Day 23 Part 1: Loch Achray to Stirling University Campus, Stirlingshire

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

 27th January 2021 Part 1 of 2: 83.91km walked today taking the total to 2321.54/8854km. 7% of 188 entries submitting 1198.83km.

Part 1 of 2 continues through the Trossachs to Callander, walking through Doune and Dunblane to Stirling University on the outskirts of the city.

Route 6A: Kennacraig to Callander

Route 6B: Callander to Comrie

Following a winding track through trees we eventually head down to the south shore of Loch Achray. From here there is a view of Ben A’an (its name comes from Gaelic for’ the small, pointed peak’) which is the Trossachs famous ‘mountain in miniature’. It is not a Munro, but it is an extremely popular hill to climb, with fantastic views from the top.

After leaving the east end of Loch Achray the route follows the Black Water before crossing a bridge which leads to the village of Brig O’Turk. There is a famous 1930s wooden tearoom here which, as well as providing great food, was used in the 1959 remake of John Buchan’s classic ’The 39 Steps’. The route now takes us past Glen Finglas Visitor centre onto a path high above Loch Venachar. Glen Finglas is home to many iconic Scottish animals such as the red squirrel, red deer, and pine marten as well as iconic Scottish birds such as the osprey, golden eagle and black grouse.

On the way into Callander, we pass the Iron Age hill fort, Dunmore Fort and Samson’s Stone on Bochastle Hill. Samson’s Stone is a large boulder which is said to have been thrown here by one of the Fingalian giants in a competition to see who was the strongest. It is, in fact, a glacial erratic, a glacially deposited rock left on the top of the hill. We head across the bridge over the Eas Gobhain river before taking a path through Coilhallen Woods before crossing the A81 and heading into Callander.

Heading west along Callander Main Street we turn right at Tulipan Crescent before heading up a path which takes us to the upper crags. The path climbs steep stone steps before we reach the top of Callander Crags with views back over Callander. We pass the Jubilee Cairn, a memorial to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It was originally constructed in 1897 but, after collapsing, was restored in 1997 complete with its white quartz top. Carrying on north-eastwards we eventually hit a minor road where we turn left, soon reaching a junction where we turn right to cross a bridge where the Keltie Water forms a pool, called Scout Pool, and a waterfall. We then head back southwards along a track through moorland (with great views back north towards Stuc a’Chroin) before reaching a dense forest which we walk through until we reach the Bracklinn Falls. At the Bracklinn Falls there used to be a cast-iron bridge which was built in the 1870s for a visit by Queen Victoria. This was destroyed in 2004 by flooding but was replaced by an amazing wooden bridge in 2010.

The path then takes us back uphill before levelling off with good views across to Stirling before going downhill back into Callander. Once we reach the main A84 we turn east and walk along until we cross the Keltie Water before taking a left turn along a minor road which soon passes McQueen Gin, founded in 2015, which produces very different flavours of gin such as smokey chilli and chocolate orange.

Continuing along the road until we reach the A84 again we turn west until we reach a road which will take us across the River Teith which is a great river for fishing for salmon and trout. We follow a path along the River Teith eastwards, before reaching Deanston and Deanston Distillery. Deanston Distillery was formerly a cotton mill which opened in 1785. As the mill flourished the owners built a village to house its workers. It is also famous as it was the first industrial company which issued its own currency, called Deanstons, which could only be used in shops in the village. When the cotton industry declined, Deanston became a distillery in 1966. The village of Deanston was also the first village in Scotland to use gaslighting from 1913.

Leaving the distillery behind we continue alongside the River Teith, enjoying the view of Doune Castle as we cross the Bridge of Teith to approach the castle from along the riverside. The castle was built for Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany in the late 1300s, who ruled Scotland from 1388-1420. It became a royal hunting retreat during the reign of James I and was used as such for over a century. There were skirmishes during the time of Oliver Cromwell and was used as a garrison for Government troops at the time of the Jacobite Risings in 1689 and 1715. However, Bonnie Prince Charlie occupied the castle with his men during the final Uprisings in 1745. By 1800 the castle was roofless and remained so until the 14th Earl of Moray, George Stuart, began restoration work. It was leased to the State in 1984 and is cared for today by Historic Environment Scotland. It is the most complete of the medieval castles and has one of the best-preserved Great Halls. It’s a labyrinth of rooms, stairs and passageways which makes it quite magical. In ‘Outlander’ it features as ‘Castle Leoch’, the seat of the Clan MacKenzie and was also used in several scenes of ‘Monty Python & the Holy Grail’ (1975).

We leave the castle and head into the centre of the quaint village at the Mercat Cross. Doune was here many centuries before the castle was established. There are many burial mounds in the area and Roman remains located at the river near Doune Castle. After the castle’s arrival, Doune grew. It is the founding home of the Doune Pistol, which Thomas Caddell started making here in 1646. They command huge sums at auction today, as it was thought to be the gun to fire the first shot in the American War of Independence. The creator of Edinburgh Rock was also born here in 1798, Alexander Ferguson. After making his fortune he returned to Doune and bought the whole of Graham Street, where he grew up, earning it the nickname ‘Sweetie Lane’ for decades.

We follow the Doune Trail out of the village for a time and then meander through country lanes and across fields to Dunblane which is c.9 km away. As we walk, we pass a memorial to Colonel Sir David Stirling, founder of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in 1941. Sometimes referred to as the ‘SAS Memorial’ it has stood here since 2002 near David’s ancestral home. His ethos is still used as the SAS hallmark today. From this point, it is 5 kilometres to Dunblane Cathedral.

We walk along the River, passing the War Memorial to approach Dunblane Square by crossing a walk bridge over Allan Water. The Cathedral is one of Scotland’s oldest surviving churches, and what you see is the latest structure, Gothic in style, having been one of several since about the 7th Century. It is within the cathedral that the Memorial to the Dunblane Massacre of 1996 is located, remembering 16 primary children who died at the hands of a lone gunman, leaving 15 injured. It is, to this day, the deadliest mass shooting to take place in Britain. Andy Murray, a professional tennis player, was born and raised here and was at school that day, as was his brother Jamie when it happened; even knew the man who did it. Through this tragedy Andy threw himself into tennis and became world No 1, winning many tournaments. Despite this he has kept his Scottish roots, buying and running a luxury hotel in Dunblane, Cromlix House.

We walk around the square, the cathedral surrounded by old buildings, one of which is the Dunblane Museum. It is housed in a piece of history itself, the Dean’s House, which dates to the 17th century. It is run by Dunblane Museum Trust and concentrates on the history and artefacts of the Cathedral; those who are tracing their ancestry will also find records here. We take a detour from the Square for a moment to see Leighton’s Library on The Cross. Bishop Leighton served here from 1661-1670 and had an extensive library for that time; 1400 books. He died in Sussex in 1684 but left his library to the Dunblane diocese, along with funds to build a home for the books and was completed in 1687; the books came by horse and cart or sea to take up residence here. It is the oldest purpose-built library in Scotland and over the years they have added to the collection, now numbering c4,500.

We return to the Square to wander along the riverfront into Dunblane centre, one of the oldest settlements in Scotland. A Roman road passed through here to Perth, but it was the arrival of the monastery that birthed ‘Dunblane’. The Battle of Sheriffmuir took place 3 miles northeast of Dunblane in November 1715, the endpoint for the 1715 Jacobite Uprisings, seeing them defeated by the Government Army. Like many towns along a river, it used the water supply to power textile mills, which boomed here in the early 1800s. Dunblane grew as a resort, aided by the arrival of the railway in 1848, with the construction of Dunblane Hydropathic Hotel in 1878; the Dunblane Hydro today. It is a beautiful place to wander with its varying architecture and lovely river walks, which is where we pick up again to leave the town along the Darn Walk.

Darn Walk is an ancient Roman road and footpath that takes us across Dunblane New Golf Course, through woods and across streams on Allan Water, passing Ben Gunn’s Cave en route to Bridge of Allan. Ben Gunn’s Cave is thought to feature in Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic ‘Treasure Island’ as he was a frequent visitor to the area when he was young. In the novel, Ben Gunn used the cave to hide dried goat meat and mull over cheese!

We head into Bridge of Allan on the river and then head through Tree Park up to Wolfcrag and along the edge of Minewoods to avoid the busy main street. We head back down to the main road to make our way on to the Stirling University Campus. Located at the foot of the Ochil Hills, Stirling University was founded in 1967 and built within the walled Airthrey Castle Estate. The Estate dates to the 1100s and we join its history at a point when the lands were purchased by the Earl of Hopetoun between 1678-1706. It then passed through several families before the Graham family sold the estate to Stirling County Council in 1946. Stirling was the first new university in Scotland for over 400 years. We head up to Airthrey Loch to join the Henry Milne Walk which takes us around the whole loch to enjoy most of the Campus. ‘Outlander’ filmed on location in the Pathfoot University buildings. Following our visit here we walk into the city and deeper into Stirling’s history.