A PERFECT MATCH


and wanted that for my children. It’s such a great place for families: the schools are good and there’s a community feel about the town. Niall and his wife also came back to Dunblane around the same time. Dunblane had a new feel by then because


it had got a little bit bigger and the high street wasn’t as dynamic as it once was. I didn’t know many people my age because many of my school pals had moved away, but there were still lots of people I knew at the tennis club, even if the old blaize courts had gone and there was a new clubhouse with squash courts. It was very differ- ent from the wooden pavilion, which I loved because it was so basic. When I came back, I volunteered at the


tennis club because that was a natural thing to do and I wanted to keep active. It was still a community club and I’m just a big believer in sport bringing communities together. That said, society has changed from when I was young - kids don’t bike down the tennis courts to hang out any more because they need a key to open the tennis club, whereas you could always go to the loo in our old pavilion or get a drink there.


TEN FACTS ABOUT DUNBLANE, DOUNE AND BRIDGE OF ALLAN


During the ’45 the Jacobites occupied Bridge of Allan and charged a toll for crossing the bridge.


Since 2004 Doune Castle, which featured in Monty Python’s Holy Grail, has hosted an annual Monty Python Day.


In 1715 a Jacobite army faced government forces at the Battle of Sheriffmuir near Dunblane.


The former Museum Hall in Bridge of Allan used to be a concert venue which, in 1963, hosted The Beatles.


The first shot fired in the American War of Independence was from a Doune pistol.


Dunblane has produced a number of sporting stars, including Gary Caldwell and Tommy Gemmell.


Bridge of Allan is the venue for the annual Strathallan Highland Games, which take place on the first Sunday in August.


The land east of Doune was once owned by the Stirling of Keir family. Family member David Stirling founded the SAS.


Dunblane is believed to mean ‘fort of Blane’, which relates to the early 6th-century Irish saint.


Bridge of Allan was a renowned spa town. A young Robert Louis Stevenson was a regular visitor.


WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 59


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