Silver Birch Lodges at Strathyre

Blair Drummond is a family safari park just outside Stirling, set in a 120-acre estate with over 300 animals. You can set out on a drive-through safari past the African reserve, home to Grant's zebra and southern white rhinos, the lion reserve and the Asian reserve with Bactrian camels and Père David's deer.

Tip: Tickets are online only and none are sold at the gate, so book ahead, especially at weekends and school holidays when it often sells out.

Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most historically important castles in Scotland. It stands on a volcanic crag with steep cliffs on three sides, and the rock has been fortified since ancient times. Generations of Scottish monarchs enlarged and embellished it, and Mary, Queen of Scots was crowned here in 1542.

Tip: Book your visit online in advance for a set date and time; the Great Hall and Royal Palace are the parts to head for first.

Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn meets the River Teith, about 8 miles northwest of Stirling. The earliest identifiable work dates from the 13th century, but it took its present form between 1375 and 1425, when Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany and Regent of Scotland, rebuilt it.

The Kelpies are a pair of monumental steel horse heads between Falkirk and Grangemouth, designed by sculptor Andy Scott. Each stands 30 metres high and weighs around 300 tonnes. They sit either side of a lock and basin at the eastern gateway of the Forth and Clyde Canal, within the parkland known as the Helix.

Tip: Pre-book the guided tour, as tours are subject to availability. Dogs are not allowed on the tour.

Kelvingrove is a major art gallery and museum in Glasgow's West End, set in Kelvingrove Park. The Spanish Baroque building opened in 1901, and its 22 galleries display over 8,000 objects. The collections range from natural history, Egyptian antiquities and armour to Scottish history, design and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, plus one of Europe's great civic art collections.

Tip: Download the floor plan or the free digital guide before you go, to pick out the must-see objects first.

The Antonine Wall was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across the Central Belt of Scotland between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Construction began in AD 142 on the orders of Emperor Antoninus Pius, and for a time it was the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire.

Tip: Head for Rough Castle Fort first, as it is the best preserved of the wall's forts.

Dumbarton Castle clings to Dumbarton Rock, a volcanic plug rising almost vertical where the River Leven meets the River Clyde. It was once the heart of an ancient kingdom covering the area now known as Strathclyde, and its recorded history goes back 1,500 years, from the Dark Ages through to the Second World War.

Tip: Book your visit online in advance; Historic Scotland members and Explorer Pass holders can also get in using their pass.

The Hunterian is the oldest public museum in Scotland, run by the University of Glasgow on its main campus in the West End. It is a group of venues rather than a single building, and holds over a million items, from meteorites to mummies and Mackintosh.

Tip: The venues are spread across the campus and beyond, so check the Hunterian's website for each venue's opening times and any temporary closures before you go.