Menstrie Glen
Encyclopedia
Menstrie Glen
is the valley which separates Dumyat
from Myreton Hill
and the main body of the Ochil Hills
in Scotland
. Once farmed but no longer inhabited, it is now used for sheep pasture, a public water supply and recreation in the form of fishing and walking.
Bracken
is also abundant while broad-leaved trees grow in the deeply cut burnsides and in the vicinity of abandoned settlements.
The bed of the glen ranges in altitude from 228m, at the saddle at UK Grid reference NN819002, to about 20m where it emerges onto the flood plain in Menstrie
at NS849970.
Near its upper (west) end, the glen contains the Lossburn Reservoir
which holds drinking water and is used for recreational fishing. The reservoir accepts water from the north-western slopes of Dumyat and from the south-western slopes of Loss Hill. An earth embankment seemingly designed to divert compensation water around the north side of the reservoir has been breached so the Menstrie Burn relies for its flow mainly on the streams entering the watercourse below the dam.
Below the reservoir, the Loss Burn is joined by the Crunie Burn to form the Menstrie Burn. This, in turn, is augmented by the Third, Second and First Inchna Burns (in the order in which they join) and which drain the southwestern slopes of Colsnaur Hill
.
The Second Inchna Burn and part of the Menstrie Burn downstream lie along the boundary between Stirlingshire
(to the west) and Clackmannanshire
.
In medieval times, much of Menstrie Glen was Crown land and used mainly to pasture sheep.
The Campbells of Argyll
had come into possession of the land east of the Menstrie Burn by the early 14th century and, up to at least 1530, the lands of Jerah were controlled by the Cistercians of Culross
.
In the 18th century ownership of the glen passed to local lairds. Farmsteads, of which there were then more than a dozen, were operated by the lairds' tenants.
In the mid-18th Century James Wright, laird of Loss, owned about half of the glen. He left voluminous notes and paperwork describing his practices and improvements.
In the early 19th century arable farming and pasture were still carried on at the remaining farmsteads of Ashentrool, Loss and Jerah.
The remnant of Loss farmstead is described in detail by The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).
RCAMHS have also published a description and aerial photographs of the remains of Ashentrool, also known as Loss Hill.
Jerah, at NS838991 near the top of the glen and once accessible by road from the Sheriffmuir
(western) side, was finally abandoned in the 1960s and fell into ruin. The glen is now uninhabited.
, give access to routes to the summits of Dumyat
and Myreton Hill
.
A gated farm track leads from Menstrie around the eastern and northern flanks of the glen to the ruin of Red Brae (NS842992), near Jerah.
Another gated farm track goes from the Sherrifmuir Road (at NS819994) past the Lossburn Reservoir, around the southern and western flanks of Menstrie Glen, finally descending past Dumyat Farm (once named Foreside of Lipney) to Cotkerse, a kilometre west of Menstrie at NS834968.
In October 2008, Menstrie Community Council announced a proposal to make access to the glen easier and to install visitor attractions.
Glen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long, deep, and often glacially U-shaped; or one with a watercourse running through such a valley. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower than a strath."...
is the valley which separates Dumyat
Dumyat
Dumyat is a hill at the western extremity of the Ochil Hills in central Scotland. The name is thought to originate from Dun of the Maeatae....
from Myreton Hill
Myreton Hill
Myreton Hill is the hill immediately behind the village of Menstrie in the Ochil Hills of Scotland. See the for location.The track up the scarp face of Myreton Hill leads to some calcite workings which date from the Napoleonic Wars...
and the main body of the Ochil Hills
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Once farmed but no longer inhabited, it is now used for sheep pasture, a public water supply and recreation in the form of fishing and walking.
Vegetation and topography
Much of the area of the glen is rough pasture where sheep graze.Bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
is also abundant while broad-leaved trees grow in the deeply cut burnsides and in the vicinity of abandoned settlements.
The bed of the glen ranges in altitude from 228m, at the saddle at UK Grid reference NN819002, to about 20m where it emerges onto the flood plain in Menstrie
Menstrie
Menstrie is a village in the county of Clackmannanshire in Scotland, UK. It is about 5 miles east-north-east of Stirling...
at NS849970.
Near its upper (west) end, the glen contains the Lossburn Reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
which holds drinking water and is used for recreational fishing. The reservoir accepts water from the north-western slopes of Dumyat and from the south-western slopes of Loss Hill. An earth embankment seemingly designed to divert compensation water around the north side of the reservoir has been breached so the Menstrie Burn relies for its flow mainly on the streams entering the watercourse below the dam.
Below the reservoir, the Loss Burn is joined by the Crunie Burn to form the Menstrie Burn. This, in turn, is augmented by the Third, Second and First Inchna Burns (in the order in which they join) and which drain the southwestern slopes of Colsnaur Hill
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90...
.
The Second Inchna Burn and part of the Menstrie Burn downstream lie along the boundary between Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
(to the west) and Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
.
History
The history of settlement and land-use from 1450 to the mid-20th century has been published.In medieval times, much of Menstrie Glen was Crown land and used mainly to pasture sheep.
The Campbells of Argyll
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
had come into possession of the land east of the Menstrie Burn by the early 14th century and, up to at least 1530, the lands of Jerah were controlled by the Cistercians of Culross
Culross
The town of Culross, pronounced "Coo-ros", is a former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland.According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395...
.
In the 18th century ownership of the glen passed to local lairds. Farmsteads, of which there were then more than a dozen, were operated by the lairds' tenants.
In the mid-18th Century James Wright, laird of Loss, owned about half of the glen. He left voluminous notes and paperwork describing his practices and improvements.
In the early 19th century arable farming and pasture were still carried on at the remaining farmsteads of Ashentrool, Loss and Jerah.
The remnant of Loss farmstead is described in detail by The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).
RCAMHS have also published a description and aerial photographs of the remains of Ashentrool, also known as Loss Hill.
Jerah, at NS838991 near the top of the glen and once accessible by road from the Sheriffmuir
Sheriffmuir
Sheriffmuir , the site of the inconclusive 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir , lies on the slopes of the Ochil Hills just inside the Perthshire border in Scotland...
(western) side, was finally abandoned in the 1960s and fell into ruin. The glen is now uninhabited.
Access
The lower (southern) parts of the glen, reached by footpaths from MenstrieMenstrie
Menstrie is a village in the county of Clackmannanshire in Scotland, UK. It is about 5 miles east-north-east of Stirling...
, give access to routes to the summits of Dumyat
Dumyat
Dumyat is a hill at the western extremity of the Ochil Hills in central Scotland. The name is thought to originate from Dun of the Maeatae....
and Myreton Hill
Myreton Hill
Myreton Hill is the hill immediately behind the village of Menstrie in the Ochil Hills of Scotland. See the for location.The track up the scarp face of Myreton Hill leads to some calcite workings which date from the Napoleonic Wars...
.
A gated farm track leads from Menstrie around the eastern and northern flanks of the glen to the ruin of Red Brae (NS842992), near Jerah.
Another gated farm track goes from the Sherrifmuir Road (at NS819994) past the Lossburn Reservoir, around the southern and western flanks of Menstrie Glen, finally descending past Dumyat Farm (once named Foreside of Lipney) to Cotkerse, a kilometre west of Menstrie at NS834968.
In October 2008, Menstrie Community Council announced a proposal to make access to the glen easier and to install visitor attractions.