Stirling and Muthill

1^st Aug 2020

Today’s tour of Scotland took us from Edinburgh to Stirling and the beautiful village of Muthill in Perthshire.

Local Flavours with James Campbell Tours brings you the best experiences in private tours and travel. All our itineraries are carefully designed so you get a wonderful flavour of the destinations you visit.

Here is a link to our YouTube short film on Stirling and Muthill

https://youtu.be/OAYGLVtHNIY 

If you only had one day in Scotland, then there is an argument to say that that day should be spent in Stirling and its environs. There are many iconic sites in Scotland which have been photographed and written about but surprisingly, the views from Stirling Castle rarely get a mention. There is just something quite special, or should that word be epic, about standing on the esplanade at Stirling Castle and taking in the views – The Wallace Monument, The Ochil Hills, The Forth Valley, and in the distance, The Trossachs and mountains of the western highlands. The landscape here is both historic – this is a place where Scotland fought for its independence in the 13^th and 14^th Centuries, and beautiful, with many different shades of green spread across its flat, rolling, and hilly landscape.

Many visitors to this place, and we visit Stirling Castle on almost every tour, can enjoy all of this and more, and we will dedicate a blog to Stirling Castle very soon. But, for this visit, we are making the very shot walk from Stirling Castle to the newly opened Stirling Gin Distillery. We first visited the distillery in 2019 when we took two Gin enthusiasts for a tour and tasting. Our clients were given a wonderful and informative tour of the distillery and enjoyed tastings of their excellent products. I also liked the relaxed and friendly approach by the guide, she also told us the story of the local family who started this business. A highlight for me was the story of the conversion of the old Smiddy (a workshop) into this wonderful little gin distillery.

A short drive from Stirling takes you in to the region of Perthshire, a most picturesque part of Scotland and today we are visiting one of its many beautiful villages, Muthill.

Muthill dates to the 1100s when a small religious community was established here. The old church sits right in the middle of the village and still has its 12^th century tower, which you can climb for great views. The village is peaceful and makes for a lovely escape from busier places. A fabulous restaurant, and one where we visit frequently, is Barley Bree. This is an award-winning restaurant which serves French Food with a distinct Scottish flavour. The restaurant has a lovely ambience with exposed stone walls and wooden furnishings. They have a loyal local clientele which always makes for a nice visit.             

Barley Bree, Muthill

Stirling Gin Distillery

Barley Bree, Muthill