Forthbank Wind Energy Development - Partnerships for Renewables

Forthbank Wind Energy Development
the former county town and a royal residence – the 14 th century Clackmannan Tower (though
only occasionally open to the public due to mining subsidence), Church and Tollbooth (a sheriff
“prison”) reflect this aspect of the area’s history, as well as the “Clack of Mannan” standing
stone, associated with an ancient pagan sea god.
15.4.15 Older parts of the area’s heritage are ancient tower houses such as Alloa Tower, a 14 th century
tower house, built by the Erskine family, Hereditary Keepers of Stirling Castle, and Sauchie
Tower, a 15 th century tower house. Castle Campbell overlooking Dollar and Menstrie Castle,
the 16 th Century home of Sir William Alexander, linking the area with Nova Scotia in Canada
are other examples of historic buildings. The area is also developing a more modern image,
with shopping and leisure facilities, and sculptures by Andy Scott attracting visitors from
outwith the area 26 .
15.4.16 The Ochil Hills are frequently visited by walkers, with views possible over much of central
Scotland from strenuous and more gentle hillside walks. The Ochil Hills Woodland Park in Alva
features attractive walks, an informative visitor centre and a children’s play area. Gartmorn
Dam is the oldest man-made reservoir still in use in Scotland, built in 1713 to use water power
to drive pumps in coal mines. The Dam is now centre to a 370 acre Local Nature Reserve,
SSSI and the winter home of migratory ducks. Pleasant walks, many wheelchair accessible,
and brown trout fishing can be enjoyed, and the visitor centre has exhibits of the local wildlife.
15.4.17 In the surrounding council areas, Stirling was named as a city in 2002, though its castle was
once the residence of Scottish Kings, and Stirling’s old town is a popular tourist destination, as
is its Victorian Prison. The Wallace Monument and related Bannockburn Visitor Centre, in
Stirling are memorials of the gaining of Scottish Independence and are also popular visitor
attractions. The busy commercial centre of Falkirk was once the northernmost frontier of the
Roman Empire, and around its outskirts the remains of Antonine’s Wall still stand, as does the
fifteenth century Blackness Castle, poised above the River Forth. Falkirk’s industrial heritage
is also shown in Bo’ness, where the Kinneil Steam Railway, the Forth & Clyde and Union
canals and Birkhill Clay Mine are found. A much more modern attraction, the Falkirk Wheel,
allows navigability across Scotland using the Forth & Clyde Canal and Union Canal, by
providing a boat lift across the 35m height difference between the two canals, replacing the
flight of 11 locks which had been demolished in 1933. This was constructed as a Millennium
project, along with a visitor centre, and opened in 2003. South of the proposed wind energy
development, Dunmore Park managed by the National Trust for Scotland, comprises a
mansion and walled gardens as well as the Dunmore Pineapple, a pineapple shaped folly–
“the most bizarre building in Scotland” 27 .
15.4.18 In 2008, the most visited attraction in the Forth Valley (and the Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond
and Forth Valley VisitScotland region) was the Falkirk Wheel Visitor Centre - a free attraction
with over 0.5m visits in 2008 28 . This is approximately 23km by road south from the application
area, on the western edge of Falkirk. Stirling Castle with over 375,000 visits in 2008 was the
next most popular tourist attraction, approximately 15km northwest of the application area by
road. Seven of the top 10 attractions in the Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond and Forth Valley
VisitScotland region in 2008 were in Falkirk and Stirling.
November 2010 Chapter 15 Page 13
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