20 Attractions to Explore Near Black Devon

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.

Gartmorn Dam Country Park covers an area of 370 acres and offers visitors a peaceful retreat to enjoy walking, cycling, horse riding, fishing or simply have a picnic. There are fine views over Clackmannanshire and the Firth of Forth, and you can watch for red squirrels scampering among the branches. There are 3 miles of gravel and earthy paths in the forest, with some short uneven sections and short moderate slopes.

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.

Tulliallan Castle is a large house in Kincardine, Fife, Scotland. It is the second structure to have the name, and is a mixture of Gothic and Italian style architecture set amid some 90 acres of parkland just north of where the Kincardine Bridge spans the Firth of Forth. It has been the home of the Scottish Police College since 1954. On 1 April 2013, Tulliallan Castle became the headquarters of Police Scotland, but in 2014 the service's headquarters temporarily relocated to nearby Stirling in th

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.

Dollar Glen is a small glen owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is located in the Ochils that dramatically mark the Highland fault. It is near the town of Dollar, Scotland in the county of Clackmannanshire. It is popular with walkers and visitors, featuring on many routes in the area.

Castle Campbell is a medieval castle situated above the town of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, in central Scotland. It was the lowland seat of the earls and dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell, from the 15th to the 19th century, and was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century. Mary was impressed by this and said "this reminds me of home". The castle is now managed by Historic Scotland, and admission tickets can be purchased from their website.

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.

Devilla Forest is a Forestry and Land Scotland commercial site to the north and east of Kincardine. There are many tracks and paths in the forest offering numerous possibilities for walking. A few route suggestions are given here but there are numerous other possibilities. Some of the routes are on unsurfaced trodden paths which can be very muddy at times. If this doesn’t appeal, just stick to the surfaced vehicle tracks and the boardwalk of the red squirrel way.

The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine, Fife, Scotland. The bridge was constructed with a swinging central section which remained in use until 1988, that would allow larger ships to sail upstream to the small port at Alloa.

Alloa Inch is an island in the tidal reaches of the River Forth near Alloa, just before the river opens out into the Firth of Forth. There is a derelict farmhouse on the island, as the land was farmed in the past. Due to subsidence caused by nearby coal mining, flood defences were breached. The land now consists of reed beds and salt marshes. The Scottish Wildlife Trust has managed the island as a reserve since 1996. The smaller islet of Tullibody Inch lies just upstream.

An elaborate and beautiful summer house built in the shape of a pineapple in the eighteenth-century by Lord Dunmore. The Pineapple presides over an immense walled garden, which was open to visitors, while at the back is a private garden for those staying.

Ben Cleuch is the highest of the rolling Ochil Hills which lie to the NE of Stirling. . It is the highest point in the range, Clackmannanshire and the Central Belt of Scotland; the summit is marked by a trig point within a stone windshelter and a viewpoint indicator.

Culross Palace is a late 16th - early 17th century merchant's house in Culross, Fife, Scotland. The palace is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland who have restored a model seventeenth-century garden, complete with raised beds, a covered walkway and crushed shell paths. The herbs, vegetables and fruit trees planted in the garden are types that were used in the early seventeenth century.

Cambus Pools is a wetland reserve with reedbeds, grassland and open water attracting waders, warblers and wildfowl. The pools are on riverside flats and are a prime example of space for nature squeezed in between commerce and industry. This makes it particularly special for local wildlife-lovers and Trust members.

Myreton Hill is the hill immediately behind the village of Menstrie in the Ochil Hills of Scotland. The hill is an outlier in the southern part of the Ochil Hills. It is not quite as high as its neighbour Dumyat, from which it is separated by the deep Menstrie Glen, but Dumyat is a more popular walking destination. It was one of the iconic attraction in this area and also a good trekking destination.

Glenquey is a hidden gem of a fishery located high in the Ochils above Glendevon, providing fly only fishing for brown trout. The location is stunning, the reservoir being formed at the head of the glen, overlooked by the rounded ridges of the main Ochils ridge and to the north by maturing broadleaved woods planted by the Woodland Trust. it is now operated by Scottish Water for the supply of drinking-water to West Fife and covers an area of 15.4 ha.

Menstrie Castle is a three-storey manor house in the town of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, near Stirling, central Scotland. From the early 17th century, it was home to Sir William Alexander. The castle was restored in the 20th century, won a Civic Trust award, and now incorporates holiday accommodation, private flats, and a museum and cafe run by the National Trust for Scotland.

Menstrie Glen is the glen which separates Dumyat from Myreton Hill and the main body of the Ochil Hills in Scotland. Once farmed but no longer inhabited, it is now used for sheep pasture, a public water supply and recreation in the form of fishing and walking. A plan is under consideration for commercial forestry on the eastern and northern flanks of the Glen.