Full Park Explorer

The big loop, for those who want to take in the whole park. From the pavilion the route strikes out around the full perimeter, across open ground once used for the Stirling Races and past the site of the old Herds Hoose, with sweeping views back to the castle. It also passes the park's military connections and the field of the 1911 Circuit of Britain Air Race — longer and more open underfoot, but the most expansive way to experience King's Park.

Before you set off The last leg back to the Pavilion is a steep, winding descent. The perimeter path is unsealed and can be muddy after rain, and passes a fenced section above a sheer drop near the golf clubhouse. Wear proper footwear, take care, and allow extra time.

Access Unsealed paths around the perimeter, open and uneven underfoot. Not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies — Stirling Council notes that the park's informal and steeper sections may not suit wheelchair users, and this route takes in most of them.

⚑ Starts and finishes at the Pavilion. Follow the orange trail stickers and signage (coming soon).

Want to see everything? Add the King's Knot Loop to take in the castle and knot-garden heritage stops too.

Switch on Facilities in the layer control for the cafe, toilets and play park. The time above is walking time — allow considerably longer to read the stops along the way. Tap a numbered marker for a photo and summary. Marker positions, distances and times are draft and not yet confirmed by survey on the ground.

Stops on this trail

1. 1 The Pavilion Built in 1923 as tennis changing rooms, now the cafe where every walk starts and finishes.
2. 2 Tennis — Kings Park Tennis Club Opened in 1924 and resurfaced in 2024 — the courts are back in play, and can be booked.
3. 3 Skatepark Mini ramps, fun boxes and kidney-shaped bowls, floodlit at night — where the bandstand once stood.
4. 4 Band Stand Sunday concerts drew crowds to a stone bandstand of 1937 — with no shelter when it rained.
5. 5 Play Park Rebuilt with timber towers, walkways, a rope bridge and climbing walls — and fenced, so no dogs.
6. 6 1911 Circuit of Britain Air Race 8,000 people were in the park at 3.45am in 1911 to watch the Circuit of Britain race land.
7. 7 World War 1 Practice Trenches Troops trained for the Western Front here in 1914 — the practice trenches still show in the grass.
8. 8 Peace of Mind Garden A quiet garden of benches, a pergola and planting for butterflies, on a hard path.
9. 9 Community Gardens A sheltered suntrap with seats, a pollinator border, and a handkerchief tree that flowers in late spring.
10. 10 Roman Road A Roman road runs under the park, found by excavation — its exact route still unknown.
11. 11 The Underground Toilets Public toilets ran beneath the pavement here until the 1980s, lit through glass bricks overhead.
12. 12 Kings Park Drinking Fountain A cast-iron fountain of 1934 from the Lion Foundry, B-listed and restored in 2006.
13. 13 The Community Orchard Scottish heritage apples — Bloody Ploughman among them — planted in 2013 and fruiting since.
14. 14 Victorian Drinking Fountains One of four ironwork fountains that gave the park public drinking water until the 1970s.
15. 15 The Dam Wall Most people walk this wall without realising it held back a royal loch.
16. 16 Park Loch James IV's royal loch covered six acres here, stocked with fish, herons and swans.
17. 25 View of Park Place and Gillies Hill Gillies Hill on the skyline, where tradition puts the camp followers who turned Bannockburn in 1314.
18. 26 Herds Hoose The shepherd's house, demolished in the 1860s, and Patie's Well, known for its healing.
19. 27 Prehistoric Rock Art Cup and ring marks, four to five thousand years old — among the oldest human marks in Stirling.
20. 28 The Hill Fort People fortified this hilltop for the same reasons as the castle, a thousand years earlier.
21. 29 The Homesteads and Kings Park Military Connections The Duke of Argyll's army is said to have camped here before Sheriffmuir in 1715.
22. 30 The Carse Viewpoint The widest view on the walk — the carse, and the Highland hills beyond.
23. 31 Rig and Furrow Long parallel ridges in the grass: centuries of ploughing, best seen in a low sun.
24. 32 Stirling Races Horses raced a circuit round the park until the temperance movement stopped it in 1854.
25. 33 Curling Ponds Two shallow ponds, built to freeze fast for curling in the 19th century.