River Forth

Ben Lomond's eastern slopes drain into the Duchray Water, which meets with Avondhu River coming from Loch Ard.

It then passes two towns in Clackmannanshire: firstly Cambus (where it is joined by the River Devon), closely followed by Alloa.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Stirling harbour was a busy port, with goods coming into Scotland and being exported to Europe.

As a result, Stirling had very close ties with the Hansa towns, with Bruges[6] in Belgium, and with Veere (known at the time as Campvere)[7] in the Netherlands.

During World Wars I and II, Stirling harbour began thriving again: It became a gateway for importing supplies of tea into Scotland.

After the wars, other trade activities slowly returned, but growth was slow because the harbour's owners levied heavy shore duties on shipping, making it less economically attractive to the few agricultural merchants who were based at Stirling.

(Crossing used to be more difficult before the installation of modern drainage works, because the ground was often treacherously marshy near the riverbank.)

The meandering Forth viewed from the Wallace Monument . The river flows from right to left, and the former limit of navigation was in the left distance.
River Forth passing Cambus , Tullibody Inch , and Alloa Inch . Beyond that Alloa and Kincardine. The water is known as the Firth of Forth beyond the Clackmannanshire and Kincardine bridges although the transition point is unclear.