Location: The Darn Road, Perthshire
Grade: Easy river and woodland walk
Distance: 4 miles/6.5km
Time: 2-3 hours
It is impossible to say how old the Darn Road is, but it linked the towns of Dunblane and Bridge of Allan for centuries before modern roads and railways made it redundant – and left it so that we can enjoy a superb walk. This route makes a loop to return from Bridge of Allan by a different path.
Initially the route runs past a golf course but then drops into a cutting between trees, becoming more stony. On the right is the Keir Estate, where the composer Chopin gave a piano recital in autumn 1848, shortly before his death from tuberculosis. The estate is referenced by Sir Walter Scott in The Lady of the Lake as ‘the lofty brow of ancient Keir’.
At a more open area a triple-armed signpost points ahead to Bridge of Allan, with the path mainly keeping close to the sparkling Allan Water. Before long you pass Stevenson’s Cave, said to have given the writer Robert Louis Stevenson the inspiration for Ben Gunn’s cave in his classic story Treasure Island.
The path cuts back to cross Cock’s Burn in a lovely little gorge, rich with ferns. There has been some landslip damage here and a little care is needed. The path then climbs steadily until it is some way above the river, passing paddocks where horses often graze. The old route then ends at a road, and a short downhill walk leads to the main road through Bridge of Allan. The onward route turns right here, but going left for a short distance would lead you to several coffee shops (a temptation I find it very hard to resist).
The return starts with an attractive walk through mixed woodland before you cross a bridge seemingly suspended high above the railway. This is a very busy line serving Glasgow and Edinburgh from Perth and beyond, as well as carrying commuter traffic and even if you don’t see a train you are likely to hear one rumbling along as you walk through the woods.
The path continues meandering gently downhill to reach the sturdy bridge across the Allan Water again, and from here it is simply a matter of retracing your steps back to Dunblane, perhaps reflecting on the traffic that this old route used to carry – horses and carts for sure as well as pedestrians of all kinds going about their daily business. Our business today is simple - just wholly enjoyable recreation - and we are lucky to have paths such as the Darn Road, with its character changing through the seasons, to enable us to do this.
Roger Smith
ROUTE PLANNER
Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 57 (Stirling & The Trossachs) or 1:25,000 Explorer sheet 366 (Stirling).
Distance: 4 miles/6.5km.
Time: 2-3 hours.
Start/Finish: Dunblane station (GR: NN780010).
Public transport: Regular trains from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Dunblane. Details from www.travelinescotland.com or www.scotrail.co.uk
Information: Stirling iCentre, 01786 475019 and www.dunblane.info
Route: Walk down Stirling Road and cross Allan Water. Turn R. Cross road at top and go L for about 50m to a signpost for the Darn Road. Follow track by golf course and then fenced between trees. At three-way signpost go straight on (for Bridge of Allan). Follow path, mostly close to the river, past Stevenson’s Cave and then across Cock’s Burn. Follow path out to road at Bridge of Allan. Turn R and R again at main road. Just past Lecropt Nursery, turn R and follow path after the last house. Continue to cross railway bridge and follow path through the woods. Cross Allan Water at triple signpost and follow outward route back to Dunblane.
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