Stirling Truro Train

The Scottish city of Stirling is the largest city on central Scotland and is build around the fortress of Stirling Castle. The castle sits on top of Castle Hill and is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. Several Scottish monarchs have been crowned at Stirling Castle including Mary Queen of Scots in 1542. The castle is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is now a popular visitor attraction which is managed by Historic Scotland.

The Top of the Town is made up of Broad Street, Castle Wynd, Ballengeich Pass, Lower Castle Hill Road, Baker Street and St Mary's Wynd which all lead up to the castle. This area is popular with visitors who also visit the Old Town Jail, Mar's Wark (a ruined building dating back to the 16th century), Argyll's Loding and the castle itself. Ballengeich Pass leads to the graveyard at Ballengeich and the Castle Wynd winds past the old graveyard. Craft shops and tourist-focused shops are evident on the way up and once at the top, panoramic views are available across Stirling and beyond.

Stirling is a major centre of sports training and education in Scotland. The headquarters of the Scottish Institute of Sport is a purpose-built facility on the campus of Stirling University, which opened in 2002. Also at the university is the Scottish National Swimming Academy, as well as the Gannochy National Tennis centre, which is seen as a tennis centre of excellence.

The city of Truro in Cornwall, in the south west of England, is a compact city with a pleasant mix of independent shops, national high street shops, galleries and much more to keep the whole family enthralled. Whilst in the city pay a visit to The Royal Cornwall Museum (which also includes the Courtney Library and the Cornish History Research Centre) which has a changing programme of exhibitions along with a permanent collection of art from the old masters to works by local artists practicing today. The museum also has a world famous mineral collection, Cornish archaeology with an excellent bronze age collection, and an Egyptian gallery which includes the remains of the Priest Tayef Nakht, the unwrapped mummy. For visitors who want to explore the city and surrounding area on two wheels, the city is part of two national cycle routes. Truro is part of the Cornish Way which is a route that connects Bude to Land's End. The city is also on cycle route 32 which connects Truro to Bodmin via Newquay. Close to Truro, there is also the Mineral Tramways route between Devoran and Portreath, which connects the south coast of Cornwall with the north.