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 on 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 was 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 a 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 to drop 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 for me 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 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 managed to safely 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 had 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 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 to 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 I soon came to my senses when I realised it would clearly be 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 the effort worthwhile.

The Darn Road and Abbey Craig

Saturday 27th May 2017

Returning to Scotland, I had arrived in the city of Stirling early afternoon having travelled up during the morning, so with several hours to spare I took the opportunity to take a walk around wonderful Stirling. To start, I caught a train away from Stirling, just a few miles up the line, to Dunblane where I found a signposted path called the Darn Road, an ancient trackway that has been in use since Roman times and came highly recommended. In the days leading up to this holiday the weather had been very warm, but by the time I reached Stirling it was trying to rain and soon after I set off along the Darn Road the heavens really opened, which prompted me to don all my waterproofs. The Darn Road doesn’t start well as after a very brief passage through trees it passes along the edge of a golf course, which are not the most relaxing places to walk as you have to careful about stray balls. Eventually the path leaves the side of the golf course and begins to descend into the woodland beside Allan Water.

The scenery now improved dramatically as covering the woodland floor were bluebells, which are always a welcome sight even though these were well past their peak and going to seed. I had a little wander around this delightful wood, but didn’t stray too far from the Darn Road, which had started to descend steeply into Kippenrait Glen. I followed the road down, crossing the Wharry Burn and continued along the Darn Road as it follows the side of Allan Water. The path was lined with many different flowers, some of varieties that I am not familiar and some that I could identify like bird’s-foot-trefoil and stitchworts. This great abundance of flowers was something special for me and particularly as many of them are flowers that I don’t see abundantly in Leicestershire, which makes coming to Scotland that little bit more special. There are many paths that descend the steep bank to the river and despite the rain I took advantage of these several times to take a look up and down the tree-lined Water of Allan and enjoy the pleasant surroundings.

I enjoyed the wild look to the river and the Darn Road that follows it south, especially at the point where the path drops steeply into a narrow gorge to cross Cock’s Burn. There was a strong spell in this damp ravine of garlic from the ramsons, however these were also going to seed just as the bluebells had. Unfortunately the hot weather before this holiday had sent many of these spring flowers to seed, but the gorgeous, pungent smell of garlic still lingered. Eventually, and all too soon, this fabulous walk through lovely woodland came to an end as I emerged into the town of Bridge of Allan, and at about the same time the rain also finally stopped, but that had failed to dampen my enthusiasm for this great path. I was tempted to turn around and head back along the Darn Road to Dunblane, but instead I continued along the main road through the town and towards Stirling.

A prolonged walk along this road was lightened by the many colours of the rhododendron bushes that seemed to be everywhere. Often when I come to Scotland at the end of May rhododendron is only just coming into flower, but the recent warm weather had ensured that I now had a fabulous display, while ahead of me the National Wallace Monument stood patriotically at the top of Abbey Craig. When I was in Stirling four years ago I headed straight towards Abbey Craig as soon as I got there and now I couldn’t resist coming off the main road to once again explore the woodland that covers this prominent rock. Rather than heading straight up to the monument I came off the direct path and took a route through the northern slopes of the woodland following blue markers. Unfortunately the woodland seemed to be past its best, with the warm weather once again to blame, as there was now a dense covering of leaves blocking all light under the trees and putting a stop to the woodland flowers that are always so appealing in spring. Just as I had seen on the Darn Road earlier, the bluebells and ramsons had all gone to seed as their brief opportunity in the sun had ended.

Four years ago winter had kept a hold on Scotland well into the spring so that by the time I was in Stirling, at the end of May, the bluebells were at their peak producing a fabulous display in these woods. Instead, this year I had a rather dark and dreary walk through the woodland all the way to the eastern end before climbing once more along the top of the ridge towards the monument with steep drops down the cliffs to my left. Through the trees there were murky views towards Stirling with the castle standing on its rocky plinth, but the views in that direction were not great, however better views could be gained along the ridge at the overgrown crags that make up the rocky spine of Abbey Craig. Foxglove and broom intermingled with the short, exposed trees and provided some colour while under the trees it was all dark green. The walk continued up the ridge until eventually I reached the National Wallace Monument where a short, sharp descent brought me back onto the main road to continue my walk back into Stirling, stopping off at Stirling Bridge where Wallace had his famous victory over the English in 1297.

Four years ago when I was in Stirling I had got into the habit of walking around the city walls and exploring the steep wooded slopes below Stirling Castle. This had been the highlight of my time in Stirling and the main reason why I was happy to return to Stirling this year. Once more I went out after dinner to take in the awesome crags that hold up the castle rock and to walk along the great paths around this old part of Stirling. The weather on my short walk along the Darn Road may have been poor, but it held during the rest of my weekend in Stirling ensuring that I was able to enjoy another great time in the awesome and historic city of Stirling.