Clackmannan Tower
A tall tower house of the 1300s on the King's Seat hill above Clackmannan, built by a kinsman of Robert the Bruce.
Clackmannan Tower stands on the top of the King's Seat, a small hill above Clackmannan, and it can be seen for miles across the carse of the Forth.
It is a tall tower house of the 1300s, raised on land granted to Sir Robert Bruce by his kinsman King David II, the son of Robert the Bruce, and it may stand on the site of a royal house of the 1000s. It was always a showy building, with fine stonework and vaulted floors.
The Bruces lived here for centuries. The last of them, Lady Katherine Bruce, was a fierce Jacobite, and when Robert Burns came to visit she is said to have knighted him with the sword of her ancestor. The tower now stands alone, its later buildings gone, and it is seen from outside; the inside opens only on Doors Open Days. It is a short walk up the lane from the main street, and the view of the Ochils from the top of the hill is the reward.
Seen from outside at any time; free.
The inside opens only on Doors Open Days. A short walk up the hill from the main street.
- Open
- Outside, all year; free.
- Inside
- Doors Open Days only.
High Street, Clackmannan, FK10 4HR.
ClackmannanThe old county town on its hill, with a tolbooth of 1592, a mercat cross and the ancient Stone of Mannan.Under a mile1 min by road
Alloa TowerThe largest surviving keep in Scotland, the Erskines' tower at Alloa, where Mary, Queen of Scots spent part of her childhood.2 miles6 min by road
Sauchie TowerA plain, tall tower house of the 1430s built by the Schaws at Sauchie, where Mary, Queen of Scots came in 1565.3 miles8 min by road
Menstrie CastleMenstrie Castle is one of the oddest members of the Clackmannanshire Tower Trail, found in the middle of a housing estate.6 miles12 min by road
Blairmains Farm ShopA family farm shop and coffee bothy at Blairlogie, at the foot of the Ochils, opened on the old dairy farm in 2001.7 miles13 min by road
Places to stay near the tower, and when each is next free.
Scotland, in print.
Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.
For further reading, before you go.