About Scotland

Bed and breakfast in Central Scotland in the hills near Stirling.
Easily under 1 hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.
5 miles from Stirling. Optional dinner.

Kippenross near Stirling Scotland

Old Kippenross
near Stirling
Central Scotland

Front door and hall View of the river from the bridge

In central Scotland, 5 miles north of Stirling, hidden in the idyllic wooded valley of the Allan Water (left) is Old Kippenross, family home of Sue and Patrick Stirling-Aird, who welcome guests to stay for bed and breakfast (with optional dinner).

Old Kippenross is a fascinating house, quite unique in Scotland. The upper part was built in the 1700's above the remains of an older Tower House whose vaulted basement is now the kitchen, dining room and drawing room. The stone steps which you can see in the photograph above lead to the front door. Inside the hall a spiral staircase (right) rises through the house from bottom to top.

Tradition has it that Old Kippenross was painted pink in 1715 as a signal to Jacobites after the battle of Sheriffmuir that it was a safe haven. Linking the house with the riverbank below there are rumoured to be two underground tunnels for clandestine escape.

Battle of Sheriffmuir The "Old Pretender", father of Bonnie Prince Charlie, was declared King James VIII of Scotland in September 1715. The government forces of George I under the Duke of Argyll occupied Stirling and faced the Jacobites led by the Earl of Mar at Sheriffmuir, not far from Old Kippenross, on the 13th November, but the outcome was indecisive. As the Scots sang:
"There's some say that we wan,
Some say that they wan,
Some say that nane wan at a' man."

With just under 200 acres of parkland, riverbanks, garden and woodland to explore, this is a relaxing, romantic and memorable place to stay, and very central for touring Scotland.

Accommodation:

Bathroom

Left and right;
Double bedroom and bathroom en suite, at the top of the house (in the middle) with a window looking over the garden.

Double bedroom
Bathroom

Left;
Bathroom (en suite) for the twin bedroom illustrated below.

Single bedroom

Left;
Dressing room or single bedroom, en suite with the twin bedroom.

Right;
Twin bedroom on the first floor, with a window looking over the garden.

Twin bedroom

Right;
The Drawing Room.

The stone vaulted ceiling is part of the basement of the original 17th Century Tower House, and this may have been originally a kitchen. There is a traditional domed bread oven inside the arched fireplace.

Drawing room

Breakfast, and optional dinner:

Breakfast is served in the Dining Room.

You are very welcome to stay for dinner. (The Stirling-Airds do not have a licence to sell wine, so please bring your own.)

A typical menu might be:

Parma ham, Lollo Rosso and mint
Sautéed Pheasant with red wine, mushrooms and bacon
Oven baked vegetables
Mixed salad
Pears baked in wine with crème fraiche
Coffee

Right;
The Dining room.

Dining room

Tariff:

£45 per person per night based on two people sharing a room, and including breakfast.
Both bedrooms have a bathroom en-suite with bath and power-shower.
£27 per person for dinner.
£10 single person supplement.
Guests are welcome to arrive after 5.00 pm.

Right;
View from the bottom of the garden.

Jane Stirling was born at Kippenross and became a devoted pupil of Chopin in Paris in the 1840s (He dedicated two nocturnes to her in 1844). She encouraged him to visit Scotland and accompanied him on a tour during which he visited Kippenross. Next to the house, on the left, is the old walled garden where they used to walk together.

View from the garden

To enquire or to book:

Ruskie and Tangle

Ruskie and Tangle

Please contact:
Sue and Patrick Stirling-Aird

Old Kippenross
Dunblane
near Stirling
Perthshire, FK15 0LQ
Scotland, UK
Tel: 01786 824 048
Fax: 01786 824 482
or from outside the UK:
Tel: 44 1786 824 048
Fax: 44 1786 824 482

Please tell Sue and Patrick you found Old Kippenross through About Scotland!

Map of the area:

Map of central Scotland