[watercay]

I will be moving to falkirk soon, me and my partner are saving our pennies for a smallholding one day. The local prices in falkirk are way above what the prices are in my current home patch though, so i am nervous, moving back to scotland again, the area around falkirk seems fairly densely populated compared to where i am now. I am fairly active in the farming community here and i hope to be so when i move to falkirk also.
PS any reccomendations for really good wild-country dog walks with minimal sheep in the falkirk fife clackmannan area would be really, really gratefully received. Smiley
Whats the general small holding scene like around the area? Is there quite a good sense of community, farming events etc?

[Rosemary]

Hi, there

Devilla Forest on the Fife / Clackmannanshire border has miles of tracks sans sheep. Ochil Hills are great but there are sheep - if your dogs aren't good on recall, they would need to be on the lead. One of ours is fine, the other isn't.

Check out www.smallholders.info - we're very friendly and just getting off the ground - and Forth Valley Food Links www.fvfl.something

Lots of horses and more smallholding than you might expect! New allotments group in Falkirk. FVFL - Diane Alderdice knows everyone so is great for contacts.

Why are you moving to Falkirk, if you don't mind me asking? We're in God's country, across the water in Clackmannanshire.

[watercay]

i am moving mostly for work, and also my partner hails from glasgow and i'm from kirkcaldy myself, so we wanted to be closer to all our friends and family. Its difficult to do a 6 hour round trip every time you want to see your friends! So we missed scotland, although cumbria is very beautiful, and falkirk is handy for all the places we want to be, as well as having the kind of job I need, so here we go! Thank you for the dog walking info, that will help, the springies need lots of space!

[Rosemary]

If you don't mind the drive - St Andrew's beach, especialy first thing in the morning, is fabulous - miles and miles of sand and sticks. We sometimes go about 6am and take a breakfast picnic.

[doganjo]

There's Open Access land just between Clacks and Kennet - hundreds of acres of barley and some woods - going towards Kennet Pans.  Good wide tracks through it too.  I can let three of mine off but I'm wary of my young lad as he isn't fully on whistle stop yet.
Annie

[watercay]

thanks, rosemary and doganjo
we'll settle in much more quickly, being fore armed with some nice places to go in our spare time to avoid the unpacking. much appreciated.