The Tower Trail

Tower Trail?  Yep......just follow the signs in Clackmannanshire and you'd be surprised what you might stumble upon.

Above you see Alloa Tower, located smack in the center of Alloa, Scotland.  This tower is what remains  of a 14th Century Manor House that once belonged to the Earls of Mar. It was built in 1368 by the Erskine Family to guard the River Forth Ferry.  Mary, Queen of Scots, sought haven here with her infant son James VI, and it was here that James was put in safekeeping as an infant with the Erskine Family.

The preservation of this tower is amazing, and the inside featured memorabilia and artwork from the Erskine family dating back to when the tower was originally built.

We were not permitted to take photos of the interior, but we were able to walk out onto the roof to admire the views from the top, which, as you can see, we took complete advantage of.

Can you spot Marty in that photo?

Walking around the tower offered some interesting views.

Here you can see part of the town of Alloa.

And here is a lovely view of the mountains in the distance marred by the Tesco roof.

So much for going back in time!  Actually, from the ground level, one would never realize that the tower is located in an industrial area.  It's only when you climb to the top that it becomes obvious that this quite the bustling town.

Before leaving the tower, I asked the volunteer about another tower, known as the Clackmannan Tower.  I had read that it was constructed even earlier than the Alloa Tower, in 1359, by one of Robert the Bruce's descendents.

The woman commented about how the interior was closed to the public, but that visitors were more than welcome to walk around and take in the magnificent views.

She told us to park near the town church and to walk through the field, passing through some gates, until we got to the tower. 

(Does this sound familiar?)

She then went on to say that we would be walking through a cattle field, but not to worry, because the cattle were used to people trudging through to view the tower.

Since we had to pass by the tower on the way to our destination for the weekend, we decided to check it out.

When we entered the small village of Clackmannan we were surprised by its charm and beauty.  It was quite the contrast to Alloa.

In the center of the square, stands the Old Tollbooth, the Mercat Cross, and a large boulder known as the Clach Mannan, or the stone of Mannan, a Celtic god, and it is thought to have been used in ancient religious festivals.

We parked the car and began the walk towards the tower which stands prominently on King's Seat Hill.

Soon we were passing through the gate, this time expecting cattle to be checking us over, but much to my surprise, I didn't see one live animal near the trail.

Walking around the grounds we were able to enjoy the magnificent view of the mountains in the distance.

On the way back to the car, we stopped for a quick pic of the Kirk.

And I couldn't pass on one more photo of the village.

We jumped in the car and began the hour + drive to our evening destination:  Biggar.

Here you can see the view from near where we are staying.

Tomorrow we plan to check out the village as well as New Lanark.

In the meantime, I couldn't resist ordering the Rob Roy dessert on the menu.

Vanilla ice cream layered with crushed shortbreads and smothered with warm Drambuie.

It was fabulous!