AdVANture Overview

This 5 mile-ish up and back to the stunning Torwood Blue Pool is suitable for walkers and hill runners. The kissing gates make it more difficult for bikes. There is potential to make this a longer 7 mile loop but navigation can be a bit challenging through the wooded section. The path varies from tarmac to trail and can be muddy in places, although duck boards are in place.

The pool is a beautiful bluey-green, the tone changes depending on weather and angle you view it from. There are many stories about why this small, brick lined pool lies in the middle of a wood. Check out this Atlas Obscura blog for more information

The starting point for this micro adventure is Old Denny Road. This is a residential street so parking can be limited.

Coffee and cake were sampled post-walk at the (relatively) near-by Torwood Garden Centre which has a dog-friendly cafe, open until 4pm.

At a comfortable walking pace, the route can be done easily in a couple of hours, but factor in time to ponder the pool and take some great pics.

Starting From

Not the most picturesque of starting points but it does have free parking! Old Denny Road is a residential street in close proximity to Forth Valley Hospital. Parking mid-morning on a week day was a breeze but I can imagine that weekends prove more challenging.

Here is the What3Words link for Old Denny Road

The route starts right at the far end of Old Denny Road at a sign alerting you to the next part of the road being private.

Getting There

As mentioned, there is free parking on Old Denny Road but this is limited and liable to be busy at weekends. If you are planning to enjoy some refreshments post walk, I would suggest parking in the Torwood Garden Centre car-park and then following the road back to a large roundabout. Follow signs for the hospital and you will see Old Denny Road come up on your right before reaching the hospital turn-off. This will add another 2.5 miles to your walk/run but parking is plentiful and free.

It’s possible, to get do this route with public transport. The nearest train station is Larbert, and you’ll have a mile walk to Old Denny Road.

Travelling by bus? Your best bet is to take a route that stops at Forth Valley Hospital.

Step by Step

A short video to help you navigate. Please note after you pass the bench shown in this video, walk on for about 20 metres and look for a gap in the wall to your left leading onto a woodland path. It is roughly opposite a pylon in the field to your right. The pool isn’t signposted and VERY easy to miss (although does feature on google maps!)

VANtage points

Extending your walk by a couple of miles allows you to take in the ruins of Torwood Castle and the Tappoch Broch. Both well worth a visit on days when your adventure doesn’t need to be so micro!

The all important coffee stop…

I’m sure there are many wonderful coffee shops and cafes in Larbert, but I choose to have post-walk goodies in the dog-friendly Rousay’s Cafe within The Torwood Garden Centre. They even do a doggy afternoon tea!

Ordering a latte, I was a little disappointed to discover that it came from a bean to cup machine but the home-made scone with jam and cream soon made up for it!

The garden centre itself is really well stocked with beautiful gifts and local produce as well as a fab array of plants and garden ware for those who are green-fingered. I was drawn to the amazing scents emanating from the candle and reed diffuser section and returned home with a gorgeous soy candle by Bamboo in Cedarwood & White Musk as a memento of the day (you can never have too many candles, am I right?)

Final Thoughts

Great half-day jaunt for those near Glasgow/Edinburgh/Stirling. Finding the pool isn’t easy but it’s oh sooo worth looking for.