1911 Circuit of Britain Air Race

In May 1911, the Daily Mail sponsored a Circuit of Britain Air Race. The aim of this event, which offered a prize of £10,000, was to encourage aircraft development. The race started from Brooklands in Surrey on 22nd July 1911. It proceeded as far as Edinburgh and returned via Exeter and Brighton. There were eleven compulsory stops en route, including Stirling. This event triggered great excitement locally. By the time the first plane arrived in the Kings Park at 3.45am on 25th July, about 8,000 people had gathered in the Park. The "landing area was cordoned off by a rope" — "flares and landing lights marked out" the ground, for the "guidance of pilots" and "safety of onlookers." Seventeen competitors entered this race; nine of the flying machines entered were British. The race was won by Lieutenant de Vaisseau Conneau flying a Bleriot monoplane. He completed the race in 22hrs 29mins 6sec.

The landing ground was most likely the wide expanse of open grass now used for sports and events. Over the years, various other large and smaller scale events have taken place in the Kings Park. The Highland and Agricultural Society show was held there on a number of occasions up to 1921. Stirling appears to have drawn the largest crowds to Highland Show annual events, outside those held in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

Sheep dog trials, political rallies and special celebratory events also took place there, including one to mark the coronation of George VI in 1937.