More than 11,000 years ago, the Menteith Glacier dumped ridges and mounds of sand, gravel and clay as it melted here.
As a result of the retreating ice, the sea level rose, and about 9,600 years ago fell again, stranding a beach that was later smothered in the great Forth Valley peat bog.
Some 8,500 years ago, the sea returned in force. It almost cut the country in two, leaving only an 8 kilometer wide neck of land linking northern and southern Scotland. Buried seashells and the clay-rich 'Carse' deposits of the valley floor provide evidence of that time. As a testament to this marine phase, the complete skeleton of a whale was found near here.
Around 7,000 years ago, an underwater landslide off the Norwegian coast propelled a huge tidal wave or 'Tsunami' across the North Sea to Scotland. When it hit the Forth Valley, it was still 15 meters high. Fine sand within the strata of the remaining bogland marks the fall-out from this event.
The area was once an impassable bogland, inhabited only by wildfowl and a few outlaws. The blanket peat, which varied in thickness between 1m and 6m, was stripped off as part of a land improvement scheme instituted by local landowners such as Henry Home (Lord Kames) of Blair Drummond and Hugh Seton of Touch from the 1760s. Families were attracted to move here from the S Highlands, with the offer of land at much-reduced rents provided they clear the peat and expose the rich clay soil beneath. Tenants were provided with wood to build houses and food for a year.
The scheme came to an end in 1865 because the work had silted up the Forth at Stirling and effectively prevented access to the town by sea-going ships. However, more than 10,000 acres of fertile agricultural land had been created, stretching 8 miles (13 km) west from Stirling. The Carse has subsequently become associated with the cultivation of Timothy Hay, widely regarded as being the very best in Britain.
The largest area of peatland now remaining is at Flanders Moss, with isolated areas of at Blairdrummond Moss and Drip Moss.
This is a narrow single track road, so care is required. Please always find a safe place to park where you are not obstructing the road.
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