Family: A day out at Stirling Castle stimulates young imaginations – and empties piggy banks

You may be tempted to visit the historic royal apartments at Stirling Castle having seen the Dynasty-style TV adverts.

However, this Historic Scotland gem has been at the top of our family day out wishlist for ages. Graham my partner (and medieval know-it-all) wouldn’t miss this outing for the world, and we are joined by our daughters Eve, nine and Hope, six, and BFF – best friend forever – Eve H, nine.

A heavy downpour couldn’t dampen our spirits as we approached the imposing structure, however, it did mean we paused only briefly to peer at the surrounding views through low-level cloud. Sheltering from the rain in one of the souvenir shops, the girls managed to spend most of their pocket money before we made our raid on the castle proper.

Although there are frequent free-guided tours of Stirling Castle, experience has taught us that this doesn’t suit wayward children. We employed a more freeform approach to the visit, heading straight in through the gatehouse, scampering down stairs, and through doorways to explore the battlements. We were happy to investigate every nook and cranny at the girls’ pace. They took great delight in listening to the commentary on their handheld audio guides, frequently checking in with each other to see which point the others had reached.

The vaults have lots of hands-on displays. We learned about specific topics in each themed room – artist pigments in one, while in another we found out about the music of the period. The dressing-up room was the biggest hit of all. Both Eves made very convincing sparring princes, while Hope looked cute as a button, trying on a regal gown.

Inside the Royal Palace built by James V to impress his young queen, Mary of Guise, the brightly painted, carved Stirling heads certainly provide the wow factor. A £12 million programme to recreate its flashy interiors means modern visitors get to see the palace as it was in its 16th-century heyday.

We chatted to Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, one of the costumed guides, who informed us all about court life. He told the girls that they would have been married off early, at around 13, and that they would have had black teeth from eating too much sugar, which was a sign of wealth. Eating vegetables was considered a social faux pas; a diet rich in meat was preferable and bathing too often was frowned upon.

The girls all giggled hysterically when they were told that the royal easement (or number two) was inspected to ascertain the health of the king. The guides are easy to approach, so we bombarded them with questions, and our nosiness was rewarded with a look at some reproduction period furniture.

We ended our tour in the great hall where the girls all took turns at striking a princess-like pose on the thrones of the top table. Despite our enthusiastic visit I think we only saw half of what the castle has to offer so a return trip may be on the cards.

Winter opening hours, to 31 March, are daily 9:30am-5pm. Adults, £13, children 5-15, £6.50, concessions, £10, under-fives go free, www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk