The University of Stirling is one of the few in Britain built on a single landscaped estate. Its 330-acre site occupies the parkland of Airthrey Castle, arranged around a 17-acre artificial loch designed in 1791 by Thomas White. The university opened in 1967, the first new Scottish university for nearly 400 years, and its low-rise concrete-and-glass buildings are scattered through the parkland with care for the existing trees and water.
The campus is open to the public. Walking around the loch takes about 40 minutes and passes the Airthrey Castle building, the Pathfoot Building (the oldest of the university structures), and the Macrobert Arts Centre, which hosts a year-round programme of theatre, film and music. The university art collection is displayed in public spaces across the campus and has some good Scottish modernist works.
The campus is two miles north-east of Stirling city centre and easily reached on foot from Bridge of Allan (15 minutes through the woods) or by frequent bus from the city centre.