Stirling Castle

PricingHalf price in your first year of English Heritage membership, then freeEH memberHalf, then freeNon-member£20.50

EH members: half price, then freeInfo

Half price, then free, for English Heritage members

This place is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland. First-year English Heritage members get 50% off the ticket price; members who have renewed get in free. Bring your valid membership card, and any pre-booked tickets, to ensure entry.

Pre-booking is recommended at Edinburgh Castle, Skara Brae, Stirling Castle, Blackness Castle, Urquhart Castle, Doune Castle and Maeshowe. Bookings are limited to six people per membership.
Bring the card itself: joint and family memberships admit the named holders only.
Historic Scotland does not offer reciprocal admission to National Trust properties, and a National Trust card is not accepted here.

More information

Entry

Non-member prices

Adult (aged 16 to 64)£20.50

Child (aged 7 to 15)£10.00

Concession (aged 65 and over)£16.50

Pricing details

Walk-up price; £18.50 booked online, and booking is needed to guarantee entry. One undated price table is published; recheck in spring 2027. Children under 7 free but need a ticket; up to two carers free per transaction; serving HM Forces, Stirling Ancient Burgh residents and regimental museum members free; Young Scot card holders pay £1 online; 25 per cent off with code GOOD25 for car-free visitors booking online. Audio guide extra (free for HES members). Explorer Pass accepted, but pass holders cannot pre-book in February and March 2027. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.

Walk-up price; £9 booked online; under-7s free with a ticket. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.

Walk-up price; £15 booked online. English Heritage members: half price in your first membership year and free after your first renewal, on showing a valid card; bookings capped at six people per membership. Historic Scotland members free.

ParkingPay to park

The castle's esplanade car park is closed to all but coaches and blue badge holders; Historic Scotland directs drivers to Stirling Council's Castleview Park and Ride off M9 junction 10 (bus P2 to the castle, £1 each way) or the council's pay and display car parks (Wellgreen £2 an hour, all day £6). Not a Trust car park, so membership does not cover it.

Parking details

Historic Scotland's notice: the car park is closed to all vehicles except coaches and those requiring accessible parking, with no end date; alternative parking is at Castleview Park and Ride, whose shuttle buses can be busy at peak times, or at council car parks including Rainbow Slides, Wellgreen, Forthside and Linden Avenue. Stirling Council (October 2026): Castleview, off junction 10 of the M9, FK9 4TW, park as long as you need, 68 electric charging points, bus P2 daily, adult £1 single or return, child 50p, family £2.30; pay and display Monday to Saturday 8.45am to 5pm, Wellgreen £2 for 1 hour, £3 for 2, £4 for 4, Wellgreen multi-storey, Linden Avenue and Forthside £6 all day, a steep half-mile climb from the town. Ten accessible spaces on the esplanade about 65 m from the entrance, first come first served, for blue badge holders who should make themselves known to staff; HES publishes no esplanade tariff.

Driving pin: Castleview Park and Ride, 1.4 km north-west of HES's pin inside the castle. The castle is about half a mile uphill from Stirling train and bus stations. National Cycle Network route 765 connects to Doune and route 76 to the Forth; five bike racks on the esplanade; 25 per cent off online with code GOOD25 when arriving car-free.

About

Stirling Castle is one of Scotland's greatest stone castles, a huge brooch clasping Highlands and Lowlands together above the lowest crossing of the River Forth. Its volcanic crag has been fortified since ancient times and the castle is first mentioned around 1110; until the Union of the Crowns in 1603 almost every Scottish monarch lived, was crowned or died here. The castle peaked in the 1500s, when James IV built the Great Hall, James V the Royal Palace, whose interiors are recreated as they may have looked in the 1540s with the Unicorn Tapestries and Stirling Heads, and James VI the Chapel Royal for Prince Henry's baptism in 1594. Mary Queen of Scots grew up in the palace and was crowned here in 1543. Costumed performers, the Great Kitchens, the Queen Anne Garden, the regimental museum and views from the ramparts fill a day; book online and use the park and ride, since the esplanade car park is closed to cars.

Check today’s timesPick a day for times and prices

The car park is closed to all vehicles except coaches and those requiring accessible parking. Please check the ' Plan your visit ' tab for alternatives.

Until 23 Dec: Daily 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:00
24–30 Dec: Mon, Tue, Wed, Sun 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:00; Thu 09:30–16:00, last entry 15:00
31 Dec–31 Mar: Daily 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:00

Later dates are in the calendar.

Today, Saturday 24 October

Stirling Castle09:30 – 17:00last entry 16:00

Prices, non-members

Ticket	On the day	Online
Adult	£20.50	£18.50
Concession	£16.50	£15.00
Child	£10.00	£9.00

Book tickets

Opening times may change at short notice.

1 April to 30 September daily 9.30am to 6pm; 1 October to 31 March daily 9.30am to 5pm; open 9.30am to 4pm on 24 December and from 11am on 1 January; last entry one hour before closing; closed 25 and 26 December; the regimental museum closes 45 minutes before the castle. All visits must be booked in advance to guarantee entry with an entry slot, and no walk-up tickets are sold once online tickets are gone; Historic Scotland names Stirling among the busy sites where partner members should pre-book, with bookings capped at six people per membership. Notices: the esplanade car park is closed to all vehicles except coaches and accessible parking, with pedestrian access affected, so follow staff guidance on approach; Explorer Pass holders cannot pre-book in February and March 2027.

The approach is cobbled and sloping up a steep hill, and the main route inside runs 160 m over cobbles at up to 1 in 9 to the Inner Close; a mobility vehicle runs on request and four manual wheelchairs are lent first come first served; adapted toilets in the first courtyard and by the Great Hall, which has level access like the Chapel Royal and the ramped Unicorn Cafe; the Great Kitchens are down several steps and the regimental museum has 114 steps inside. Shop, cafe, picnic area, self-service tea and coffee, baby changing, visual stories and ear defenders; audio guide for a charge, free to HES members. No suitcases or rucksacks of 30 litres or more, no storage, bag searches possible. Pet dogs are not admitted.

Photo: Stirling Castle's Forework gatehouse with the Royal Palace behind and the gold-limewashed Great Hall to the right, seen from the outer defences. dun_deagh, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stirling_Castle_(6056086215).jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.