Nestling beneath Stirling Castle, in the King’s Park, the ancient hunting grounds of the Stuart monarchs, and now a suburb of opulent Victorian mansions, is the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum.
Founded in 1874 from the bequest of the artist Thomas Stuart Smith, the Stirling Smith has one of the most important, and least known, Scottish history collections.
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum is the focus for the history and material culture of the Stirling area. Scottish history collections, fine art and archaeology are used in the main display called “The Stirling Story” which explores the history of the town over the past Millennium.
A changing programme of temporary exhibitions on a range of subjects and media, together with lunchtime talks and other events contribute to make the Smith a lively and welcoming visitor attraction.
Other facilities include a café serving lunches and light refreshments, shop, lecture and conference room, free admission, car park and access for wheelchair users.
A walk around the perimeter is also worthwhile including a collection of old farm implements, modern sculpture, benches and gardens.
Ailie’s Wildlife Garden is a study in biodiversity.
The idea of developing a wildlife friendly garden in the grounds of the Museum came from the “Friends of the Smith.” To be “wildlife friendly” they have minimised the use of pesticides, avoided using peat compost preferring to use manure or garden waste and have created a mix of habitats that will provide food and shelter for a wide variety of plants and animals.
The garden is named after Ailie Maclauren ( 1913 – 2000 ) whose parents founded the Stirling Homesteads in 1911. The homesteads were houses with plots of land to enable people to be self-sufficient and can still be seen on the edge of King’s Park today. Alie was a great supporter of the Smith and it is a fitting touch that she has been remembered by naming this garden after her.
Follow the path to discover the secrets of Ailie’s garden for yourself.
It may inspire you to make your own garden or local environment more wildlife friendly too.
Look at the other artefacts on display here too and discover the cache also.
After you have found the cache you may want to look at a recent chain saw sculpture at North 56° 07.216 West 003° 56.767. I wanted to place a cache here but this was too close as it is just around the corner. It is worth a look.