Gartmorn Dam Country Park - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Gartmorn Dam lies between Alloa and Coalsnaughton in rural Clackmannanshire. The area has a rich industrial past but today it is a haven for nature and wildlife. It forms part of the Alloa Waterworks system and is associated with Derby hydraulic engineer George Sorocold for the works he carried out after 1710 to increase the reservoir's holding capacity.

Clackmannan Tower is situated in the summit of a prominent ridge known as King's Seat Hill. The summit has been levelled, and probably at a later period, an area of about an acre has been enclosed as a garden by a wall which has now disappeared. The soaring five-storey structure is one of Scotland’s most impressive towers. It was originally built in the 14th century by King David II of Scotland. Shortly thereafter, the king sold Clackmannan Tower to his cousin Robert the Bruce in 1359.

Sauchie Tower was built between 1430 and 1440 by Sir James Schaw, who came from Greenock. The tower is built of pink sandstone ashlar blocks, pinned with oyster shells. Externally the tower is very plain but internally it is much more elaborate, with ornate fireplaces, window recesses with bench seating, smaller rooms for family privacy and domestic comfort. There are now four storeys but the ground floor was once split into two levels and there were probably attic chambers in the roof.

One of the largest and finest towers of its type in Scotland, it was home to the distinguished Erskine family, Earls of Mar, from the later 14th century until 1800. By 1693 a mansion, kitchen tower, brew house and other buildings had been added. In 1702 John, 6th Earl of Mar, began to convert the tower into an elegant modern house and created an ambitious and extensive planned landscape around his home.

The Black Devon is a river in Scotland. It rises in the Cleish Hills, specifically the area known as Outh Muir.It is a narrow and shallow river that holds wild brown trout, and also sees sea trout in winter months that come into the Firth of Forth, which is tidal as far as Stirling The river flows westwards through Balgonar, north of Saline, and then merges with the Saline Burn.

Alva Glen is a spectacular gorge situated above the village of Alva at the foot of the Ochil Hills. It is a gem of a walk, offering broadleaf woodlands, waterfalls, paths with dramatic drops, and wonderful history about the Woollen Industry. To the north of the gardens, the path runs into a more rugged area offering views down into a steep gorge, it then passes the remnants of an old dam that supplied the mills with water.