Bridge of Allan railway station

Bridge of Allan railway station is a railway station located in the town of Bridge of Allan, north of Stirling, Scotland. It lies between Stirling and Dunblane on the Highland Main Line, Glasgow–Aberdeen line and Edinburgh–Dunblane line.

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Bridge of Allan

Bridge of Allan (Scots: Brig Allan, Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Ailein), also known colloquially as Bofa, is a former spa town in the Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on the Allan Water, a northern tributary of the River Forth, built largely on the well-wooded slopes of the Westerton and Airthrey estates, sheltered by the Ochil Hills from the north and east winds. Most of the town is to the east of the river; the bridge is part of the A9, Scotland's longest road, while the railway line and the M9 pass to the west of the river. Bridge of Allan railway station is on the electrified Edinburgh to Dunblane Line and is accessible by train from Stirling in under 5 minutes as well as London in under six hours.

Lecropt

Lecropt (Leac Croit in Gaelic) is a rural parish lying to the west of Bridge of Allan, Scotland. The population of the parish of Lecropt is estimated to be around 75, consisting entirely of isolated farms and houses, as well as the Keir Estate owned by the landed Stirling family. Lecropt today contains no town or village, though it lies on the outskirts of the village of Bridge of Allan.

Allan Water

The Allan Water (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Alain) is a river in central Scotland. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. It is liable to cause floods in lower Bridge of Allan. It shares its name with a tributary of the River Teviot. The name is similar to the Ale Water in Berwickshire, the River Alness in Ross-shire, the Allander Water in Stirlingshire, the River Alne and the Ayle Burn in Northumberland, the River Ellen in Cumbria, and several names in the south of England, Wales and Cornwall. Ptolemy, who wrote his Geography about 150 AD, gave the names of some of these rivers as Alauna or Alaunos. Ekwall says that Alauna or Alaunos are British [i.e. Brythonic or P-Celtic] river names. Nicolaisen says that the name Allan is of Pre-Celtic Indo-European origin. Its original form was Alauna, from the Indo-European root *el-/ol-, meaning "to flow, to stream". Several European rivers and settlements have names that may come from that root. Others say that Alauna was a Celtic river goddess, also found in Brittany; Alaunus was a Gaulish god of medicine and prophesy. Two broadside ballads refer to the "Allan Water". According to one, a Scottish ballad, the "Allan Water's wide and deep, and my dear Anny's very bonny; Wides the Straith that lyes above't, if't were mine I'de give it all for Anny." The other, more familiar, English ballad begins "On the banks of Allan Water" and relates the death of a miller's daughter whose soldier lover proves untrue. This version, popularised by C. E. Horn in his comic opera, Rich and Poor (1812), is sung by Bathsheba Everdene at the sheepshearing supper in Thomas Hardy's novel Far From The Madding Crowd (1874). A similar rendition was recorded with church organ accompaniment by Italian singer Ariella Uliano in 2008.

1.8 km

HM Prison Stirling

HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Stirling is a prison facility in Stirling, Scotland, intended to replace HMP Cornton Vale. Opened in 2023, it is Scotland's primary facility for incarcerated women and is designed to offer improved treatment for women in custody, and is notable in not utilising traditional penal designs such as bars on windows and cell doors, taking influence from trauma-informed care. In May 2025, the prison was named as one of the winners of the annual Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) awards, and thereby longlisted for the RIAS Best Building in Scotland Award. The judges described it as "a model of how public buildings can be both operationally robust and deeply humane".