Over The Hill

Today’s walk linked together two 14th century tower houses, a 16th century belfry tower and Tolbooth and a 18th century dam which provided hydro power to drive mining machinery in the pre and early industrial revolution era.

Literally a few steps from the modern environment of a large Tesco supermarket and car park stands the 14th century Alloa Tower which was initially built to guard over a strategically important ferry crossing on the nearby River Forth, but later became the ancestral home of the Erskine family, whose links extend through Scottish history to Mary Queen of Scots and her son James VI. The tower is indeed quite impressive as you walk around it and continue on through the urban landscape of estate and rugby field before eventually moving through the low lying farmlands towards the area of Kings Seat Hill, at barely 60 metres high this hill constitutes the high point of the area and is the location of the second of the tower houses, Clackmannan Tower.

Clackmannan Tower, described on Canmore as a Medieval Castle, trumps Alloa Tower when it comes to name dropping, slightly older it was initially inhabited, probably as a hunting lodge, by King David II of Scotland, and then sold onto his cousin Robert Bruce. We sat around its base as we indulged ourselves in some lunch and the fine views this hilltop offered over the wetlands of the River Forth.

A short few hundred metres down the hillside from Clackmannan Tower we strolled through the quaint cottages and listed buildings leading down to the centre of Clackmannan village, where tower houses were exchanged for a fine belfry tower, all that now remains of the larger Clackmannan Tolbooth structure which housed the municipal courts of the Sheriff of Clackmannan who had petitioned Parliament for a courthouse to be built as he had previously had to use his own house as both court and on occasions, jailhouse The clock within the belfry was an addition, probably being added sometime in the early 19th century. Once through the village, we again followed good farm tracks, and short sections of minor roadways for a slightly lengthier walk to the eastern end of Gartmorn Dam, our fourth man-made structure of the day.

Gartmorn Dam takes us from medieval times to the beginnings of the industrial revolution. The dam was built in the early 18th century for the Earl of Mar the estate owner to supply a head of water to drive the hydraulic machinery used to drain water from his coalmines in the immediate area. The dam is still in use as a source of fresh water, and as such is believed to the oldest dam in Scotland still in use today.

A pleasant walk along the southern side of the Gartmorn Dam, with a short break as we reached the small café, which unfortunately was fully booked, so our break was taken under the cover of a few trees as the low cloud which had hung over us all day was now turning to a heavy drizzle. Our return to the urban car park was conducted mainly on forest paths, which thankfully provided the shelter needed to keep us relatively dry as the drizzle turned to heavier rain, which by the time we were driving home, was very heavy indeed.

A day of historic structures and woodland trails, very pleasant, thanks David.