Kippen is a village in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. It lies between the Gargunnock Hills and the Fintry Hills and overlooks the Carse of Forth to the north. The village is west of Stirling and north of Glasgow. It is south-east of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Scotland's first National Park. The village lies on the line of an eighteenth-century military road between Stirling and Balloch, although a bypass around the village was built in 1971 meaning Kippen no longer lies on the A811. According to the 2001 census, the population of Kippen was 1,140. History Earls of Menteith Kippen's church was first mentioned in public records in the 1300s, though by this time it had been used as the burial place for the Earls of Menteith for many generations. Kippen vine In 1891, Duncan Buchanan planted a vineyard in the village and one of its vines grew to be the largest in the world. The Kippen Vine covered an area of , spreading across four greenhouses. It became a famous tourist attraction, until the Kippen Vinery had to close in 1964. King of Kippen There is a story of questionable authenticity relating to the time of King James V of Scotland. John Buchanan was the proprietor of nearby Arnprior, and became known as the "King of Kippen" after an episode between himself and the king. King James was fond of travelling in disguise under the title of "The Guid Man o' Ballengeich", after the steep path leading down from the Castle of Stirling. The King, with his nobles, residing in Stirling Castle, sent a party for some deer to the hills in the neighbourhood of Gartmore. On their return to Stirling with the venison they passed through Arnprior, where they were attacked by the chief and relieved of their burden. Berated by the party for so ruthlessly taking from them what belonged to the King, Buchanan replied that if James was King in Scotland, he was King of Kippen. When the messengers reported the circumstance to the King, he resolved to wait on his neighbouring majesty of Kippen, and rode out one day with a small retinue from Stirling. Demanding admittance at the palace of Arnprior, he was refused by a fierce warrior standing at the gate with a battle-axe sloped on his shoulder, who told him there was no admission, as his chief was at dinner with