Stirling
28 Reviews by Students #115 out of 422 University locations
Not the best shops in the world but it's a nice wee city with lots of variety I food places. Huge cinema and good, friendly and cheap public transport
By member1210035 On 4th July 2015
Study in Stirling
Situated in central Scotland, Stirling is known as the “Gateway to the Highlands” because beyond it are mountains and the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. 10 minutes outside of town is the University of Stirling which is a campus university set on 330 acres of land.
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University of Stirling
University of Stirling was founded in 1967 and boasts a unique location next to the castle and loch and enjoys views of the foothills of the Scottish Highlands. The university has been split into five faculties, each of which comprises multiple departments, institutes and centres. 97% of graduates are either in full time employment or further study six months after graduating.
Study in Stirling? Review your location
Stirling Student Life
Stirling is a good-sized city complete with the university and an endless adventure playground. The whole area is a paradise for hill-walkers, not to mention canoeists, archers, cyclists, quad-bikers, climbers, riflemen, snowboarders, campers...
Cost of Living
Accommodation
Student accommodation costs range from £84 - £212 per week; the average is £151 per week.
Compare the average elsewhere: Glasgow: £169/week, Dundee: £135/week, Edinburgh: £199/week.
(prices are for all purpose-built student accommodation (both private and university-owned) over the last 12 months, as listed on StudentCrowd)
The average price for:
A cheap meal at a restaurant: £15
A pint of beer: £2.30
A regular takeout coffee: £3.07
1L of milk: £0.89
A loaf of white bread: £0.95
(Source: Numbeo)
Nights Out
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Located in the heart of the University of Stirling is Macrobert Arts Centre, a cultural hub that offers theatre performances, comedy, music, art exhibitions and an independent cinema. It also does student deals and weekly curry nights!
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Nightclubs
There are two good clubs in Stirling, Dusk and Fubar, they have special nights on most days of the week which include great drink discounts. You’ll also enjoy going to the Kilted Kangaroo, an Aussie themed bar where you are always guaranteed a bonza time!
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Live Music Venues
For live music fans, Stirling more than caters for you. The Albert Halls puts on a fantastic programme of emerging and established artists, whilst you can find some of the best acts on Scotland’s folk scene playing at The Tolbooth.
Public Transport
Every hour during peak times nearly 20 buses run between the main campus and town and students with ID cards can get a discount. The main bus company is First and it’s possible to buy a week-long ticket that gives you unlimited travel between the two. The city is well connected by both road and rail, there are direct train services to London, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.
Eating Out
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High Street Favourites
You can expect to find your favourite chain restaurants in Stirling that are kind to your student budget. There’s a Nando’s, Domino’s, Subway, Pizza Express and many more.
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Stirling Farmers' Market takes place every second Saturday of every month right in the city centre. It’s a great place to pick up the best fresh and delicious ingredients whilst supporting local farmers and producers. Top tip, make sure to try out the handmade wines, gins and craft beers!
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Restaurants
There are a couple of restaurants to have up your sleeve when the parents come to visit. There’s Brea serving locally sourced ingredients to showcase the best that Scotland has to offer and then there’s Hermann’s Austrian, referred to as Stirling’s best restaurant, which serves Austrian and Scottish cuisine in an elegant setting.
Shopping
The shops in Stirling are pretty good and have everything anyone could need, however, lacks a good number of clothes shops - if you fancy treating yourself to a shopping spree you're probably best to get a train to Glasgow.
By RossMurray26 On 5th July 2015
Study in Stirling? Review your location
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The Great Outdoors
Stirling is known as the gateway to the Highlands, where you can find amongst stunning scenery over 30,000 lochs, hills and mountains. A 30-minute drive away is the famous Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park where you can find fantastic walking, cycling and sailing.
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Just a 10-minute drive from Stirling you will find Dunblane. Here you can go on the famous riverside ‘Darn Walk’ which is an enjoyable 5-mile walk between the old Victorian spa town of Bridge Allan and Dunblane.
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Hop on a train and within 10-minutes you can be in small Clackmannanshire town of Alloa. Here is a great spot any time of the year to explore historic attractions, beautiful scenery or have a game of golf in one of their six scenic golf courses.
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Read Stirling Reviews
All good considering...
All good considering the COVID-19 pandemic read more
Stirling is an amazing...
Stirling is an amazing city to dwell in. read more
Quite expensive as it's...
Quite expensive as it's close to Glasgow and Edinburgh, but there's not much to do at night as it's not a huge city. The people are very kind and friendly here, the criminality rate is very low, and there's a fair amount of shops in town. However, there's not a lot of choice for what concerns food, and public transport is expensive and inefficient. read more
pretty boring not been...
pretty boring not been out yet because of COVID. Was so bored i hardly stayed in Stirling read more
Class place to study....
Class place to study. Dusk loyals read more
It’s cheap and had a...
It’s cheap and had a lot of sexy time read more
It is full of history...
It is full of history nice to visit at a tourist, but pretty boring to live in. Shopping is great, but if you want to eat out, remind that almost all the places close at 9 pm, which is the time I usually dine at home!! The rents are quite expensive, considering it's not a metropolis but just a bit more than a village, and the public transportation is not worth the money you pay (buses are always late and bus shelters don't protect you from the cold, several bus drivers are rude), while the taxi services are good. If you want to go on a night out, there are only two nightclubs and the other things open are just pubs that don't even serve food, which is not the best thing if you're not a drinker. Overall, people in Stirling are very kind and helpful, and the town is linked to Glasgow and Edinburgh with very efficient trains. read more
It is full of history...
It is full of history nice to visit at a tourist, but pretty boring to live in. Shopping is great, but if you want to eat out, remind that almost all the places close at 9 pm, which is the time I usually dine at home!! The rents are quite expensive, considering it's not a metropolis but just a bit more than a village, and the public transportation is not worth the money you pay (buses are always late and bus shelters don't protect you from the cold, several bus drivers are rude). read more
Cost of living is okay,...
Cost of living is okay, however, the city is honestly poor and depressing. It's always raining. read more
Nice slow town, two good...
Nice slow town, two good clubs - Dusk (Fridays) and Fubar (Saturdays), kilted kangaroo is good for drinks and banter. read more
Public transport to and...
Public transport to and from the university is brilliant - £1.70 for a return with a student card during the day to and from the centre and the bus comes every 5-10 minutes. The shops in Stirling are pretty good and have everything anyone could need, however, lacks a good number of clothes shops - if you fancy treating yourself to a shopping spree you're probably best to get a train to Glasgow. Nights out are amazing - because there are only 2 clubs they're always filled with students and you see everyone, as well as the clubs having great deals too. Eating out is great and there are many options, but I would recommend the Wetherspoons for best value for money if you're casually eating out with friends. Cost of living is great - everything you could need is in town. When you first move there it might be easy to get into the habit of living out of the Nisa shop on campus, but this would be a big mistake: everything's overpriced so make sure to do shopping in town. read more
Terrible night life!...
Terrible night life! Only 2 clubs However very friendly and students fill them up quite quickly and very cheap! Lots of cheap nice individual restaurants and a new spoons. Lots of buses and 40min trains to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Thistles centre is great but shops are small. Better going to Glasgow. Very scenic and lots to do! read more
DUSK AND FUBAR
DUSK AND FUBAR read more
2 nightclubs
2 nightclubs read more
Not the best shops in...
Not the best shops in the world but it's a nice wee city with lots of variety I food places. Huge cinema and good, friendly and cheap public transport read more
A lovely town that has...
A lovely town that has little to offer other than a few historical tourist attractions and some pretty views. The nightlife is a choice of local scummy pubs, Dusk, which is one of the worst clubs I have ever set foot in, or Fubar, which can only be described as 'sticky'. read more
everything in Stirling...
everything in Stirling is fairly inexpensive, especially to live here. The nightlife is cheap! read more
Cons?
Not a lot of things to do that don't involve drinking or going out except bowling or shopping really