Alloa is a small industrial town nestling on the river Forth. It has been Clackmannanshire's county town since 1822, when it took over from Clackmannan, as Alloa had better connections for commerce and industry via its dock than Clackmannan could by then boast. Nowadays Alloa is the main town and administrative centre of the county with a population in 2016 estimated at 20,730, over twice that of its near neighbour (and largest village by population), Tullibody.
Alloa has become large enough to have some named areas, such as Inglewood and Hallpark. The town continues to expand west towards Cambus, although it is hemmed in by other villages in most directions, notably Sauchie, Tullibody and Clackmannan, the latter two of which are very close indeed, whilst the Alloa / Sauchie border at Hallpark was once delineated by a sign, no longer in place.
Due to Alloa's central location and good motorway and trunk road connectivity, it has become a commuter base for people working in the cities of Stirling, Edinburgh, Glasgow and to a lesser degree, Perth and Dundee. Many have settled here after moving from the larger cities to find a quieter and possibly slightly less expensive lifestyle. The larger industrial concerns in the town have diminished over the years with the largest remaining being glass container manufacture - although retail, brewing, pharmaceuticals, and service industries have taken up some of the slack from wool, coal mining and engineering.
Alloa was once home to the Earl of Mar and Kellie, an earldom which continues to this day. The seat of the Erskines of Mar in Clackmannanshire was Alloa Tower, a 14th century tower house around which Alloa sprung up, and its surrounding lands. The Earl of Mar and Kellie is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Erskine; the Countess of Mar is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mar. The Earldom of Mar, which is one of the seven original Scottish earldoms, is thought to be the oldest peerage in Great Britain.
The Alloa burgh boundaries were extended out in the 1890s to include Shaftesbury Street and Hill Street's western extension, then known as Viewfield Place, but it was only in 1926 that approval was given for the 120-house scheme covering the Moir Street and Garvally Crescent area. The council scheme at Inglewood was not developed until the 1950s. Alloa has expanded very considerably since then.
Alloa offers a quality retail experience - there are many supermarkets now in the town as well as a good range of shops, both chain stores and independents, in the town centre. There are many leisure opportunities, such as Clackmannanshire Council's mill trail, tower trail and the cycle paths which connect the county, which are mostly flat as they were once railway routes, and so are reasonably gentle on those taking up cycling once again.
Alloa also boasts a wide range of historic architecture, dining, hotels and experiences for you to try. Alloa is blessed with bus and rail transport links, and Clackmannanshire is located almost centrally between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
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