Stirling Hookups: Stirling Women Want to Meet

A city with a wolf for a symbol

An old saying likens Stirling to a huge brooch, clasping the Highlands and the Lowlands together, and the map explains why. This is the lowest point where the River Forth could be bridged before it widens towards the Firth of Forth, so it became the place anyone travelling north or south passed through. Its history is tied up with a royal citadel, a medieval old town of merchants and tradesmen, the Old Bridge and a port, and its status as the Gateway to the Highlands gave it great strategic importance.

It has a wolf, too. A ninth-century legend says Danish invaders were turned back when the sound of a wolf woke a sentry, who warned the garrison, and the wolf became the town's symbol. It appears on the 1511 Stirling Jug, and one area is still called Wolfcraig. It makes a better first-date story than the weather.

With about 38,000 people, Stirling is a proper city, and the Old Bridge and the old town are landmarks anyone can find, so "see you at the Old Bridge" needs no explaining.