Callander and the Bracklinn Falls

 19 March 2026.

Spring has arrived! I had passed through Callander many times but rarely stopped; it is a tourist mecca in the summer but today it was fine. I first went to the Bracklinn Falls a short distance out of town.....

The Falls are part of the River Keltie and there is a good signed track to them.....

The original bridge over the river was built in the 1870's. It was washed away in 2004 and it's replacement suffered a similar fate. The current bridge was opened in 2023. The gorge is dramatic and the best view of it and the falls is probably from the south amongst the rocks, there is a path of sorts.....

I then drove back into Callander and parked in the large car park beside the river Teith. It is a really pleasant spot, although it gets very busy in summer. Ben Ledi dominates the town and this is probably the best viewpoint for it......

The Red Bridge is at the south end of this area and carries the road that goes to Aberfoyle. It dates from 1908.....

There is an interesting artificial mound before reaching the bridge; this is Tom na Chisaig or Kessog's Hill, named after an Irish saint and built in the 12th century.....

Behind it is the old kirkyard overlooked by an octagonal watch tower built so that the graves could be guarded from body snatchers. Unless you climbed Kessog's Hill you wouldn't know that these features were there.....

From the "summit" of the mound there is a view over the town to Callander Crags, a Tump with a waymarked path to the monument on top, a very fine viewpoint which I climbed a few years ago.....