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Falkirk is one of Scotland's
most historic towns. The Romans built a fort here as part of the Antonine
frontier and the present parish church is only the latest in a long line of
church buildings dating back to the 7th Century or earlier. The fertile lands
of the carse of Falkirk as well as the celebrated cattle trysts and unrivalled
skill in ironfounding brought great prosperity to the area,especially in the
19th and early 20th centuries and as a result the town has many handsome Victorian
and Edwardian public buildings.
Now the visitor or interested Falkirk 'bairn' can discover
something of the town's history by following a new heritage trail linking
25 sites of interest near the town centre. Each has a plaque with details
of the location and its historical importance. While the plaques are not numbered
and can of course be visited in any order, this guide suggests two short tours
each starting at the town's historic Steeple. One consists of 14 sites and
covers the area to the west of the centre while the second has 11 and takes
the visitor towards the east end. Although the first tour has more sites to
visit it is slightly shorter in distance.
There are of course many interesting buildings on the
route which do not have plaques and visitors are recommended to look out for
the many architectural gems which grace the town streets and wynds.
Click
here to follow the virtual Falkirk Heritage Trail |
