Ochil Hills

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Ochil Hills (Wood Hill and Elistoun Hill) viewed from South-West of Tillicoultry

The Ochil Hills (from the Celtic uchil meaning high ground) 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 road crossing the hills follows Glen Devon and Glen Eagles, while the M90 Edinburgh-Perth motorway cuts through the eastern foothills. The hills are part of a Devonian lava extrusion whose appearance today is largely due to the Ochil Fault which results in the southern face of the hills forming an escarpment. The plateau is undulating with no prominent peak, the highest point being Ben Cleuch at 721m The south-flowing burns have cut deep ravines including Dollar Glen, Silver Glen and Alva Glen, often only passable with the aid of wooden walkways.

Historically, the hills led to Stirling's importance as the only gateway to the Highlands and also acted as a boundary to the Kingdom of Fife. Castle Campbell was built at the head of Dollar Glen in the late 1400s (an earlier castle on the site being called Castle Gloom) mainly as a very visible symbol of the Campbell domination of the area. Sheriffmuir, the site of the 1715 battle of the Jacobite rising is on the northern slopes of the hills. In the early Industrial Revolution, several mill towns such as Tillicoultry, Alva and Menstrie (the Hillfoots Villages) grew up in the shadow of the Ochils to tap the water power. Some of the mills are open today as museums.

Ochil Hills viewed from Stirling Castle. The scarp face formed by the line of the Ochil Fault can be seen clearly. The Abbey Craig is in the middle distance.

Blairdennon Hill was the site of one of the Beacons of Dissent during the G8 protests in July 2005.

[edit] Proposed wind farms

A proposal for an 18 turbine development at Green Knowes, south of Auchterarder, north of Glendevon was approved in June 2006. The development will be situated about 400m north of the Ben Thrush summit.

In early 2007 approval was given for the construction of a wind farm consisting of 13 102m (334ft) turbines on Burnfoot Hill, which lies north of Tillicoultry and Ben Cleuch and to the south of the Upper Glendevon Reservoir. The windfarm is now nearing completion, and the assembled turbines are now a prominent feature in this area.