Menstrie Glen

The history of settlement and land-use from 1450 to the mid-20th century has been published. In medieval times, much of Menstrie Glen was Crown land and used mainly to pasture sheep. The Campbells of Argyll had come into possession of the land east of the Menstrie Burn by the early 14th century and, up to at least 1530, the lands of Jerah were controlled by the Cistercians of Culross. In the 18th century ownership of the glen passed to local lairds. Farmsteads, of which there were then more than a dozen, were operated by the lairds' tenants. In the mid-18th Century James Wright, laird of Loss, owned about half of the glen until his death in 1770. He left voluminous notes and paperwork…

The lower (southern) parts of the glen, reached by footpaths from Menstrie, give access to routes to the summits of Dumyat and Myreton Hill. A gated farm track leads from Menstrie around the eastern and northern flanks of the glen to the ruin of Red Brae (NS842992), near Jerah. Another gated farm track goes from the Sherrifmuir Road (at NS819994) past the Lossburn Reservoir, around the southern and western flanks of Menstrie Glen, finally descending past Dumyat Farm (once named Foreside of Lipney) to Cotkerse, a kilometre west of Menstrie at NS834968. In October 2008, Menstrie Community Council announced a proposal to make access to the glen easier and to install visitor attractions. In…