Alva Glen Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Alva Glen is located above the town of Alva. A steep sided and heavily wooded gorge at the foot of the Ochil Hills, it provides a scenic route up onto the hills. A fantastic view across the Forth Valley can be seen from the upper glen.
Access to Alva Glen is signposted from the main road. Head for N56º 09.424’ W03º 47.835’ but don’t park exactly there because I was sat on a picnic bench at the time I took the waypoint! The car park gives access to the old formal gardens which in years gone by attracted people from all over central Scotland to dance to music in the illuminated glen.
There is evidence of prehistoric activity as well as Pictish and Roman remains in the area. There are links with St Serf (St Servanus) whose Chapel and Well are local sites. There has been a place of Christian worship in Alva since the 12th Century and this has fuelled the local people’s belief that the Glen is a spiritual place.
In an age when rapidly flowing water was a valuable resource, it was inevitable that ways would be found of harnessing the power of the burn. In Alva's case it happened early, and a settlement with a church was already established here by 1260 when control of the local estates was granted to Cambuskenneth Abbey near Stirling.
In medieval times, Alva formed part of the main route between the Royal Palaces at Stirling and Fife. The community at this time was agricultural and they terraced the upper slopes of the Glen for vegetable growing.
The 1700s saw Alva expand considerably. In the early years of the century silver was found in Alva Glen and a mine was opened by Sir John Erskine to exploit it, using miners from Leadhills (the scene of the excellent “theres gold in them hills” cache)
The silver ore that emerged was the purest ever found anywhere in Great Britain and made Erskine's fortune before the vein of ore ran out. At its height, in the years around 1710, silver to the value of £4,000 per week was emerging from the mine. That was a vast amount of money at the time.
Some of the money was invested in developing the Devon colliery, to the south of Alva, which started production in the mid 1700s. Erskine also built a short canal to link his colliery to the River Devon. The colliery later produced ironstone as well as coal, and a local ironworks had been established by the end of the 1700s.
The first of Alva's modern woollen mills was established in 1798 on the banks of the Alva Burn, and other mills rapidly followed. Alva remained mainly agricultural until the 1820’s when the local landowner, James Johnstone, keen to help develop the wool industry, opened up Alva Glen as a source of water power. He blasted away rock faces and constructed a dam from which the water was conveyed to the mills along wooden troughs. He cut a footpath through the rock creating the Glen, which has remained largely unchanged to the present day. The largest of Alva's mills, the Strude Mill, began work in 1825.
Local historians estimate that the population of Alva rose from 900 to over 3000, from 1830 to 1860. By the 1870s, the Hillfoot villages used the combination of hills for sheep grazing, steep burns for water power and the proximity of a huge market in the central belt to create a very early concentration of industrial revolution activity.
The textile industry in Alva diminished dramatically in the second half of the 1900s. The magnificent Strude Mill was always the most impressive of the town’s mills, and it remained in use as part of a larger complex until 1976. It was converted into flats in 1987 and still dominates many views of the town.
Alva Glen is now fenced all round to keep sheep out. This lets young trees grow again. With no sheep to eat them wild flowers can also flourish, meaning more food and shelter for insects.
The glen is an important natural environment with a long social and industrial heritage. Alva Glen Heritage Trust, a charity run entirely by volunteers aims to regenerate and improve the glen's environment through community involvement.
Although it’s only a little more than a kilometre up in a straight line it feels further. Maybe it was to do with me feeling tired and emotional on the day due to a bad pint of Tennents at the Snow Patrol gig the night before! Or maybe it was just the terrain (lots of hair pins). I curiously enjoyed sitting under a tree watching people trudge up the glen getting soaked in one of the days frequent rain showers!
At the top of the way marked trail, opposite the smugglers cave climb over the stile and continue along the glen. The path is steep and narrow in places. The rocks are very slippery when wet so be careful.
Surely this must be a contender for the highly controversial, fiercely contested ‘Best glen walk’!?!
This year’s (2006) illuminations are on September 16th and some info can be found on the website (visit link) There is an afternoon programme with fancy dress, brass band, birds of prey and stalls from 1 till 4 then there’s an evening programme from 7 till 9 including bands, fire jugglers and The Illuminated Glen.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre obhyqre
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