Peppermill Dam Circular Walk

See also the concise version of this walk.

This first walk is one of my favourites. It lies just outside Clackmannanshire, starting from a track off the A977, north of Kincardine.

At 5.4km it is fairly long. But it is easy and largely circular, with long stretches close to a beautiful and peaceful reservoir and taking in a fascinating mausoleum, and with rhododendrons, fir and deciduous woodland, and open grassland.

It also makes for a great family bike ride with long stretches of easy cycling and only a few places where most would have to get off and walk. If you're on bikes, you've no excuse not to bring a picnic!

Technicalities

Distance: 5.4km (3.4 miles)
Grade: 2
Dogs: Welcome
Bikes: Good for the family

Starting Point

OS Landranger Map 65, grid reference NS936891 (N56.08320 W3.71010)
(Leave the A977 at NS930890, N56.08210 W3.72020)

Navigation

There should be no problem with navigation if you stick to the route. Apart from the fork at 4 on the map, you simply stay on the most obvious path to and around the dam.

However, if you explore away from the route it is easy to get lost as there is dense tree cover, numerous similar-looking paths, and you can walk in a straight line for several miles before coming to a road.

Terrain

Mostly flat easy paths, some foot worn, most made. Can be muddy in a few places. There are one or two spots where you have to climb a low bank and some of the pathway near the beginning of the walk is eroded.

Note that on the day of the walk the water level was the highest I've seen it, flooding the normal foot worn path at 9 on the map. No alternative path had been worn and we had to find our way through a narrow but dense stand of prickly young fur trees.

Getting There

1a. Approaching from the north and west: From roundabout connecting the A907 (out of Alloa) with the A977, follow the A977 south for about 1.2 miles (2km).

2a. Immediately after a lay-by on the left, turn left into an unmetalled track with a golf course on both sides, labelled 1 on the route map.

1b. Approaching from south of the Forth: Cross the Forth via the new Clackmannanshire Bridge (follow signs to the Kincardine Bridge and bear left at the roundabout as signposted just before you get to the Forth).

At the end of this road turn right at the roundabout onto the A977. Follow the A977 for about 0.9 miles (1.5km)

2b. See 2a.

1c. Approaching from the east: Follow the A977 out of Kincardine towards Alloa and Perth and past the adjacent Tulliallan Police Training College and Tulliallan Golf Course entrances on the right.

2c. About 800 yards (730 metres) beyond the golf course entrance, turn right into the unmetalled track as per 2a.

3. Follow the track for about 760 yards (700 metres) to point 2 on the map, where you will see a single-bar gate across a track to the left with parking space for several cars ahead of you. Park there.

The Walk

The walk starts at 2 on the above map.

Follow the track with an open field on the left and woodland on the right.

At the end of the field the path continues through woodland although, as can be seen from a satellite image (for example, from Multimap), it is quite a thin strip.

The remains of a disused track forks to the left, across an arched bridge with trees now growing on top.

If you have a dog you might want to keep it close to you here as the dip between the disused track and the main one that you follow, tends to be very wet and muddy.

To your left at 3 is the derelict Keith family mausoleum within a disused graveyard. It is well worth going up the worn path at it's left and entering through the large iron gate.

There is an array of gravestones and tombs dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Descend by the same path to the main route after visiting the mausoleum.

85m further along at 4, bear right, crossing a small lade (water channel) from the dam via a bridge onto a narrower foot worn path, keeping the field to your right. If you don't leave the wider path at this point you won't find it so easy to get to the south side of the dam.

At the end of April there were tadpoles in this narrow artificial burn, just about managing to hold their own against the flow.

Follow the path alongside the field until you come to the dam at 5. Here you'll see the reason for leaving the wider path back at 4.

The foot worn path then rises a little alongside the dam before descending almost to water level again where a wider made up track takes over. This is part of one of the Fife Millennium Cycleways but, having been here a number of times in the last few years, the only bikes we've ever seen along here are our own.

This stretch is dense with rhododendrons, in thick bud when we were last this way (25 Apr 09).

Rhododendrons are an invasive plant that out-competes native species and the narrow area between the track and the water was largely cleared of them a few years ago. It is the rhododendrons that appear to be winning the race to re-populate this area but, for now, there's a good view of the dam through a thin line of trees at the shore.

The rhododendrons give way to a much more open mix of fir and, particularly on the left once you pass the end of the dam, deciduous woodland.

The small island at 6 will give you an indication of how far you are along the route.

The Devilla Forest area, of which this is a part, is good for blueberries later in the year and there are some developing nicely to the south on this stretch.

Turn left where you meet an intersection of tracks at 7.

At 8 the path crosses the channel that would have made a tighter route around the dam impracticable.

From here the walk heads back along the north side of the dam, its openness contrasting with the cover of the south side.

The area to the north before you reach the water again has been cleared in the not too distant past leaving a large open area sprinkled with a few isolated and lanky birches.

But further along you reach a lush unfenced meadow that runs down to a thin scattering of trees at the water's edge.

Especially on a warm sunny day, this is a great spot to take a rest and enjoy a picnic and the open views.

When I first came here several years ago the water was low and you could walk all around the dam on a wide, largely stony, beach that had been exposed.

However, just now the water is high enough that the grass runs into it and the trees around the edge are standing in the water.

Unless the level has dropped by the time you read this, at 9 the normal path is flooded and impassible without wellies unless you're happy to get your feet and trousers soggy.

Unfortunately there's a narrow band of painfully spiky young firs(?) just here and you have to find a way through them. When we walked this way at the end of April no real alternative path had been established through them (although we didn't search too far from the water's edge) though one seemed to be developing, which we followed.

It worked OK but was a bit uncomfortable!

Beyond this is more open grassland, the views being spoilt only by the power lines and works that lie in a direct line of sight between the path and the mausoleum.

Continue to follow the path alongside the dam, past the rusted remains of a car that must have been driven there before the mound beyond it was put in place.

Save for the optional side-trip to the mausoleum, this head-height or so mound is probably the most difficult part of the whole walk. It won't present a problem for most and it is probably unlikely that anyone with difficulty walking would walk this route anyway, but if you have any doubt I suggest walking the route the other way around so you hit this barrier early rather than late in the walk.

The remainder of the walk is straightforward. Just follow the obvious route until you complete the circle at 4. Then retrace your steps to the starting point.