Campaigners aim to revive historic Royal route in rural Stirling

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Work has begun to re-establish what is considered to be a historic Royal route which once linked Stirling and Dumbarton Castles.Named the Kings Highway, it aims to use centuries-old paths and roads for a cycleway and footpath across west Stirlingshire.Gargunnock man Geoff Peart – of the Kings Highway Development Group and Gargunnock Community Trust paths manager – pointed out that the route’s name had been found in old documents which referred to Gargunnock’s Main Street as the Kings Highway.He said: “Both Stirling and Dumbarton Castles were royal residences from the 12th to 13th centuries and there will have been movement between the two from that time.“The Stewart kings James IV and V were recorded at both places, with Dumbarton being a base for the Scottish Navy and Stirling the principal royal palace in the country.“The movement of men and materials between the two castles seems highly likely.“There is no extant map showing a route between the two castles, but maps from the mid-18th century show military roads established following the Jacobite rebellions.“The Old Military Road from Stirling forms part of a route to Dumbarton via Cambusbarron, Gargunnock, Kippen, Buchlyvie and Drymen, much of which is now the A811.“Although it is known as the Old Military Road, much of the route certainly predates military improvements to the road network.”Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.The Kings Highway Development Group has been set up to advance the project.Its backers include Gargunnnock Communty Trust, cyclepath development organisation Sustrans, Stirling Council and the Carse of Stirling Partnership as well as Stirling MP Alyn Smith.Mr Peart pointed out that the link from Dumbarton to Drymen already