Dollar, Mill and Alva Glens

Sunday 28th May 2017

Four years ago when I had last been in Stirling, I did a walk in the Ochil Hills and I could think of nowhere better to go than to return to the wonderful, narrow glens that come off the Ochil Hills and had so delighted me. Catching a bus from Stirling I got off at Tillicoultry, the same place I’d started four years ago, but this time I headed south, away from the Ochil Hills until I joined the Devon Way along the course of the old Devon Valley Railway line. This was an easy and relaxing start to the walk as I slowly made my way along the partially shaded path with fleeting glimpses of sunshine that shone on the many colourful wild flowers that grew beside the path and by the River Devon. Rather than following the line all the way into Dollar I came off at a crossroad of paths where a sign directed the route of the Hillfoots Diamond Jubilee Way that was too intriguing to ignore. This took me north, over the road, and onto a tree-shaded track that was a lot more pleasing to walk along than the tarmacked old railway line. All too soon, however, this track enters the village of Dollar and becomes a road, which I followed with rhododendrons of all colours of both sides until I reached the Dollar Burn.

This was my first narrow glen of the day and one that I had not visited before, and it was a gorgeous place with a brilliantly made path that cunningly winds up the gorge not far from the rushing stream. It reminded me of the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail in the Yorkshire Dales where you need to pay to do the walk, but this one is completely free. This valley does not have waterfalls as at Ingleton and it’s not as long, but it was the ingenuity and well-crafted engineering of the path that brought about the reminder. The gorge was filled with many wild flowers especially wild garlic that was still in flower in these damp, dark valleys. I was enamoured by the amazing sight of this narrow glen that has been made accessible by the well-engineered path that slowly climbs through the gorge even diverting at one point to get a closer look at an awesome ravine with sheer moss-covered rock walls. Eventually I came out into the sunlight beside Castle Campbell where I took a short, sharp descent back down into the valley and steeply up the other side past bluebells to emerge out of the woodland and onto the open hillside of Bank Hill. A long, cold, windy and tiring climb now followed with the sun hiding behind dark clouds as I made my way up faint paths all the way up to the top of the prominent Ochil Hill of King’s Seat.

After passing the top I slowly turned towards the south and made my way gradually downhill until I eventually started dropping steeply into Mill Glen. Four years ago there had been a rock fall in this valley that had closed the path and prevented me from walking up it, but now the path has been repaired enabling me to pass through another narrow glen that was an absolute joy. This valley may not be as wooded as Dollar, and may not be as spectacular, but it was still a fabulous sight as I followed the heavily engineered path through the glen crossing the stream many times until I eventually came out on the edge of Tillicoultry. Since it was still far too early to end the walk at this point I turned right to once again follow the Hillfoots Way along a track decorated with rhododendrons until I reached the Ochil Hills Woodland Park where the pungent and gorgeous smell of wild garlic filled the air. By the time I came out of the woods the sun had come out revealing a lovely afternoon so that it was in hot sunshine that I climbed the wide track that zigzags just to the west of Silver Glen on the Gowls and turning left at a junction I headed into Alva Glen.

Four years ago I came down off the Ochil Hills after visiting the top of Ben Cleuch, the highest point, into Alva Glen, and this time I thought I’d try to drop down earlier than previously. Immediately after passing through a gate I headed steeply down the grassy slopes and safely managed to get down to and across the stream, though with hindsight I think this would have been easier if I had followed the fence all the way down. A short climb up the opposite bank brought me to a good path that heads south soon reaching a branch path that descends steeply down to the bottom of the valley that has already started to fall away dramatically. At the bottom is a spectacular cavern with a narrow opening at the far end where the stream passes through. This amphitheatre was an awe-inspiring place and the rock pool in the middle was a tempting place to bathe, however I resisted the temptation and climbed steeply back up to the main path that was already a long way above the valley bottom. The path improves where the return path heads off across the side of the hill while I headed down into the valley.

At the top of a long series of zigzags I had a great sight of the wooded valley stretching out before me leading out onto the Forth estuary plain. Fabulous wild flowers lined the path as it slowly descended into the valley eventually plunging into the trees at the bottom where moisture loving ferns now filled the view. I loved this glen when I was there four years ago and I was desperate to return; although it seemed to pale in comparison in some ways to the earlier glens on this walk, it was still an amazing place to walk even if the path at the bottom of the valley is nothing special. I had planned on returning through the Ochil Hills Woodland Park to Tillicoultry, but soon came to my senses as it was clearly a waste of time and effort when I could just drop down into the village of Alva and catch the bus from there. Although I did have some good sunshine for much of this walk, while on the tops it was rather cold and windy, which was similar to my experience four years ago and just as four years ago, it was the narrow glens that run off the Ochil Hills that were the highlight and primary goal of this walk through three fabulous valleys. The climb up to King’s Seat wore me out and left me tired all day, but those amazing glens made all the effort worthwhile.