On a lovely frosty morning, a group of 24 Ramblers met up in Airth and headed towards Higgins Neuk. In this area King James IV founded a royal dockyard. The mighty warship The Great Michael was fitted out at Airth, at the time she was the largest ship afloat. Following the sea wall back towards Airth, we passed the site of the original harbour before the land was reclaimed in 1700.

On to to Dunmore Estate which was purchased by John Murray the 4th Earl of Dunmore in 1754, visiting the famous Pineapple. It was built around 1777 by the 4th Earl as a gift to his wife. Following the forest path towards, arguably the most remarkable structure, the imposing ruin of a once magnificent Dunmore Park House built in 1820. It has been lying empty from 1971 and left to the mercies of nature and vandals.

We headed towards the River Forth and onto our lunch stop at Dunmore Village. The village was rebuilt in 1879 with village green, school, blacksmith and village wel, by Catherine Countess of Dunmore the widow of the 6th Earl. 

After lunch we headed back through the Estate and around Airth towards Airth Castle and grounds. The building has a fascinating history dating well before the late 15th century when the present stone building was erected. In 2004 Airth Castle was owned by Airth Castle Limited. It was a popular wedding venue until March 2023 when the Castle was boarded up and left to the mercies of vandals, parts of the castle were destroyed in September 2024 by fire.