Stirling Manchester Train

Stirling is a city in Central Scotland and is clustered around a large fortress and medieval town. The city lies at the mouth of the River Forth and is sometimes regarded as the "Gateway to the Highlands". The city also lies close to the Highland Boundary Fault between the Scottish Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands. Visitors to the city can enjoy many historic buildings and monuments including the Great Hall which was restored in 1999 and the Renaissance Palace within the Castle. The city also has a medieval parish church, The Church of the Holy Rude, which is where King James VI was crowned King of Scots in 1567.

With Stirling's development as a market town and its location as the focus of transport and communications in the region, it has developed a substantial retail sector serving a wide range of surrounding communities as well as the city itself. Primarily centred on the city centre, there are a large number of chain stores, as well as the Thistles shopping centre. However this has been augmented by out-of-town developments such as the Springkerse Retail Park on the city bypass to the east of Stirling.

Stirling railway station provides excellent inter city, regional and local rail services throughout the United Kingdom.

Located in the north west of England, the city of Manchester lies within the Greater Manchester built-up area, and is the United Kingdom's second most populous urban area. The city has a buoyant cultural scene which is expressed in its theatre, opera and dance performances which perform at some of the city's largest performance venues including the Manchester Opera House, the palace Theatre and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester's former cotton exchange. The Manchester Opera House also hosts many touring shows and West End productions. Manchester also has a number of more intimate performance spaces including the Library Theatre, which is located in the basement of the Central Library in the city centre, the Contact Theatre and Studio Salford. The 'Madchester' scene of the 1980s, from which groups including The Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, 808 State, James and The Charlatans emerged, was based on clubs such as the famous Haçienda. Discover more about Greater Manchester and Manchester's past with guided walks or an audio tour, including ghost walks, underground or canal tours. Regular weekly tours include Discover Manchester which takes place every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday and Manchester Town Hall Tour which takes place every Tuesday.