Gillies Hill - Izeria

Gillies Hill is located west of Stirling and the M9, south of Cambusbarron, and north of the Bannock Burn in Central Scotland. Gillies Hill covers a 140 hectares (350 acres) crag and tail which rises from a height of 79 metres (259 ft) at the Bannock Burn Bridge near Sauchie Craig to an elevation of 162 m (531 ft) at a point which overlooks the former quarrying operation to the west and Stirling Castle to the east. The hill lies north of the Bannock Burn, northeast of Sauchie Craig (an area designated SSSI, Site of Special Scientific Interest), east of the Touch Hills and Murrayswood, south of Cambusbarron, and west of Stirling and the M9. Gillies Hill is the hill from which Robert the Bruce’s camp followers, or Gillies, descended onto the field of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 turning the tide of the battle which granted Scotland nearly 400 years of independence. The majority of Gillies Hill has been classified as a Semi-natural Ancient Woodland by The Woodland Trust using aerial surveys and by a follow-up Phase 1 habitat survey conducted in 2010. To date 21 Scotland & 38 United Kingdom ancient woodland indicator species have been documented on the hill demonstrating that the woodland's understory and sections of its tree cover have been cloaked in woodland for centuries; the earliest mapped confirmation of trees on the site dates back to the 1580s Pont map.

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Cambusbarron

Cambusbarron is a village in Stirling, Scotland. In the 2001 census, it had a population of 3,224. There is evidence of settlement at the site since the Bronze Age, and several forts dating from the Iron Age have been found near the village. One such fort is located at Gillies Hill, a large semi-natural ancient woodland area with a range of unusual wildlife, thought to be the site of Robert the Bruce's camp shortly before the Battle of Bannockburn. Cambusbarron grew during the nineteenth century due to the presence of the Hayford Mill, a large wool-spinning mill and tweed manufacturer, on the outskirts of the village. Several limestone mines and quartz-dolerite quarries have been active in the area around Cambusbarron during the twentieth century. There are three listed buildings in the village. Notable former residents include evangelist Henry Drummond, documentary writer John Grierson and footballer Frank Beattie.

1.7 km

Birkhill House, Stirling

Birkhill House is a historic house situated between the city of Stirling and the village of Cambusbarron in central Scotland.

Torbrex Village

Torbrex (Scottish Gaelic: An Torr Breac) is an area in the southwest of Stirling, Scotland, which developed around a small weaving village. It is neighboured by Cambusbarron to the west, St. Ninians to the south, Livilands to the east and Kenningknowes and Laurelhill to the north. The village lay along a single street which contains a number of old buildings, including the Torbrex Inn which dates back to 1726, having been built as Torbrex House in 1721 by John Wordie. On the Timothy Pont map of around 1600 the village is spelt "Torbrecks" and on William Roy's 18th century map "Torbreaks". The Wordie family had a significant influence on this area, building Williamsfield House in 1682 which still stands near the current site of St Ninians Primary School and Torbrex House in 1721. Thomas Wordie established a carrier business in Stirling in 1745 which grew to operate across Scotland in collaboration with the railways, delivering goods from rail stations to their final destinations. On the south side of Torbrex Road a later substantial Torbrex House with grounds was constructed in 1883 for Sheriff James Buntine (1841-1920), who lived there with his wife until his death. His widow continued to live there until at least 1932, and died in 1938. The house was subsequently converted to flats by Stirling Burgh Council but was badly damaged by fire in 1964. It was subsequently demolished and the site redeveloped as part of new housing at Coxet Hill - only a small part of the northern boundary wall remains. New areas of housing in Stirling were developed to the north and south of the village from the 1950s onwards, including Torbrex Farm, and the wider area is referred to as Torbrex. Torbrex Community Council covers an area bounded in the west by Polmaise Road and in the south by Torbrex Road. Stirling County Cricket Club was based at Williamfield in Torbrex for 130 years, from 1877 to 2007, when it relocated to a new site on the eastern outskirts of Stirling. Adjacent to the cricket club, Stirling Ice Rink opened at Williamfield on 29 September 1980 and was demolished following the opening of a new rink at The Peak, on the eastern edge of Stirling, in 2009. Stirling High School has been situated in Torbrex since 1962. In 2008 it relocated to the site vacated by the cricket club, and its previous site immediately to the north has been developed as housing. The oldest bones of a human from the Stirling area have been named "Torbrex Tam" by archaeologists and were found nearby in Coneypark in 2017. It is believed he died around 2152 to 2021 BC, meaning the bones are more than 4000 years old.

2.0 km

Stirling High School

Stirling High School is a state high school for 11- to 18-year-olds run by Stirling Council in Stirling, Scotland. It is one of seven high schools in the Stirling district, and has approximately 972 pupils. It is located on Torbrex Farm Road, near Torbrex Village in the suburbs of Stirling, previously being situated on the old volcanic rock where Stirling Castle lies and on Ogilvie Road. The headteacher of the school is Ally Macleod. The school operates a house system. The five houses are Douglas, Eccles, Randolph, Snowdon and Stewart. Originally established for the training of ecclesiastics, it began as the seminary of the Church of the Holy Rude, founded in the reign of David I in 1129. Both the church and school, along with those of Perth, were brought under the charge of the monks of the Church of the Holy Trinity of Dunfermline in 1173.