The path near here follows the route of a railway branch-line which once ran from Cambus Junction via Menstrie to its terminus in Alva.
The line opened on 3rd June 1863. In 1864 it was absorbed by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Company and carried passengers until November 1954. The remnant of Menstrie station can be seen to the East of the Tullibody road.
Freight traffic to Alva ceased in 1964 but, despite Beeching's closures, the spur going to the Menstrie factory continued in use bringing molasses (a sticky brown material) used for manufacture of yeast.
Molasses train arriving at Menstrie in 1987, image courtesy of Mark Dufton.
More photos of Menstrie railway
The line fell into disuse during the mid-1980s when road transport took over. The land was eventually bought by Clackmannanshire Council for inclusion in the public path network and the rails and sleepers were removed in March 2011.
Access from the Alva direction is along the signed Path from N56 09.018 W003 50.285 where there is parking nearby. You can carry on from here past the old station if you wish.
To be between caches there are 3 options. You could approach from just North of the humpback bridge off the Tullibody Road (limited parking). This route may be muddy in wet weather. Another access place, with parking, is at the end of Lipney N56 08.935, W003 50.888. Or you could park opposite the end of Cedar Grove at N56 08.790 W003 51.200 from where a path leads to the old railway.
The cache is a 35mm film canister. It contains a log & pencil.
This cache meets the GAGB Urban Placement Guidelines
Congratulations to Scottiedogz on FTF.