STIRLING, FROM ABBEY CRAIG, UK. Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth. Historically it was strategically important as the Gateway to the Highlands, with its position near the boundary between the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands, indeed, it has been described as the brooch which clasps the Highlands and the Lowlands together.