The Snowdrop Festival 2017: It’s spring!

Our first sure sign of spring, snowdrops can make even the hardest of hearts swell for a moment. In celebration, the Scottish Snowdrop Festival presents some of the very best displays for the public to enjoy from January to March. So why not make it an annual pilgrimage?

scottish snowdrop festival 2017

The Snowdrop Festival is now in its eleventh year

scottish snowdrop festival 2017

Enjoy the Festival’s displays until 12 March

Here are five fabulous displays to visit from your Stirling base until 12 March:

Gargunnock House

Enjoy five acres of mature gardens with woodland walks, a walled garden and 18th century doocot. Entry is £4 per adult (honesty box) and children go free. More information and directions here.

Kilbryde Castle

This Sunday, Kilbryde Castle in Dunblane opens for its one-day celebration of the Snowdrop Festival. Enjoy a lovely display of snowdrops set within the 12-acre castle grounds including formal, woodland and wild areas. There will be cream teas available on Sunday too! Entry is £4 per adult and children go free. More information and directions.

Scone Palace

Entry is free at Scone Palace in Perthshire, where you can take a leisurely stroll through the snowdrop lined paths within 100 acres of grounds and gardens. At the end of your walk, get yourself a hot chocolate and one of the Castle’s ‘Scones @ Scone’ in the Old Servants’ Hall Coffee Shop. Open each Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 12 March from 10.00 am – 4.00 pm. More information and directions.

Braco Castle, Perth and Kinross

Here, you will find a beautiful display of snowdrops set amidst a 19th century landscaped garden with spectacular views to the Ochils. Entry is £4 per adult and children go free. More information and directions here.

Duntreath Castle, Stirlingshire

Visit Duntreath Castle in Strathblane for a stunning display of snowdrops along the side of the former drive. There is also a woodland walk and a 15th century keep and chapel. Visits are by arrangement. For more information and directions.

But you don’t need an organised event to find some stunning spring displays. For spring flowers, emerging bulbs and early blossom, take a leisurely stroll through Bridge of Allan’s beautiful Memorial Park, near the entrance to the University of Stirling. From there, circle the University of Stirling’s Airthrey Loch. You’ll spot snowdrops, crocuses, and nesting wildfowl – those who love to dote on a fluffy chick or three won’t be disappointed. Entrance to the University is free, and parking starts at £1. Have a coffee and pick up an events guide at the Macrobert while you’re at it too!

Spring and Easter escapes to beautiful Stirling

The Christmas credit card bill is paid, the mornings are getting lighter, and the dawn chorus is back. That can only mean one thing – spring is coming! And here’s why to spend it in Stirling.

Relax this spring in Gladstone's beautiful gardens

Relax this spring in Gladstone’s beautiful gardens

Celebrate spring with champagne in the hot tub at Oakside cottage

Celebrate spring with champagne in the hot tub at Oakside cottage

A city break in Stirling

A spring break is all about taking a moment out of life to make some fresh memories and get outside a bit more. Fancy a city break? Stay at one of our properties in the heart of the city. Take a peek at Gladstone, Pear Tree House, and the Courtyard, to enjoy a luxurious break that puts you right at the heart of things. Just minutes from King’s Park and a short stroll from the Castle, you’ll witness Stirling burst into bloom again after the colder months. We have properties in beautiful Bridge of Allan too, like Haverstock, Springwood and Allanwater. They are the perfect base to explore Bridge of Allan’s gardens and the University grounds set on the historic Airthrey Estate. There are many unique little shops and great dining tucked away in this former spa town, too.

A secluded break to enjoy nature

Perhaps you’d prefer to immerse yourself in a more rural setting away from the City. Our properties like LallyBroch, Oakside Cottage, Stronend Cottage or Balfron Hayloft will give you the seclusion and landscape you crave. Whether you want to escape as a couple, a family, or group, these properties offer stunning views, easy access to Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, wood burning stoves, hot tubs and idyllic settings. Outlander fans may even want to use Lallybroch as their base for an film locations tour, too. Or, for young families, these properties are ideal for visits to the Balfron Woodland Experience, Blair Drummond Safari Park, which reopens on 18 March, and Briarlands Farm, which re-opens in mid-February.

Wherever you choose to stay, make sure you don’t miss out on these fabulous Spring and Easter events in Stirlingshire:

The Snowdrop Festival

Nothing promises that spring is coming quite like snowdrops. And every year, Scotland opens up many of its most beautiful gardens, so that the everyone can enjoy the season’s snowdrop displays. The Festival runs from 18 February to 12 March. You can find participating gardens here: http://www.scotlandsgardens.org/news/snowdrops-2017

Easter Egg hunts at historic buildings

Thinking of booking your spring break at Easter time? Cadbury have teamed up with the National Trust for Scotland again this year to create Easter Egg Hunts in some of Scotland’s most historic settings. Chocolate and culture, combined! Find an Easter Egg Hunt near you: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/whats-on/event/?eventId=297608b0-3502-4fde-9195-a6cc00fa3d0c

Easter Egg Steam Trains

Boness and Kinneil’s annual Easter trains run on 14 and 15 April and are becoming ever more popular. Climb aboard, enjoy the short trip, and the conductor will arrive with a chocolate egg for every child. Children wearing Easter bonnets also have the chance to win a prize. And there are Easter egg hunts in the museum too. Book soon! For tickets and schedule, see: http://www.bkrailway.co.uk/your-visit/events/

Crannog Centre Easter Extravaganza

Help the Crannog Centre kick-start their 20th anniversary year by celebrating Easter Iron Age style on beautiful Loch Tay, Perthshire. Join their Pancake Eggstravaganza on Easter Sunday, 16 April from 10.30am to 4.30pm. You will cook pancakes over an open fire, bake bread in clay ovens, and churn your own butter to spread on them. Gather round the fire to learn about ancient crafts and ways of life from skilled Iron Age guides. Or just gaze into the flames. For more information, see: http://www.crannog.co.uk/

Nothing says spring like the Snowdrop Festival

Nothing says spring like the Snowdrop Festival

The Crannog Centre, on stunning Loch Tay

The Crannog Centre, on stunning Loch Tay

Photo credits:

Crannog Centre on Loch Tay: By Dave Morris from Edinburgh, UK (Flickr.com – image description page) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons