Overview of Old County of Stirlingshire

A former county in Central Scotland, Stirlingshire extended from the Campsie, Kilsyth and Fintry Fells in the south to the River Forth in the north and Loch Lomond in the west, with an area of 447 sq. miles (1157 sq. km). It is bounded to the N by Perthshire, to the E by Clackmannanshire and West Lothian, to the S by Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire, and to the W by Loch Lomond and Dunbartonshire. Its principal rivers are the Forth, Kelvin, Avon and Endrick. Its county town was Stirling, with other significant settlements including Falkirk, Grangemouth, Larbert, Denny and Slamannan. In 1974 it was incorporated into the new Central Region as the much-enlarged Stirling District, gaining a large section of S Perthshire. In the local government reorganisation of 1996 this district emerged as the unitary authority of Stirling Council Area.