of

Cowie Cowie may refer to: People * Cowie (surname) Places *Cowie, Aberdeenshire, an historic fishing village located at the north side of Stonehaven, Scotland **Cowie Castle, a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland ** Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nath ...

, Fallin, and

Plean Plean is a 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. Plean has some historic buildings, some council houses and an estate. Landmar ...

, known collectively as the "Eastern Villages". The remaining 30 percent of the region's population is sparsely distributed across the rural, mainly

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

, expanse in the north of the region. The southern half of this rural area comprises the flat western floodplain of the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of t ...

, bounded on the south by the

Touch Hills In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It is ...

and the Campsie Fells. North of the

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

lie the

Trossachs The Trossachs (; gd, Na Tròiseachan) generally refers to an area of wooded glens, braes, and lochs lying to the east of Ben Lomond in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The name is taken from that of a small woodland glen that lies at t ...

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 Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

system. The wards and their councillors are: *

(3 Councillors): Alasdair MacPherson (Ind), Margaret Brisley (Lab), Brian Hambly (SNP) * Dunblane and Bridge of Allan (4 Councillors): Douglas Dodds (Con), Graham Houston (SNP), Alasdair Tollemache (Green), Ewan Dillon (Lab). * Forth and Endrick (3 Councillors): Paul Henke (Con), Rosemary Fraser (SNP), Gerry McGarvey (Lab) * Stirling East (3 Councillors): Bryan Flannagan (Con), Chris Kane (Lab), Gerry McLaughlan (SNP) * Stirling North (4 Councillors): Danny Gibson (Lab), Susan McGill (SNP), Rachel Nunn (Con), Jim Thomson (SNP) * Stirling West (3 Councillors): Neil Benny (Con), Scott Farmer (SNP), Jen Preston (Lab) * Trossachs and Teith (3 Councillors): Martin Earl (Con), Elaine Watterson (Con), Gene Maxwell (SNP) The council is currently run as a minority administration by Scottish Labour, after successful negotiations with the Scottish Conservatives. Chris Kane (Lab) was elected as Council Leader, with Councillor Margaret Brisley (Lab) elected as Depute Leader. Councillor Douglas Dodds (Con) is the Provost of Stirling Council.

Settlements

As well as the city of

itself, there are many towns, villages and hamlets spread across the council area, as well as dispersed settlements:

Towns

* Bridge of Allan *

Callander Callander (; gd, Calasraid) is a small town in the council area of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. The town ...

* Doune *

Villages

* Aberfoyle * Ashfield * Balfron * Balmaha *

Balquhidder Balquhidder (; gd, Both Chuidir or ) is a small village in Perthshire located north-west of Callander. It is administered by the Stirling council area of Scotland and is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the 'Braes of Balquhidde ...

* Blairlogie * Blanefield *

Buchlyvie Buchlyvie is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated west of Stirling and 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 th ...

* Cambusbarron *

Cambuskenneth Cambuskenneth ( gd, Camas Choinnich ) is a village in the city of Stirling, 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 alo ...

Crianlarich Crianlarich (; gd, A' Chrìon Làraich) is a village in Stirling council area and in the registration county of Perthshire, Scotland, around north-east of the head of Loch Lomond. The village bills itself as "the gateway to the Highlands". ...

* Croftamie *

Deanston Deanston ( gd, Baile an Deadhain) is a village in the Stirling council area, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Teith east of Doune, in south-west Perthshire. It is a part of the parish of Kilmadock. Etymology The name comes from Walt ...

* Drymen * Fallin * Fintry *

Gargunnock Gargunnock is a small village in the Stirling council area, west of Stirling, in Scotland. The census population was 912. It is situated on the south edge of the Carse of Stirling, at the foot of the Gargunnock Hills, part of the Campsie Fel ...

* Gartmore * Killearn * Killin * Kinlochard * Kippen *

Milton of Buchanan Milton of Buchanan is a small village in Stirling, Scotland, within the parish of Buchanan. Historically, the village was in the Registration County of Stirlingshire. It was the main village of the parish of Buchanan. However, the village is n ...

Lochearnhead Lochearnhead ( Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Loch Èireann) is a village in Perthshire on the A84 Stirling to Crianlarich road at the foot of Glen Ogle, north of the Highland Boundary Fault. It is situated at the western end of Loch Earn where the A ...

Port of Menteith Port of Menteith ( gd, Port Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig) is a village and civil 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 ( g ...

* Strathblane *

Strathyre Strathyre (; from gd, Srath Eadhair) 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, ...

* Thornhill *

Tyndrum Tyndrum (; gd, Taigh an Droma) 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. Location and facilities Tyndrum is a popular tourist village, ...

Hamlets

Ardchullarie More Ardchullarie More is a small hamlet in the Stirling council area, Scotland and is situated on the eastern side of Loch Lubnaig. External links Scottish Places - Ardchullarie More Ardeonaig Ardeonaig ( Gaelic: ''Aird Eòdhanaig'') is a hamlet on the southern shore of Loch Tay in the Stirling Council area of Scotland. It is approximately 7 miles east of Killin Killin (; (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cill Fhinn'') is a village in Perthshir ...

* Arnprior *

Auchlyne Auchlyne (Scottish Gaelic: ''Achadh Loinne'') is a small hamlet (place), hamlet in Stirling (council area), Stirling, Scotland. It is located approximately five miles west of Killin on Loch Tay, off the main A85 road that runs from Perth, Scotlan ...

* Balfron Station *

Boquhan Boquhan (pronounced Bowhan) is a hamlet in Stirling, Scotland, sometimes known as Wester Boquhan to distinguish it from the other nearby Boquhan, near Kippen. The hamlet lies southwest of the village of Balfron and northeast of Killearn. Just ...

Buchanan Smithy Buchanan Smithy is a hamlet in Buchanan in the far west of Stirling, Scotland. The current settlement was mostly purpose-built in the 18th century for the estate workers of James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose, who lived at nearby Buchanan Castle ...

Carbeth Carbeth is a hamlet in Stirlingshire, west of Strathblane and north of Clydebank. Named features include Carbeth Hill, Carbeth Loch and the estate of Carbeth Guthrie. There is a community of huts here which was established in 1918 after the ...

* Dumgoyne * Gartness * Inverarnan *

Kilmahog Kilmahog ( gd, Cille MoChùig: Cell of St. Chug) is a hamlet situated half a mile to the west of Callander, Scotland. Toponym Kilmahog is supposedly derived from the Scottish Gaelic, Cille MoChùig, meaning cell of Chug (a church dedicated to Sa ...

* Kinbuck * Milton * Mugdock *

Stronachlachar Loch Katrine (; or ) is a freshwater loch in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands, east of Loch Lomond, within the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the contemporary district of Stirling. The loch is about lon ...

Throsk Throsk (In gd, Badan Deathach, meaning the thicket among the mist) is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies on the A905 road east of Fallin close to the River Forth. The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded the populati ...

Dispersed settlements

Ardchyle Ardchyle is a small hamlet in Stirling, Scotland. The Glendhu viaduct, just south of Ardchyle, was built for the now disused section of the Callander and Oban Railway which closed in 1965 after a landslide. External links Canmore - Mill, Ardchyle ...

Auchtubh Auchtubh is a hamlet in the Stirling council area of Scotland, less than to the east of the village of Balquhidder. Auchtubh consisted of Croft's numbered 1 to 9 which were worked by Crofters raising sheep and cattle. The crofters helped each oth ...

* Blair Drummond *

Brig o' Turk Brig o' Turk ( gd, Àird Cheannchnocain) is a small rural village historically in Perthshire and today within the council area of Stirling, Scotland. It is situated in the Trossachs, a range of hills on the A821 road. Features Brig o' Turk ...

* Dalmary *

Dalrigh Dalrigh is a hamlet in Scotland near Tyndrum. The name means "The King's Field" in Scottish Gaelic. The origin of the name stems specifically from the Battle of Dalrigh which was fought there in 1306, when King Robert I of Scotland (Bruce) w ...

Inversnaid Inversnaid (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Snàthaid'') is a small rural community 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 area. A small pas ...

Rowardennan Rowardennan ( Gaelic: ''Rubha Aird Eònain'') is a small rural community on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in Stirling council, Scotland. It is mainly known as the starting point for the main path up Ben Lomond. Rowardennan is at the norther ...

Ruskie Ruskie is a hamlet in Stirling, Scotland. It is located from Thornhill. It lies within the FK postcode area The FK postcode area, also known as the Falkirk postcode area,Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) is a group of 21 postc ...

Places of interest

* Carse of Lecropt * Culcreuch Castle * Inchmahome Priory (a ruined Augustinian priory on an island in the Lake of Menteith, used as a refuge in 1547 by

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

) * Breadalbane Folklore Centre * Cambuskenneth Abbey (formerly the seat of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

) * Doune Castle *

Dunblane Cathedral Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland. The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-stand ...

* Falls of Dochart * Falls of Lochay * Glen Dochart *

Glenfinlas Glen Finglas ( gd, Gleann Fhionnghlais) is a glen in the Trossachs, in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is an area of forest in Highlands of the former county of Perthshire, north of Brig o' Turk, close to Callander in Menteith. To t ...

* Lake of Menteith * Lecropt Kirk *

Loch Achray Loch Achray is a small freshwater loch 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 . History Loch Achray was for a time the ...

Loch Ard Loch Ard (Scottish Gaelic: Loch na h-Àirde) is a loch, located in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Stirling council area, Scotland. Overview The name of the loch comes from ''àird'', the Scottish Gaelic word for a ''promontory, ...

* Loch Earn * Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park *

Loch Katrine Loch Katrine (; or ) is a freshwater loch in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands, east of Loch Lomond, within the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the contemporary district of Stirling. The loch is about ...

(The source of most of the drinking water for the city of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

) * Loch Rusky *

Loch Venachar Loch Venachar (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Bheannchair) is a freshwater loch in Stirling district, Scotland. Geography The loch is situated between Callander and Brig o' Turk. It lies approximately above sea level, and is long with a maximum de ...

* Moirlannich Longhouse *

Queen Elizabeth Forest Park Queen Elizabeth Forest Park is a forest park in the Scottish Highlands which extends from the eastern shores of Loch Lomond to the mountains of Strathyre. The forest park is one of six such parks in Scotland, and was established in 1953, the yea ...

(run by

Forestry and Land Scotland Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) ( gd, Coilltearachd agus Fearann Alba) is responsible for managing and promoting Scotland's national forest estate: land, predominantly covered in forest, owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation. ...

) *

Scottish Institute of Sport Sportscotland (officially styled sport), formerly the Scottish Sports Council, is the national agency for sport in Scotland. The Scottish Sports Council was established in 1972 by royal charter. The body works in partnership with public, pri ...

(on the grounds of Stirling University) *

Stirling Castle 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 ...

*The

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built ...

*The

Wallace Monument The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) is a 67 metre tower on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig, a hilltop overlooking Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero ...

West Highland Way The West Highland Way ( gd, Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar) is a linear long-distance route in Scotland. It is long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in t ...

References

External links

Stirling Council
''official website'' * {{Authority control Council areas of Scotland 1975 establishments in Scotland