100 British Bus Routes: Route 59
Stirling to Callander
7 January 2024
ABOVE: McGill's Scotland East 2808 (SP54 CHO) is a Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini. It is dropping off here at the War Memorial stop in Main Street, Callander. All photos in this article taken on Tuesday 5th September 2023.
Runs: Daily (no Sunday evening service)
Operator: McGill's Scotland East
Weekday daytime frequency: Hourly
Estimated Vehicle Requirement: Two buses
Off-peak journey time: 48-50 minutes
Estimated route length: 16-18 miles
Operator: McGill's Scotland East
Weekday daytime frequency: Hourly
Estimated Vehicle Requirement: Two buses
Off-peak journey time: 48-50 minutes
Estimated route length: 16-18 miles
Quite compact. That's the best description I can come up with for the pedestrian area within Stirling bus station in Central Scotland. There are lots of people milling about on this September Tuesday morning, and some of the busier bus queues are spilling into the communal areas.
To be fair, there is a decent-size Travel Centre / fully-enclosed waiting room (including essential facilities) away from the pick-up stances. It's fairly quiet in there today, though - possibly because several buses are due imminently, or maybe just because it's a very hot sunny day and people would rather be outside.
The majority of the bus stances (numbers 1 to 11) run along one side, whilst stances 12, 13 & 14 are on the main roadside (Goosecroft Road).
ABOVE: Stirling bus station, looking towards the Thistles Shopping Centre, with stances 12-14 in the foreground, and evidence of some of the other stances behind them.
There's a decent bus parking area, though:
ABOVE: The opposite side of the bus station to the previous photo (and looking the opposite way too) finds a selection of McGill's vehicles in evidence. On the left, 4114 (YX65 PXH) is an ADL Enviro200 MMC in Midland Bluebird livery. Fellow 4115 (YX65 PXJ) is parked up on the right. Behind 4115 is 3361 (BX64 WJC), a Mercedes-Benz Citaro O295 in McGill's livery. An unidentified ADL Enviro400 MMC, in First colours but probably also with McGill's, is also in evidence.
This is an area that has seen considerable change, in bus terms, with First having pulled out of the region in autumn 2022, selling its operations across Eastern Scotland to McGill's. And the route I am trying out today is one of those transferred over - the 59 to Callander.
There's a decent crowd waiting for the 1057 departure from Stirling Bus Station. Loading takes a few minutes and we're a little late off the stand. The bus is a Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini, in "Xplore Dundee" colours, although the actual words have been removed.
A city of some 37,910 souls, Stirling is 26 miles north-east of Glasgow and 37 miles north-west of Edinburgh. The saying "he who holds Stirling, holds Scotland" is sometimes attributed to Robert the Bruce, although I found it online in the context of the 2019 General Election, which isn't quite the same thing!
As the crow flies, Callander is about 13 miles north-west of Stirling, and the 59 takes a relatively straight path along the A84 road (I say "relatively" and you will see why I say that shortly).
Out onto Goosecroft Road, and there's a lot going on, as can be evidenced by the picture below. To the right is the railway station, and there's also an underpass carrying the major A9 road through the city - this runs all the way to Thurso, at the northern tip of mainland Scotland, 173 miles as the crow flies, but more like 250 miles to drive.
ABOVE: Goosecroft Road in Stirling. The ornate bridge to the right takes the road over the railway line, whilst the A9 underpass is also visible. To the left is WH17 GEO, an Enviro200 MMC operating with Hunter's Coaches on local Park & Ride service P1 to Springkerse.
Being a relatively small city, it doesn't take long to get clear of the centre and start to experience the joys of the Scottish landscape. Only a few minutes into the journey we reach the wonderfully-named Back o' Hill Road, with its lovely views of the hills to the North.
ABOVE: Back O' Hill Road, and the hills to the north of the city
At this point we're working our way around the grounds of Stirling Castle, a 12th-century former Palace. Its website tells us that, during the Scottish Wars of Independence (1296 to 1357), the castle changed hands eight times in 50 years.
ABOVE: A view of Stirling Castle's tower, taken from near the Kildean Roundabout between Craigforth and Raploch
We pass through a suburban part of the city, Raploch, along the curiously-named Drip Road.
ABOVE: Drip Road, Raploch, with Our Lady's Roman Catholic Primary School on the left
Traffic becomes very slow beyond Raploch, as we approach a complex pair of roundabouts - Kildean and Craigforth. Between them they service junction 10 of the M9 motorway, which passes beneath us. The reason for the slow running is due to roadworks and temporary traffic lights at a subsequent roundabout at Chalmerston Road. But it's a costly delay and we will end up arriving about 15 minutes late into Callander.
Crossing the M9 takes us out of the city and into the countryside. Slow traffic gives me the chance to admire an old bridge adjacent to the one that we are using to cross the River Forth. I assume that what I am calling the old bridge was the original, and that the main road bridge came much later. There's a holiday apartment here called the Toll House, which speaks a lot of the history of this crossing.
Where exactly are we? Well, we have Drip Bridge to our left and Craigforth to our right, but these crossings seem to fall between the two locales.
ABOVE: The old bridge over the River Forth - that might be the roof of the Toll House behind it... The giant red tube on the right is actually a reflection of the handrail at the front of the bus!
We're well into the countryside now. We pass Nyadd - so small that there is very little online that I can find about it, except that a flanged bronze axe with prominent stop ridges was found here around 1910 when a local farm was being ploughed. (I assume bronze in this context means from the Bronze Age as it's described as an archaeological find.) It was 5.75 inches long by 2.5 inches wide. But, by 1968, "the whereabouts of the axe could not be ascertained" (source: Canmore).
Further along the A84 is Blair Drummond (population 1,109 according to the 2001 Census). A small settlement but it does have a Safari Park with over 350 animals. So there's one animal for every three humans here!
We reach Kincardine Church, just to the north of Blair Drummond. To give it its full name, the present Kincardine-in-Menteith Parish Church, which was built between 1814 & 1816, replaced a much older building across the road, where the graveyard does of course remain. There's not much else around here - presumably the parishioners come from Blair Drummond.
ABOVE: Kincardine Church
We're heading for a river crossing, just south of Doune. But just before we cross it, we take the first of two double-runs on the route, into the village of Deanston. Of note here is the late 18th–century whisky distillery, in its picturesque riverside setting.
ABOVE: Deanston Distillery, on the south bank of the River Teith in Deanston
Buses follow the same route around Deanston, whether heading for Callander or Stirling. We're back after a few minutes to the A84, where we now cross the River Teith over the Bridge of Teith. Only a quarter of a mile later stands the War Memorial for the town / burgh of Doune.
ABOVE: The main A84 stretches round to the left past the Doune War Memorial (left), whilst we will take a detour into the town centre, coming out again from the road on the right.
A few hundred yards up the road, we start our second detour, to serve the town centre of Doune on another double-run.
Doune was famous for its manufacture of pistols, but this eventually ceased due to competition from elsewhere. It is alleged that a Doune pistol fired the first shot of the American War of Independence. Doune pistols are now collectors' items. There's a castle here too, used as a set for Winterfell in the first season of the TV series 'Game of Thrones'.
ABOVE: The attractive centre of Doune, with its Mercat Cross
As with Deanston, route 59 goes around the double-run the same way in both directions, and we come back out at the War Memorial, then repeating a short stretch already covered before we continue towards our final destination.
A seven mile stretch of open road follows. We pass through Cambusmore and Keltie Bridge and reach the outskirts of Callander.
ABOVE: Vorlich Crescent, about a mile from the town centre of Callander, with the wooded peaks of the Callander Crags beyond
We arrive into Callander town centre at just on 1200, about a quarter of an hour late. Though small, with an estimated population of just over 3,000, it's lively and vibrant. It sits on the Highland Boundary Fault, which separates the Highlands of Scotland (on the far side) from the Lowlands. The Callander Crags, standing up to 1,125 feet, are the visible signs of the fault.
ABOVE: Main Street, Callander, looking south-east towards Keltie Bridge and Stirling
Buses have a lovely spot to turn around at here at the terminus. Heading down Station Road (the station itself closed in 1965), buses do a circuit of the tree-lined car and coach park now located here.
ABOVE: McGill's Scotland East 2828 (BU06 CWV), a Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini, reaches the picturesque terminus at Callander
I'm not quite so sure about the catchy name applied to this terminus bus stop - "Public Toilets". At least you know what amenities might be available nearby!
ABOVE: Here's another view of 2808, setting off on the journey back to Stirling. It has just left the "Public Toilets" stop and is passing the Dreadnaught Hotel, which I can't help thinking would be a better name for the bus stop? (Or "Station Road Car Park," perhaps?)
Route 59 is a lovely ride to try out if you don't know this part of Scotland. Largely out on the open road, it's a brisk run to a town that I suspect you might not easily stumble across by chance.
Other bus links out of here are quite limited - there's a four-times a day Monday to Friday service C60 to Killin, about 20 miles north, and a Saturday S60 to Killin and on to Tyndrum, another 20 miles beyond that. Both sound interesting, actually, but something for another day...
I'll leave you with a final photograph to show why Callander is worth a visit. It's simply because it's very pretty!
ABOVE: Just off Main Street in Callander is where the River Teith becomes the Eas Gobhain. The latter is the outflow of Loch Venachar, which start a few miles south-west of here at Easter Dullater.