Bridge of Allan
Bridge of Allan is situated less than three miles from the centre of Stirling. There is evidence that both the Romans and Robert Louis Stevenson stayed here with a walk along the Darn Road to Stevensons Cave.
It was originally a small rural village made up of cottages and mills. The wooded hill above the town is called mine woods where copper was mined as early as the 16th century and at intervals thereafter right up until 1807. The copper was used in the mint at Stirling to produce the first coinage of bawbees for the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots in 1543.
In the 18th Centruy two more shafts were created to drain spring water from the mine. This mineralised water soon attracted large numbers of people who came to "take the waters" due to its alleged healing powers, making it a famous Victorian Spa town. In 1820 samples of the water were analysed and shown to be rich in dissolved minerals. This eventually led to the development of the Spa.
Bridge of Allan has a number of lovely walks for you to explore.
