You don't need any other reason to visit Alloa than the train journey
from Stirling. We are so used to the train these days that we can forget that on the other side of the
carriage window is often some wonderful scenery. After many decades
without a railway, Alloa has been reconnected to the line, and the
result is a glorious short hop over the River Forth with stunning views
of the Wallace Monument and the Ochil Hills.
So, even if the town had nothing whatsoever of merit that might excite a
tourist's curiosity, it would still be a journey worth making. But the
thing about Alloa is that it does in fact have something to see. It has
an ancient tower, as fine a tower as you will find anywhere. But alas
and alack, all is not a bed of roses, for it is closed in the winter;
the tower, that is, not Alloa. And in this small town you will be hard pushed to find a pub that stocks
the local brewery's ales. Sad, huh? We moan about the loss of
local industry and the heavy traffic on our roads, and yet instead of
supporting local industry by drinking a locally-produced
ale (that
tastes, incidentally, utterly
delicious), we drink
foreign
puddle water that masquerades under the name of
lager and
which has been transported halfway across the
country,
if not the world.
Go to Alloa, and
demand to drink Alloa Ale.