Walk: Doune by the riverside

Stirling | Doune | Short walk | ★★★

[River Teith near Doune]

It's only a few hundred metres from the quiet streets of Doune village to its popular castle, along quiet residential streets with a short footpath completing the job. After getting your Outlander fill from within the stone walls, why not head back by a slightly longer route? A picturesque ramble along the River Teith forms a less direct way back to the village, giving a chance to escape the summer crowds. The first leg loops around a small water treatment centre (but "Doune by the sewage works" wasn't such a catchy name for the walk) before following the water course through fields, woodland and the occasional muddy patch, with several good views back to the castle. With an extra 30-minute (round trip) walk along pavements, you could easily add in Deanston Distillery to make more of a day of it.

[View back towards Doune Castle from the riverside path]

📌 Walk: Doune by the riverside ★★★
Start / finish at car park on Castlehill Court, Doune village centre, G.R.: NN 728015 ///shadows.depth.riverside

▶ 3 km / 2 mi | ▲ 20 m | ⌚ Short | ⬤ Easy
Features: Doune; Doune Castle; Ardoch Burn; River Teith
Terrain: Mix of wide and narrow paths (muddy in places), tracks, minor roads and village pavements.

Route & map

Car park - Doune Castle - confluence of Ardoch Burn & River Teith - follow River Teith upstream to A84 - Doune village - start

Route credit: Walkhighlands

On our visit

Wildlife: Dipper on the Ardoch Burn; dogs being taken for a walk.
Weather: About 7°C and sunny; moderate breeze with the river full of snowmelt.

Also on this walk

>> Doune ★★
>> Doune Castle ★★★★

Chronological photo guide

[Woodland path between Doune village and castle]

[Doune Castle (27/4/15)]

[Snowdrops by the Ardoch Burn]

[Otter sculpture]

[Woodland tunnel]

[Confluence of the Ardoch Burn (left) & River Teith]

[River Teith]

[Distant castle]

[Riverside path]

[Riverside path]

[Paths are a little muddy in places]

[River Teith in full flow]

[View back towards Doune Castle from the riverside path]

[Riverside path]

[Snowdrops]

[George Street, Doune]

[Doune village centre]

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk: Livingston's jaw-dropping waterfall

Image
West Lothian | Livingston | Short walk | ★★★
❗ Route currently impassable - see red text below

What springs to mind when someone mentions Livingston, West Lothian? Sprawling road junctions, retail parks, 1960s architecture... how about a splendid waterfall? Under a mile from the town's southernmost suburbs, the Camilty Water drops into a short but beautiful gorge sharply at odds with the gentleness of the surrounding farmland. Two substantial waterfalls and several smaller ones tumble into the depths; the largest is actually fed by a crumbling mill lade (the mill no longer exists) but this isn't obvious from below. Parking is limited, but the walk from the nearest road begins promisingly. The last few hundred metres of the route are however a bit sketchy: stepping stones across a side burn, and a very slippery slope to reach the best viewpoint - more details below.

Important

The house and gardens alongside the path are someone’s home, and although we have a so-called "right…
Read more

Campsie Glen

Image
East Dunbartonshire | Clachan of Campsie | Waterfalls | ★★★★

In bygone years a path used to snake up the narrow gorge north of Clachan of Campsie. Rockfalls and warning signs now block the middle section, but short linear walks into the gorge from each end are still well worth it. A quick stroll from the bottom car park leads to the lower section of rapids. The upper car park on Crow Road is reached by a steep, 300 metre walk or a winding, 3 mile drive. Heading downhill from here (instead of uphill towards Cort-ma Law) accesses the middle of three more waterfalls. All are worth a visit following wet weather if you don't mind a bit of scrambling, but the bottom one of these 3 deserves special praise - as you can walk behind it!


📌 Campsie Glen Lower Falls ★★
On the Kirk Burn immediately north of Clachan of Campsie, G.R.: NS 610798 ///exploring.pirates.clipped
Always open | Free

Anything else? From the large car park at G.R.: NS 611796 ///quaking.spider.dislikes it's a 5-min walk …
Read more

Walk: Alva Glen - Smuggler's Cave delivers the goods

Image
Clackmannanshire | Ochil Hills | Short walk | ★★★★

The southern wall of the Ochil Hills is riven by a series of exciting rocky gorges, in stark contrast to the neighbouring plains of the Forth valley. Alva Glen is as dramatic and scenic as its counterparts, filled with a series of at least five waterfalls in its forested lower reaches. Small reservoirs and dams are testament to the Hillfoots Villages' once thriving textile industry; at one point the path also lies on top of the pipe which used to supply Alva with water. Smuggler's Cave is the glen's other unique feature: a yawning chasm of bare rock with a hidden waterfall at the top of it as the burn squeezes into the upper cavern. If you're as sure-footed as the sheep wandering the hillsides then you can get right down to the cave, and also return to the start on Pate's Road: a narrow trod high above the gorge. There's a lot of steep and dangerous ground around here, so it's probably inadvisable to ventur…
Read more