STIELIXGSHIEE— CLACKMANNAN. 329 



Stirlingshire lies along tlie south of the Forth, whicli is bordered from 

 its estuary up to Flanders Moss by a tract of alluvial land, fonnerly subject to be 

 flooded. The upper portion of the county is shut in between Loch Lomond and the 

 Upper Forth. It forms part of the Highlands, and rises in Ben Lomond to a 

 height of 3,192 feet. The centre of the Lowland portion is traversed by ridges of 

 igneous rock forming the Lennox Hills and Campsie Fells (1,894 feet). On the 

 north these hills are bounded by a strip of old red sandstone, whilst on the south 

 they border upon carboniferous limestone and coal measures. 



Falkirli, the principal town in the eastern part of the county, lies on the 

 margin of the alluvial plain, not far from the Carron. It is the centre of a rich 

 agricultural district, with important cattle fairs, and its vicinity is lit up at night 

 by the fires of numerous iron works, most important amongst which are the 

 Carron "Works, 2 miles to the north. Falkirk was formerly of great strategical 

 importance, for through it led the highway which armies desirous of passing 

 round the head of the Firth of Forth were obliged to follow. Numerous battles 

 have been fought in its vicinity. In 1258 Edward I. inflicted a defeat upon the 

 Scotch ; in 1746 the Pretender routed the English army. Gmngemouih, at the 

 mouth of the Carron and of the Forth and Clyde Canal, though only founded in 

 1777, has become a place of considerable commerce. It is an eastern outport of 

 Glasgow. Higher up on the Carron are JTinnaird, the birthplace of Bruce, the 

 traveller, and Denny, a small manufacturing town. Crossing the water-parting, we 

 enter the basin of Kelvin Water, a tributary of the Clyde. Near its northern 

 bank, and in the vicinity of Graham's Dyke, or Antoninus's Wall, are the small 

 towns of Kihyth, Lennoxtown, and Milngavie, which have bleaching grounds and 

 print works, and lie within the manufacturing district of which Glasgow is the 

 centre. 



Stirling, the county town, occupies a site admirably adapted for the defence 

 of the passage of the Forth, whose valley is here confined between two steep 

 rocks. Stirling Castle, which still commands the town, is associated with many 

 events in the history of Scotland. A colossal statue of Robert the Bruce has been 

 raised within its precincts, whilst the rock on the opposite side of the valley is 

 crowned with a tower commemorating the first victory secured by Wallace in 

 1297. The view from the battlements of the castle is unsurpassed for beauty in 

 Scotland, and extends from the summits of the Grampians along the Links of the 

 Forth to the head of its Firth. Several of the old mansions in the town remind 

 us of similar buildings in Rouen, and prove the prevalence of French taste 

 during the sixteenth century. South of Stirling are St. JSlnian's, inhabited by 

 nail-makers, and Bannochhurn, which manufactures tartans. It w^as near these 

 villages that Robert the Bruce defeated the English in 1314. Bridge of Allan, 

 2 miles to the north of Stirling, is much frequented for the sake of its mineral 

 springs and its delightful neighbourhood. Kijypen, a village on the Forth, 

 11 miles above Stirling, is noted for its whiskey. 



The small county of Clackmamnan stretches from the Ochill Hills (Ben 

 Cleuch, 2,352 feet) to the alluvial plain bordering upon the Firth of Forth, and 



