Overview of Bridge of Allan

A largely residential town, Bridge of Allan is situated between the Allan Water and the wooded western end of the Ochil Hills. The earliest record of a bridge here is from 1520, the remains of a predecessor to the present bridge being still visible in the river with its former parapet running towards an old corn mill (1710) that was part of the clachan of Bridgend, a community that eventually grew into Bridge of Allan.

The village developed during the 19th Century as a spa resort, succeeding the clachan of Bridgend and the nearby settlement of Pathfoot which was the focal point of copper mining on the Airthrey Estate from the 16th century until 1815. The spa was developed by Sir Robert Abercrombie who was aware of the growing number of people visiting the Trossachs which had been popularised by Sir Walter Scott. The settlement expanded from 1846 with the arrival of the railway, its prosperity being reflected in a growing number of fine Victorian villas and public buildings including the Fountain of Nineveh, Museum Hall and Holy Trinity Church (1860).

Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Dickens are among the many writers who visited Bridge of Allan during its heyday as a spa. The Pullar Memorial Park, which is the setting for the town's War Memorial, was donated to the community in 1923 by Edmund Pullar and the beautiful grounds of the Airthrey Estate below the Ochils are the setting for the University of Stirling which was founded in 1967. Bridge of Allan has a Leisure Centre, sporting facilities, Golf Club, Library and hotels.