King's Knot

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

Historic Scotland names no parking and no charge or free statement exists, so the status is recorded as unknown. Visitors use a handful of roadside bays by the north-west entrance gate and other pull-ins nearby; this is a residential area, so park considerately. Stirling Castle's esplanade car park above is closed to most cars.

Driving pin: the roadside bays at the north-west gate, 204 m from Historic Scotland's own pin. The Knot lies below the castle rock off Dumbarton Road, an easy walk from the town centre. Historic Scotland gives journey planners only.

About

The King's Knot lies in the King's Park below the castle rock in Stirling, the earthwork remains of the royal gardens of Stirling Castle. The park is first mentioned in 1190 and was enclosed for hunting; kings jousted, hawked and hunted here, and between 1490 and 1508 it gained fish-pools, orchards and a vegetable garden. The Knot itself was laid out in 1627 to 1629 by William Watts, sent from London as master gardener, for Charles I's homecoming to be crowned in Scotland. After the court left for London the gardens were neglected, and a restoration after Queen Victoria complained of their state in 1842 changed the mount. What survives is an octagonal stepped mound about three metres high with a rectangular parterre beside it. It is best seen as a pattern from the Ladies' Lookout inside the castle, and from the top of the mound there is a fine view up to the castle. A few roadside bays stand at the park's north-west gate.

Check today’s timesSee all times

King's KnotOpen at all times; an open parkland site, no hours published

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland: 'King's Knot is free to visit and open year-round.' No hours, closures or notices on 20 October 2026. The best view of the whole layout is from the Ladies' Lookout inside Stirling Castle; from the top of the mound there is a fine view up to the castle.

Mown grass terraces and banks in an open park, flat apart from the stepped mound; ordinary shoes are fine. No toilets or other facilities on site; the town centre is a short walk away.

Photo: The King's Knot seen from Stirling Castle rock: an octagonal stepped grass mound with banks and terraces laid out in the park below. Syrio, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stirling,_King%27s_Knot.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.