The villages along the bottom of the Ochil Hills, have long been known as the Hillfoots. Each of the villages have at least one burn running through them, which flow into the river Devon. The burns are mostly tranquil please to sit and relax by whilst listening to the gentle flow of the water. Unfortunately living at the foot of the hills comes with the inevitable risk of flooding. The hills can at times send a deluge of water down through villages which sometimes causes major alarm as occasionally seriously damaging floods can occur causing not only property damage but very rarely the loss of life. The Devon has also been known to burst it's banks onto the fields beyond.
Below we are going to explore serious flood events over the years so this article will grow as time goes on.
In September 1785 there was a flood which developed and flooded parts of Dollar and Tillicoultry, when the River Devon and its tributaries all rose drastically inside five hours. It is said the River Devon rose by over 12 feet. The Rack bridge over the river was destroyed, as were crops and property in the surrounding area.
On 28th August 1877 it starting raining in the evening over the Ochil Hills and their surrounding villages. The rain continued pouring down relentlessly all night. In the morning large black clouds could be seen over the hills, which appeared to be causing white foam to be produced on the hills. The rain falling on the hills looked like a unbroken sheet of water pouring onto the hills continually.
Castle Mill in Tillicoultry, owned by a Mr Hutcheson, was severely damaged. There was a private bridge within the Mill yard joining two sections. Unfortunately when the soaring water arrived at the bridge four people were standing near it, three of whom were sweep away in the torrent. Two of those three people lost their lives that day. Mr Hutcheson the Mill Owner was one of those lost that day, along with a young female mill worker. The Mill suffered damage to its power loom shed and the ground between the shed and the private bridge was also swept away.
The upper public bridge was also wrecked as the water rushed over the high parapet wall on its north side. From here the water then raged through Upper Mill St where there was major damage caused, as the water flowed into homes it filled some with over seven feet of water. The street pavement was washed away for a considerable distance in the street. Amazingly the homes were not totally destroyed.
As the water rushed down both sides of the burn, it caused huge amounts of damage as it went. On the west side of the burn the street was practically washed away. Whilst on the east side of the burn water washed away a wall at the back of a house and rushed into the property filling the rooms to a great depth. The water then proceeded to wash away the “Tea Bridge” and continued causing serious damage and havoc on both sides of the burn.
The water then rushed along both Frederick Street and Stirling Street which was filled with a deep stream of water covering its whole width. The High Street was also flooded to a height of three feet, understandably the residents feared for their lives and so terrified it is said that many jumped out their rear windows to escape. Shops and homes along the High Street were severely damaged. Pavements and roads were lost, gas pipes exposed, bridges and lampposts washed away in various places that had been in the path of the water.
Once the torrent stopped, the burn was filled with huge boulders and debris as were the streets which had been affected. The burn had had such force behind it that it managed to reroute itself. Apparently a witness travelling to the hillfoots from Alloa, described what he saw as he approached the Hillfoots as "the front of Tillicoultry Hill looked like a waterfall so gigantic as to dwarf Niagara ten times multiplied" (Alloa Advertiser, A Walk in the Past).
Thursday 2nd of August 1883 it was an oppressively warm late summers day. A weather prediction for heavy rain had been made for that day. Apart from a surprising large thunder and lightening storm which had been accompanied by some light rain in the early afternoon, there was no sign of the heavy rain.
At approximately 4pm however the sky suddenly became very dark and heavy over Alva. Then the rain started, continuing for at least two hours and a substantial downpour it was. The newly opened Alva Glen suffered significant damage from the heavy downpour. The damage included the washing away of a bridge, two lamp posts and a village well. As the debris rushed downstream the burn became blocked at Burnside, which in turn caused the water to overflow the burn bank and start flooding the village.
Springburn Mill was built over the Alva burn and as the water rose in the burn it began to cause the wooden floor over it to bow upwards. There was machinery installed on the factories lower floor, the bowing of the floor caused severe damage to the machinery.
Once free from Burnside the water spread quickly causing damage as it went. The water crossed Green Square on its way to the gardens behind Stirling Street, where it flooded and damaged some of the gardens as well as several properties. As the water pushed its way through the town the North and South walls of Mr George Perry's Bakery collapsed, resulting in four feet of water flooding the property and washing away sacks of flour.
Other properties on the south side of Stirling Street were very severely damaged and flooded. As the water and debris travelled along the street it flooded the street to approximately four feet and damage was done not only to shops and homes but also the road and pavement in places.
As the water gradually subsided, a layer of mud in the region of one foot deep caked the streets and properties.
Tillicoutry, the nearby by village to the east of Alva did not escape the heavy rainfall either. The burn through the town rose quickly and started overflowing. Initially only a small area on the High Street had any issues with the water. The burns height continued to increase, and caused severe damage to the burn banks which had been heightened after the flood on 1877, washing away nine feet of the of the improved bank.
In a very short time the burn was running at 2-3 feet deep and was washing boulders and debris along. Mill Street, High Street as well as some adjacent streets became flooded and overwhelmed by a tide of water and foam. The debris was left in the waters trail along Mill Street and Lower Mill Street.
Recent years have seen several flooding incidents, these will be added soon.