Stirling station on Goosecroft Road: the way uphill to Broad Street and the castle, tickets, toilets, step-free access, parking, taxis and bikes.
Stirling station is on Goosecroft Road near the city centre, below the Old Town and the castle on its hilltop. ScotRail manages the station, and LNER trains call as well, among them the direct train from London King’s Cross. Journeys have their own pages: from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Dundee, Falkirk and London.
The platforms are level with the main entrance, and ticket gates cover every platform, so arrivals come out through the gates into the main concourse. The ticket office, the ticket machines and a WHSmith are there, and National Rail also lists a café and coffee machines. A footbridge leads out to Forthside Way, with a lift between the two.
National Rail’s listing shows no luggage storage at the station. That matters for anyone going straight to the castle: Historic Environment Scotland does not allow suitcases or rucksacks of 30 litres or more inside and cannot store luggage, so drop bags at your accommodation first.
The Old Town is uphill all the way. Historic Environment Scotland puts the castle about half a mile uphill from the train and bus station and describes it as up a steep hill. The walk from the station to Broad Street is given in the station panel on this page.
Transform Scotland published a walking route from the station to the castle in 2015. It leaves by the main exit, crosses the access roads and climbs a path through a small park to Station Road, then follows Murray Place to its pedestrian crossing and takes pedestrianised Friars Street. Baker Street, signed for the castle, climbs to the right; a path cuts up to St John Street, which passes the Old Town Jail and the Church of the Holy Rude on the way to Castle Wynd. Broad Street, the old market street where the Mercat Cross stands, is a short way from where the route meets Castle Wynd.
The castle esplanade is the last stretch, and Historic Environment Scotland describes the way from there to the entrance as cobbled and sloping, with a maximum gradient of 1:15. The free Explore Stirling app from Your Stirling has an interactive walking route from the station to the castle, narrated by the local historian Dr Murray Cook.
The taxi rank is uncovered and reached by a controlled road crossing, and National Rail notes that ramps cannot be deployed from vehicles at the rank itself. Stirling bus station, where rail replacement buses stop at Stance 14, is close by; Traveline Scotland has the local routes.
The ticket office opens 06:20 to 21:00 from Monday to Saturday and 08:50 to 22:00 on Sundays, and tickets bought online can be collected at the office or from the machines. The counter has no low-level section, but the machines have room in front and controls at a height suited to wheelchair users.
Toilets are on the concourse and in the waiting room on Platform 3, with accessible toilets and baby changing; National Rail marks the concourse toilets as needing a RADAR key and lists no Changing Places toilet. The waiting rooms are on platforms 2 and 3, and the station has public Wi-Fi.
National Rail puts Stirling in step-free category A, which it explains as “there is step-free access to all platforms”. Lifts serve platforms 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 9 and 10. The lift between the Forthside footbridge and Forthside Way is different: wheelchair users have to reverse in or out. National Rail also warns that the step between train and platform may be bigger here than at other stations.
Ramps are kept at the station, along with wheelchairs or mobility buggies, and the Passenger Assist meeting point is next to the electronic ticket gates in the main concourse. National Rail says ScotRail assistance can be booked as late as an hour before travel, and other companies’ two hours before. Staff help starts at 05:15 on weekdays, later at weekends, and runs until around midnight.
The station car park has 208 spaces, 19 of them accessible, and the accessible bays are reached from Burghmuir Road. Parking in the Blue Badge bays is free with a valid Blue Badge on display; for everyone else there is a daily charge, so check the tariff board. The castle’s own esplanade car park is closed to all but coaches and accessible parking.
Stirling’s drop-off point is on the station side of the road, takes up to three cars and is for dropping off only. Cyclists get sheltered stands and lockers, Nextbike hire and an Active Travel Hub at the station.
Each route has its own page with the day's trains, the changes and a link to times and fares.