Gowan Hill, Stirling

Wallace Monument and Ochils from Gowan Hill

Gowan Hill is one of those places that is a hidden overlook, sitting just a kilometre north of Stirling's city centre. It provides the most wonderful panoramic views of the Forth Valley, the Southern Highlands, the Ochils and the Wallace Monument. When working it was my favourite haunt if I had half an hour over lunch to escape from meetings and communications overload. There are paths from the City Centre and Castle via Lower Bridge Street and Crofthead Road respectively that climb through the wild parkland to Gowan Hill. It is surprisingly unvisited and on most days you get a viewpoint to yourself. It would appear from the litter around the benches that the area is used for drinking sessions in the evening.

I had a meeting in Stirling and left my car to have some tyres fitted at the Back O' Hill Road. I climbed Gowan Hill by a long steep ramp of stone steps across from the large Sainsbury Store. It was a perfect Autumn day and with fifteen minutes to spare I visited the Beheading Stone where King James 1 disposed of his enemies. There are two cannons directed towards the Wallace Monument. As expected there was no one else on Gowan Hill.

The visibility was excellent. The views of Ben Vorlich and Stuc a' Chroin were quite stunning in the morning light and made me wish I had gone climbing instead. Then I began to examine the urban topography of Raploch and its surroundings. I recalled the gestation of all the developments that have taken place over the past twenty five years. Sainsburys, the new Community Campus, Castle Business Park, the Park and Ride facility, the new Back O' Hill road, and several new housing schemes have transformed the area between the Hill and the River Forth. It was a trip down memory lane because they all have complex back stories that was a large part of my working life. Several of the businesses that had taken premises in the business park and now seem to be well established were also the outcome of tricky negotiations.

Beheading Stone

Raploch and Cornton

Raploch

Wallace Monument and Dumyat Hill

Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorlich and Braes of Doune Wind Farm