King's Park Stirling Walks around Scotland's most ancient Royal Park

Stop 16 of 33

Park Loch

Full walk Blue · 35 min Green · 70 min Orange · 70 min

Two shallow gullies mark the area where the Park Loch once lay. James IV created this loch as a royal water feature. It was one of the many improvements he made to both his Castle and Park in Stirling. Reference is made in Treasurer Accounts in 1434 to a net for fishing being provided and payment made to the loch-keeper. The loch evidently contained a "sheet of water" measuring 6 acres and was well stocked with fish. It also contained herons and swans. The swans had been specially brought to Stirling from elsewhere, as these birds were not commonly found in Scotland at that time.

Mosaic panel: Park Loch — one of nine mosaic panels in the park, made in 2011 from artwork by St Modan's High School pupils with the artist Meredith Crone
Mosaic panel: Park Loch — one of nine mosaic panels in the park, made in 2011 from artwork by St Modan's High School pupils with the artist Meredith Crone Courtesy of Friends of Kings Park
One of the two shallow gullies that mark where the loch lay, under late-summer willowherb
One of the two shallow gullies that mark where the loch lay, under late-summer willowherb © Kenneth Marritt