About
Stirling Old Bridge carried the main road across the River Forth for more than three centuries and remains one of the best medieval masonry arch bridges in Scotland. It was built around 1500 to replace a succession of timber bridges, among them the one that stood a little upstream when William Wallace and Andrew Moray routed Edward I's army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297; nothing of that bridge survives. Four semicircular arches on three piers span more than 80 metres, and arched gates once closed each end. In 1745 the governor of Stirling Castle had the south arch blown up to stop the Jacobite army marching south, and in 1832 Robert Stevenson's new bridge downstream took the traffic, leaving the old bridge to walkers and cyclists. Reviewers come for the views of Stirling Castle one way and the Wallace Monument the other, and for herons and beavers on the river; the cobbled deck is bumpy for wheelchairs and there is no parking at the bridge.
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- Stirling Old BridgeOpen at all times; a public footbridge
Opening times may change at short notice.
Historic Scotland: 'Stirling Old Bridge is free to visit and open year-round.' A working footbridge and cycle bridge with no hours, closures or notices on 18 October 2026. No motor vehicles.
The deck is heavily cobbled and bumpy for wheelchairs, with gently sloping approaches; a semicircular railed bay at the west end looks upstream to where the 1297 battle bridge stood, with the Wallace Monument beyond. No toilets or other facilities at the bridge; Stirling Castle is about a mile away.
Photo: Stirling Old Bridge's four stone arches spanning the River Forth in autumn sunshine. Iain Cameron, CC BY 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stirling_Bridge_in_sun.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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