Explore with Amie

Just outside of Stirling is the Ochill Hills, a smaller hill range in Scotland that is most famous for Dumyat, where University of Stirling students frequent. The Ochill Hills cover from Stirling up to Perth and also border Alloa and Kinross. They are therefore, extremely accessible for those in the highly populated central region of Scotland. This particular walk begins and ends in Tillicoultry which is easily accessible by bus from Stirling city centre. I previously shared a walk in the Ochills region that covered Colsnaur Hill and Dumyat which began with the 52 bus to Alloa. This walk requires the use of the same bus as it basically runs across the edge of the Ochill Hills, stopping at the towns that border it along the way. These towns are collectively known as the Hillfoot Villages because of their location.

From Tillicoultry, and the reason my friend suggested that we do this particularly route in the first place, the walk takes you through a lovely Glen. Tillicoultry, or Mill, Glen is an absolutely lovely place to begin this route as you’re walking alongside a river with waterfalls every couple of hundred metres. You criss cross the river over a number of times over the first kilometre and, whilst it is steep from the offset, it’s just a nice way to start. There is also an old abandoned quarry alongside the Glen which is pretty cool!

The main thing I can say about this walk is it is steep. Especially once you leave the Glen, you have another kilometre of vertical walking. It isn’t technically challenging at all so you don’t need to worry about that, in fact this is a very good walk for beginners as, other than one small rocky area, the terrain isn’t bad throughout. Whilst the height reached is not that great – Andrew Gannel Hill is the highest point of the walk at 670m – you start from sea level and reach over 600m within the first 3km of the walk. It is the quickness of the elevation gain that makes this route harder.We were extremely lucky with the weather on this day as I think everyone knows that Scotland’s weather is notoriously bad and changeable. The sun was shining and, whilst that made the uphill hike a little more difficult, it was glorious to be out!

You do get a reprieve from the inclines when you reach your first peak, The Law at 635 metres. There is a cairn here which offers protection from the wind. It is crazy in the Ochill Hills as, as I said, the weather was gorgeous but, the minute we reached The Law, we were absolutely battered by the wind. To be honest, I think every time I have been in this area, the wind has been crazy. I would say to always be prepared for that if you’re walking here, no matter what the forecast says.

From there, it is a more gradual walk up to Andrew Gannel Hill and then a steady downward walk back down to Tillicoultry. And with that, you have completed a nice 10km circle and can be back in Stirling for just after lunch time. We stopped in a cafe in Tillicoultry for a drink before heading back which was lovely! I’d highly recommend Laura’s Tilly Tearoom if you need refuelling at lunchtime.

I really enjoyed this walk! I wish my friend and I had done more walks together during our masters degree; it feels like such a missed opportunity! Hopefully we’ll be able to do some more walks together before we finish in September.

If you want to try this route for yourself, you can follow the step by step below or click the link here.

Start Point: Tillicoultry High Street Bus Stop

1. From the bus stop, head to the left down the Main Street – walking away from the ‘town centre’.
2. Turn right to follow Upper Mill Street alongside the river.
3. At the end of the road, there is a green area where you enter to Glen. Take the path straight ahead to the circular area of benches and then keep left to head alongside the river. The water should be on your left.
4. Continue to follow the path as it crosses the river back and forth.
5. Eventually, you cross the river and continue up onto the hills. There is a short rocky climb of a couple of steps and then follow the grassy steep ascent.
6. Follow the path. Eventually you should reach a cairn that marks The Law – a good spot to shelter from the wind whilst you have a break.
7. From the cairn, continue straight ahead with the boundary wall on your right.
8. Head to the top right hand corner and climb the stile.
9. Continue straight down this path. The peak ahead is Andrew Gannel Hill.
10. Follow the path straight passed the peak and continue as it bends towards the right.
11. Continue straight down this path, walking on the opposite side of the valley to the path you used to ascent.
12. The path eventually reaches a wooded area with gravel steps back down to a track.
13. When you reach the track, turn right and then left to follow Upper Mill Street back into the centre of the town.

End Point: Tillicoultry High Street

Have you walked in the Ochill Hills?

Amie x