Morning all, but of a strange one but looking for real world experience of the Falkirk/Stirling area if possible. The wife and I are looking to move that way in the fairly near future, but would like to know what it's really like. Probably going to end up commuting to Edinburgh/Glasgow or similar so how do-able is that on a daily basis? Any particularly scabby areas to avoid buying a house in?
We're travelling down there for a few days house hunting next month, just want a rough idea of what's hot and what's not before hand please 🙂
Commuting how? Loads of people do (drive or by train). Train journey from Falkirk is pretty short although there's some serious disruption planned later this year while they electrify the line.
I know of people who commute by bike though it's a bit much for every day.
Certainly there are good and bad areas but I reckon they'll be pretty obvious.
I was brought up in alva, about 7miles from stirling. I moved away due to work about 15years ago so info may be off. Firstly, the ochils, dumyat and sherrifmuir are great cycling, you get a great view of them from the wallace monument. I like stirling and enjoy a week back home with the family every year. i would avoid the raploch and cornton areas. Know people in Causewayhead and Bannockburn and areas seem ok, kings park is posh. Trains are good, I used to commute to Edinburgh for about a year before moving there in the end, but I was, bus to Stirling then train snd it was just taking too long for me. Falkirk is similar but not sure what riding is on your doorstep. If you want any specifics just ask and I will see what I remember. ......
Stirling - university town, good riding, castle, good access North
Falkirk - industrial estates, better rail link for Glasgow/Edinburgh
HTH
What would they need? Both easy commutes to both cities...both have some lovely areas as well as not so nice (but that is relative)...I've lived in both areas...
As it is for your parents, they probably don't care about the biking...but Stirling is better for that.
Commute by car, train or bus from both areas but Falkirk area has more stations to access so may be better from a commute-by-train aspect.
Riding on the hills behind Dunblane-Bridge of Allan-Causewayhead is excellent. Just south of Cambusbarron too. Torwood forest has a wee bit that's fun for an hour. On the road bike, there's also a lot of nice riding in all directions.
I live between Plean and Denny - driving from here is super easy as you can go north, south or east on the motorway. These towns are nothing exciting but the countryside is nice.
Really nice areas I know of are Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Kings Park (in Stirling), Torwood. House prices reflect that though! There are plenty fast trains to Edin and Gla from Stirling.
Hope that's useful...
B
I'm from the Falkirk area originally and went to uni in Stirling. Falkirk is okish, with some nice countryside around it. Stirling is a nice town and I'd prefer it of the two - especially the Bridge of Allen or Dunblane areas. Another alternative to consider is Linlithgow - it's lovely and good for Edinburgh commuting but can be expensive.
Stirling is my home town and my misses is from Denny so we're back there regularly. Personally if I was moving back I wouldn't bother with Falkirk as its a bit rough and industrial. As other posters have said Kings Park, Bridge of Allan and Causewayhead in Stirling are nice. Avoid the Raploch and St.Ninians but really it'll be obvious which parts to avoid when you get there.
In reality Falkirk is no better or worse than most towns in Scotland and yes, it does have very good rail links to both EH and GLW.
As others have said if you want "nice" then you'll need to pay a premium. Linlithgow is very nice as is B of A, parts of Stirling and Dunblane. Expect to pay upwards of 25% over Falkirk prices. Dollar and parts of the Fife riviera also okay but only reasonably commutable to EH. Similarly if you want to commute in to GLW there are some nice towns and villages further West (Killearn, Strathblane etc) Then you've got the New Towns like Cumbernauld and Livingston which have good transport links and low cost housing but are cultural and visual dead zones imo.
What theblackmount said. We are in Polmont, which is to the east of Falkirk and just a few miles from linlithgow. It's a fairly nice (ish) area, some nice housing, and a rail station on the main edin-glasgow line. It's close enough to Linlithgow for the pubs/walks/etc but with houses that are ~20% lower.
theblackmount +1
We are in Dunblane, here by 'accident' after agreeing to rent a mates house for a year, then realising the kids were in school and settled - before we looked at house prices 😯 We now have the cheapest house in the poshest place. Location, Location (dahling).
Stirling, Bridge of Allan and Dunblane are ace, and a great place to live for commuting, all the amenities you may need and close access to hills in an evening, or proper mountains a short drive away. By ace, I mean really nice. Other than a couple of Lakes spots (Keswick, Penrith, Kendal) or North Yorks spots, I couldn't imagine a nicer place to live (oh, OK, maybe Aviemore...)
The nice bit about middle class Dunblane for us is the schools, kids clubs and the security - it is a really safe place, not worried about theft or similar as we always were in Sheffield.