Walking
& Cycling
Excellent hiking and walking paths can be found around
The Ochil Hills and Campsie Fells. Enjoy the extensive
network of cycleways in Clackmannanshire.
Golf
There are numerous courses to challenge the golfer. Try
a put overlooking Stirling Castle, or drive down the fairways
in the shadow of the Ochils.
Shopping
Treat yourself or take home a souvenir from one of the
modern shopping centres in Falkirk and Stirling,
or grab a designer bargain at Tillicoultry. Simply browse
in the many country stores found in other towns and villages.
Arts & Crafts
Visit local galleries or craft shops or take in a theatrical
occasion at the MacRobert, the regional arts centre situated
on Stirling University Campus.
Indoor
Sports
A variety of different activities await the visitor. Why
not take a dip at one of the swimming pools at Alloa,
Falkirk, Grangemouth or Stirling.
Stirling, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire & the Campsies Overlooking Castle Campbell
Clackmannanshire was at the forefront
of the thriving textile industry of the last century. The area
also boasts a more ancient history, evident in stout tower houses
and a magnificently sited castle.
The waters cascading down the steep slopes of the Ochils
powered a host of mills that employed the majority of the
population. Later the rich coalfields were exploited to feed
new, steam-powered machinery and production expanded to nearby
Alloa.
Ochil Hills
Woollen Traditions
The Mill Trail Visitor Centre in Alva introduces
tells the story of Clackmannanshire’s woollen making traditions
through the ages. In a fascinating audio-visual film, 12 year old
Mary Simpson tells of her typical 14- hour working day in the local
mills.
Here you can also acquire a variety of
local crafts produced by the Ochil Craft Association, as well as
D&M Fashions offering ladies designerwear at superb bargain
prices.
There are also other local mill shops selling traditional Scottish
knitwear, including some genuine quality bargains. Another “must
visit” destination on the itinerary of any shoppers has to
be Sterling Mills, a discount retail outlet in Tillicoultry.
The Hillfoots
The ‘Hillfoot’ villages are a series of small communities,
each with their own identity, set – as their name suggests
- at the foot of the Ochil Hills. Colourful names for equally colourful
towns, resplendent in floral displays in summer - Blairlogie, Menstrie,
Alva, Tillicoultry, Dollar and Muckhart. The Ochils loom large overhead
- a hillwalker’s paradise - overlooking the flat plains of
the Forth Valley and affording splendid views across much of Central
Scotland. The very active can attempt the arduous ‘round of
the nine’ (peaks over 2,000 feet), but most are content with
the winding paths leading through steep-sided glens to cascading
waterfalls.
Alloa Tower at night
Clackmannanshire may be a small county but it boasts big buildings, from Alloa Tower, one of the finest of its kind in Scotland to Castle Campbell, known as the ‘Castle of Gloom’ – there is much to discover on the Clackmannanshire Tower Trail.
Menstrie Castle was the 16th century home of Sir William Alexander,
who was chief founder of the colony of Nova Scotia in Canada,
advising King James VI to create the Order of Baronets of Nova
Scotia as a money-making scheme.
Today the castle has a commemoration room to the Baronets of
Nova Scotia. Castle Campbell, in a dramatic hillside setting
overlooking Dollar, was the 15th century home of the Earls of
Argyll.
The castle is reached through Dollar Glen,
a beautiful, wooded walkway through a steep-sided gorge. The history
of Dollar village and the Devon Valley Railway is revealed through
the fascinating displays at Dollar Museum. The Ochil Hills Woodland
Park in Alva features attractive walks, an informative visitor centre
and a children’s play area.
The County
Towns
The main town of Alloa, on the banks of the Forth, is famous
for its major breweries, the wares of which can be enjoyed throughout
the country.
Alloa Tower is a traditional 14th century tower house, built
by the Erskine family, Hereditary Keepers of Stirling Castle.
The Tower has been painstakingly restored and is now open to
the public. More modern pursuits can be enjoyed at the town’s
Leisure Bowl, with squash courts, snooker tables, carpet bowls
and a modern leisure pool.
Gartmorn Dam, Alloa
Neighbouring Clackmannan, the former county
town, was once a royal residence dating back to the 12th century,
when Malcolm IV lived where the remains of Clackmannan Tower now stand.
Clackmannan Church, built in the year of Waterloo, stands on a hill
and is spectacularly floodlit at night.
Clackmannan Tolbooth was built in the late 16th century as William
Menteith, the local sheriff, was no longer inclined to hold prisoners
in his own home. The belfry tower is all that remains of the Tolbooth,
next to the ancient standing stone or “Clack” of Mannan,
associated with a pre-Christian sea-god. Sauchie Tower, now much ruined,
was once the grand home of the Schaws of Sauchie.
Close by is Gartmorn Dam, the oldest man-made reservoir still in use
in Scotland. Built in 1713 by the Earl of Mar in an ambitious scheme
to use water power to drive pumps in his coal mines, the Dam is now
a Local Nature Reserve and the winter home of thousands of migratory
ducks. Pleasant walks, talks and brown trout fishing can be enjoyed,
and the visitor centre has many exhibits of the local wildlife.
