Local attractions
The Atlantic Wall is close to the Sheriffmuir Road and the former Sheriffmuir Inn. It was used to test weapons as preparation for the attack on the Atlantic Wall in Normandy.
The Council's Local Office is based in the Burgh Chambers close to the Cathedral. Anyone having watched the Kenneth More version of The Thirty Nine Steps (1959) will remember the leap from the window of the local Sheriff's office. This was from an upstairs room at the Burgh Chambers.
A 13th century chapel in Dunblane that lay hidden beneath mud and undergrowth for many years has been painstakingly restored. Its trappings and church items, from books of worship to communion vessels, had surrendered to time, the identity of the body buried beneath a table alter similarly lost. The chapel is open as a visitor attraction, place of contemplation and even marriage venue. It is situated within the grounds of Old Churches House. Entry is free.
Central Scotland's only Red Kite feeding station. Watch these wonderful acrobatic birds from our purpose built hide as they swoop and wheel at feeding time. We are open daily with a Ranger-led visit to the hide at feeding time in the afternoon.
Take a cruise on the historic steamship 'Sir Walter Scott', or the 'Lady of the Lake' to experience the beauty of Loch Katrine and the magnificent scenery. Listen to the tales of the loch and admire the ever changing Trossachs landscape throughout the varying seasons. Kids get a shot at being 'Captain', and receive their very own certificate signed by the 'Skipper'.
This strange chapel like structure was built using the remains of building stones and arcitectural fatures left after the Red Comyn Inn was demolished. It looks like a real restored building but is really just the salvaged bits probably "borrowed" from older buildings around the town.
Right on Dunblane’s doorstep, and easily accessed by either the Darn Walk or the Glen Road, is the fantastic ‘wildwood’ of Kippenrait Glen. Much of this extensive woodland, which clothes the steep sided banks of the Wharry Burn, and the more level riverbanks of the Allan Water, is thought to have been continuously wooded since the last ice age. A huge variety of beautiful woodland plants can be found – many of them rare and special. The woods look lovely at all times of the year, but in spring the bluebells and carpets of delicate white wood anemones and pungent wild garlic are certainly a highlight. Because the woodland is so special and has such varied biodiversity, it has been designated as a site of European importance and our government has a duty to conserve it.
David Stirling is known as the founder of the SAS. In 2002 a memorial statue was erected to him on the Hill of Row, near his family's estate at Park of Keir, Dunblane.
Ardoch Roman Fort is an archaeological site just outside the village of Braco. There can be found the remains of a Roman fort and several marching camps which included a signal tower. Part of the Roman Gask Ridge, it is said to be one of the most complete Roman camps in Britain and one of the best-preserved series of Roman military earthworks in the whole Empire.
Deanston Distillery sits by the River Teith 10 minutes from Dunblane, close to Doune. Having been a cotton mill for 180 years, Deanston was transformed into a distillery in the 1960’s and has been distilling whisky using traditional methods ever since. Visit us and experience the sights, smells and sounds of a true working distillery and we will show you how we hand craft our great whisky which is sweet, fruity with a malty honeyed spiciness on the palate.
More...
A visit to Dunblane is not complete without a walk along the sides of the beautiful river Allan which runs through the middle of the town. Paths can be accessed from the cathedral or either end of the bridge in the middle of the town centre.
Dunblane's Bishops' Palace & Well lies to the south of Dunblane Cathedral (1066), What remains is in poor structural condition. Grass covered barrel vaulted chambers can still be seen. Part of the Palace site is believed to extend under the Cathedral Hall.
Those interested in Scottish Jacobite history, may like to visit the scene of the battle of Sheriffmuir 1715. An obelisk monument to the Clan Macrae erected in 1915, stands on the battlefield. A short walk from the monument is the Gathering Stone - a block of grit, enclosed in an iron cage since 1840, where the standard of the Scottish clans is said to have been placed. If you carry on along the road you will arrive at the Sheriffmuir Inn, a child-friendly hotel which is a lovely spot for lunch or dinner.
The Leighton Library, the oldest purpose-built library in Scotland, was founded on the collection of Robert Leighton, Bishop of Dunblane, 1661-1670, later Archbishop of Glasgow, 1670-1674. In his will, Leighton left a sum of money for the building of the library for use by the clergy of Dunblane diocese. The library is situated close by Dunblane Cathedral, part of which dates from 1240. The library was built in part from fallen stone from the nearby ruined Bishop's Palace.