Monday 17th June 2024
The McGills group of bus companies are building up an impressive portfolio of open top sightseeing operations with a newly introduced tour of Stirling from Bank Holiday Monday at the end of last month, joining its operations in Edinburgh (including a recent addition of a bus and boat tour) and Dundee.
First Bus had operated an open top tour in Stirling but it ceased after selling its First Scotland East business to McGills in 2022. Now, using the resurrected Midland Bluebird name for operations in the area, sightseeing is back in business highlighting Stirling’s historic delights and medieval heritage.
It’s a figure of eight kind of tour taking in key sights and locations including the Bridge of Allan, the University of Stirling, the Wallace Monument, the Beheading Stone, the Museum and Art Gallery and Stirling Castle.
One bus does the circuit in 50 minutes making for an hourly frequency between 09:30 and 12.:30 with a half hour lunch break then hourly departures between 14:00 and 17:00, seven days a week.
A 24-hour hop-on-hop-off ticket costs £12 for adults, £9 for concessions and £6 for children with a family ticket costing £26.
The bus is a former London ADL Enviro400 operated by Metroline and subsequently converted to open top and now wears an eye catching Best Impressions designed livery which belies its 16 years.
I’d never done a sightseeing tour of Stirling before so was looking forward to taking in the sights during my week’s Rail Rover wanderings but I failed to do my homework properly and waited at the wrong stop in Goosecroft Road for the first departure of the morning at 09:30 on Tuesday.
I’d seen a poster advertising the tour at the bus stops alongside the bus station but made the error of failing to actually read what it said including the crucial information the tour departs from the bus stop opposite the railway station about 100 yards up the road – which a close examination of the map on the leaflet also implies.
Having seen the bus go by heading north and then off on the tour I realised I could make up for my error and walk to stop 5 – for the Beheading Stone – and catch it there after it had done the circuit via the Bridge of Allan, University and Wallace Monument.
Aside from the concern when I arrived that the bus stop was closed due to roadworks…
…was an added worry the road the bus was scheduled to run along to reach it was also closed, preventing it from observing the temporary stop.
I concluded the stop had been temporarily beheaded so positioned myself midway between the temporary stop and where I guessed the bus might appear at the roundabout – watching the tracking on the Midland Bluebird website – and sure enough the bus appeared on the diversion…
… so ran over towards it flapping my arms which the lovely driver saw and kindly stopped for me.
Four staff from Stirling Castle were familiarising themselves with the tour to help promote it from that tourist hotspot in the city…
… but otherwise it was just me on board and I plugged into the commentary…
… with the complimentary headphones…
… and soaked up the history of this amazing city enjoying both the audio and visual delights the tour was offering.
I’m sure once tourists find out about Stirling Sightseer they’ll be encouraged to use it to see the historic sights the city has to offer – helped by what looks like excellent distribution of the colourful leaflet with supplies available in the bus station…
… and also impressively at reception in the Premier Inn in the city alongside the tootbrushes, toothpaste and deoderants …
… and I’m sure at other hotels too including the rather luxury looking Stirling Highland Hotel we passed on the tour.
A tour ticket also gives free return travel on Midlands Bluebird’s X36 SWIFT and 56 bus routes which serve the Battle of Bannockburn Experience as well as 10% off at the Tinsel & Tartan Shop and 15% off the Courtyard Bar in that lovely looking Stirling Highland Hotel.
If you fancy a tour of Stirling in a former London bus, the season lasts through until 1st September.
Roger French
Temporary enhanced blogging timetable: 06:00 Daily …. ends tomorrow.
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BusAndTrainUser 
Much to the dismay of my children (back when they were very young) I was “banged up” in Stirling Old Town Jail – twice (on two separate occasions!)
Stirling is a great place! An open top bus tour would have been a great addition back in those days.
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The Premier Inn tootbrushes might also be useful on one of the London open-top operations!
Ian McNeil
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hi seen and read all.first of all it’s been a long time time since I visited Stirling what a lovely place it is nice people very helpful as I found out when I went for the open top tour I asked first of all dispite posters and my god I leaned a lot. First I was told the starting point outside the station. And another suprise I found was like back in Liverpool they don’t pick up in or out the bus stn as they would get charged blymy. And it was a great fantastic tour
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it is a long time since I rode an open top Stirling tour. It was a half cab (guess a Bristol) with wooden slatted seats uostairs
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The Stirling Highland Hotel may look luxurious from the outside and its position is undoubtedly striking. But the inside is sadly rather ramshackle and run down. It’s a converted school and the sense of faded school dinners hasn’t altogether left it. You were better off in the Premier Inn.
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”Faded splendour”
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Does the Battle of Bannockburn “Experience” involve being progged by a spear or having bits chopped off by a sword? I’ve just returned from northern France, where I visited the admirable Somme 1916 museum in Albert. Nothing fancy, just factual and informative.
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