Gargunnock is a small village in the

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

council area, west of

, in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The census population was 912. It is situated on the south edge of the

Carse of Stirling In Scottish geography, a Carse (the modern form of older Scots ; Scottish Gaelic or ) is an area of fertile, low-lying (typically alluvial) land occupying certain Scottish river valleys, such as that of the River Forth. Carse of Forth The C ...

, at the foot of the

Gargunnock Hills The Gargunnock Hills are a range of hills west of the city of Stirling, Scotland. They culminate in the peak of Carleatheran, whose summit is crowned by a trigonometrical pillar. The Gargunnock Hills are separated from the Fintry Hills to their ...

, part of the

Campsie Fells The Campsie Fells (also known as the Campsies; Scottish Gaelic: ''Monadh Chamaisidh'') are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne in Stirlingshire and overlooking Strathkelvin to the south. Th ...

. Several small burns flow down from the Gargunnock Hills The last naturally suitable crossing point on the

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

before reaching Stirling Bridge is situated just outside Gargunnock. Thus, coupled with the land condition and drainage around the feet or the Gargunnock hills, made Gargunnock the ideal location to build a farming settlement. During the occupation of Scotland, the English posted a battalion in the Peel tower on the outskirts of the village to protect this important ferry. It is believed that

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

brought his army through Gargunnock (called ''Gargowans'' at the time), setting up fort on the Kier Hill, to take control of this part of the river in advance of the

Battle of Stirling Bridge The Battle of Stirling Bridge ( gd, Blàr Drochaid Shruighlea) was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne ...

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

is also said to have passed through the village on his travels. More recently, during the nineteenth century Gargunnock was famous for its fine oak-spale baskets, until intensive

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

removed the raw materials necessary for this trade and the industry moved to

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of C ...

. Gargunnock War Memorial was erected in 1919 to a design by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

marking the local people killed during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer Additional names were added at the close of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The majority of pupils from Gargunnock Primary continue their secondary education at the nearby Stirling High School, with others attending Balfron High School.

References

External links

*
Gargunnock Village History
Villages in Stirling (council area) {{Stirling-geo-stub