8 Outdoors- Other to Explore in Falkirk

One of the 22 lochs that make up Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, Loch Ard is believed to be the source of the River Forth which flows from its eastern end. Famous Scottish author and poet, Sir Walter Scott, name checked the loch in his 1817 novel Rob Roy describing it as ‘an enchanting sheet of water.’ On the loch’s southern shores lie the ruins of a castle built by nobleman Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany, executed by James I for treason in 1425.

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is a national park in Scotland centred on Loch Lomond and the hills and glens of the Trossachs, along with several other ranges of hills. It was the first of the two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament in 2002, the second being the Cairngorms National Park. The park extends to cover much of the western part of the southern highlands, lying to the north of the Glasgow conurbation, and contains many mountains and lochs.

Muiravonside is Falkirk’s only Country Park, providing 170 acres of stunning woodland and parkland, a mini demonstration farm, a sculpture trail, children’s play area and a café at the Visitor Hub courtyard. The park is free to access all year round and offers spectacular scenery accessible through a network of paths. The site is managed by Falkirk Community Trust.

Plean Country Park is over 70 hectares of publicly accessible woodland, wilderness and parkland, with a network of paths for walking, cycling or horse riding. There are toilets and a new play park. Open all year during daylight hours. There is a walled garden which was previously used by residents of Plean House to grow their own fruit and vegetables but is not open at present to the public.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland. The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well over 35,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its first wildlife reserve in 1966 and now has more than 120 reserves throughout Scotland with visitor centres at Loch of the Lowes , Montrose Basin, and the Falls of Clyde. As well as providing homes for wildlife these sites are valuable places for people to interact with and e

Seabegs Wood was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. At Seabegs, the outline of Antonine's Wall, has lasted. Archaeologists from previous generations recorded this and stated that the ditch was deep and waterlogged. There is an underpass under thForth and Clyde Canal nearby known locally as the Pend.

Tappoch Broch, better known as Torwood Broch, is an iron-age broch located in a remote spot in dense woodland near Falkirk, Scotland. Small-scale excavations have taken place near the site sporadically since. Recently, a conservation project run by Archaeology Scotland and grant aided by Forestry Commission Scotland cleared the site of scrub vegetation. The broch was then surveyed by laser scanning.

Watling Lodge is a long-buried Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall, a fortification of turf and wood built over 1,800 years ago to define the limits of the Roman empire. It ran across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, and was protected by 16 forts with small fortlets between them. Around 7,000 soldiers were stationed on the Antonine Wall from countries as far away as modern Syria, Spain and Algeria.