Doune

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Doune Castle seen from the arch bridge over the River Teith. The town of Doune is situated to the left, out of the shot.

Doune (Gaelic: An Dùn, 'the fort') is a burgh in the district of Stirling, Scotland, on the River Teith. The town is dominated by Doune Castle, built in the late 14th century. Architecturally it is a mixture of fortress and manor house.

Doune was also famous for its manufacture of pistols, but this eventually ceased due to the competition of manufacturers in, for example, Birmingham where production was cheaper. Today, these pistols are collected and can be found in major museums, including the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Allegedly a Doune pistol fired the first shot of the American War of Independence.

Land east of Doune was owned by the Stirling of Kier family (who still own a lot of the land around Kier House, but sold the house itself), and the current owner of the Kier Estates is the politician, Archie Stirling. One member of the family, SAS founder David Stirling, is memorialised at a monument on the Kier land near Doune known as the "Hill o' Rou".

During the building of a nursery on the grassy pitch of Doune Primary School, the remains of a Roman settlement were unearthed and debate instantly arose over their nature. Eventually it was established that the most likely explanation was that it was a hospital camp.

Doune Speed Hillclimb is the most prestigious hillclimb course in Scotland, and hosts a round of the British Hill Climb Championship each year.

The town used to be served by Doune railway station.

[edit] Monty Python

A few scenes from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed at Doune Castle.

[edit] Location

Postally, Doune lies within Perthshire (this is reflected in the addresses, for example Earn Farm, Doune, Perthshire). However, administratively Doune is under the control of (and closer to) Stirling council.

Doune is assigned Falkirk post codes starting 'FK'.