Abbey Craig

The Abbey Craig is a hill just north of Stirling where the Wallace Monument stands. It forms part of a hard quartz-dolerite sill within Carboniferous rock layers known as the Stirling Sill. The hill shows the classic crag and tail shape left by past glaciers. Cambuskenneth Abbey lies about a kilometre south on the River Forth. The name ‘Craig’ refers to this kind of rocky hill shaped by ice. The hill was William Wallace’s command post before the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. Excavations in 2001 and 2012 found traces of an earlier vitrified hillfort. This fort was burned in the 6th or 7th centuries and rebuilt in the 8th or 9th. The site reveals two phases of defence from the Early Medieval Period. Visitors reach the Wallace Monument at the top of the crag. The path climbs through woodland and open rock. From the summit there are wide views across Stirling and the Forth Valley. The abbey ruins lie below to the south. The contrast between the hard crag and the softer surrounding land is clear.