Welcome to Save Gillies Hill Campaign

QUESTION:WHO ARE WE?

ANSWER: a community organisation and registered charity in Central Scotland, attempting to protect the historic and environmentally beautiful Gillies Hill from destruction by quarrying, or intrusive development, thus preserving the habitat, heritage and history of the Hill for present and future generations.

Reflecting public opinion as expressed in donations, letters, e-mails, calendar-sales, attendance at meetings, at protest marches, our annual music festival, etc., we specifically want to stop the re-activation of quarrying on the Hill – permanently.

to bring the Hill into community ownership - permanently. to restore the ‘broken’ part of the Hill - permanently.
to maintain the habitat of rare and threatened animals and plants such as red squirrels, badgers, peregrine falcons, roe deer, giant sequoia or wellingtonia trees (which will grow, if allowed, into the biggest living things on the planet), monkey puzzle trees, orchids, and other species that help create the areas of ancient woodland on the Hill – permanently.
to preserve those ancient monuments such as Gillies Hill Fort, officially designated ‘a site of national importance’, yet under existing planning conditions, destined for destruction - permanently.
to increase public awareness, especially as we head towards the 700th Anniversary, of the Hill’s legendary role in the events of June 1314 – the descent onto the Field of Bannockburn by the ghillies or ‘sma’ folk’, as well as the visit by the Bruce to the Chapel Well on the Hill’s northern slope the day before the battle – permanently.
to thus enhance the amenity of the Hill for the thousands of people – walkers, runners, cyclists, climbers, joggers, botanists, bird-watchers, dog-walkers, plant-spotters, photographers, painters, and all the rest, too many to name, who enjoy it every year.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

The obvious answer is to support Save Gillies Hill in all its efforts to protect the Hill. Next year’s events are listed overleaf. But specifically, you could:

attend Save Gillies Hill meetings (they’re always in the local press)

offer to do a specific job. buy a Save Gillies Hill calendar for 2010 – on sale soon.

Turn up for all the campaign events this year, and next.

And, at the same time, here are a few things not to do.

Don’t:

assume we’ve won already, because there’s been no quarrying. (We think we are winning, and that the 2002 extension to planning permission granted to the quarries is legally flawed and therefore challengeable. The best way to make that challenge is exercising us now: come and join the debate.)
leave it to other folk to fight the battle. (It’s a tough fight, and we need as much help as possible. And if we don’t win, the consequences don’t bear thinking about, and we, and our children, and theirs, will live with them in a much diminished world.)
believe we can’t win (Look what 3 years of protest and publicity have done)
be concerned at the amount of time this battle is taking, or the number of meetings and discussions these require. That is the point: a campaign like this TAKES TIME, and it requires a lot of DISCUSSION. But again, think of what has genuinely been achieved so far – and the prize ahead. KEEP FIGHTING KEEP MEETING KEEP TALKING KEEP WINNING

* e-mail at gillieshill@hotmail.co.uk or by ( phoning 01786 461305.

In Essence We are

A community organisation in the village of Cambusbarron and surrounding area of Stirling, Central Scotland
Attempting to preserve the habitat, heritage, and history of The Gillies Hill for present and future generations
Aiming to raise sufficient funds to allow the community to purchase The Gillies Hill - (information coming soon)
Working to stop the reactivation of Murrayshall Quarry
We are a registered Charity No. SC038687

The people of Cambusbarron and surrounding area have combined forces to form an organisation, with an elected committee, constitution, and Mission Statement, which aims to preserve the Gillies Hill.

Our Mission Statement

The mission statement of the group is to preserve the Gillies Hill, its habitat, wildlife and heritage for current and future generations; and allow the community to purchase the Gillies Hill.

Why This Campaign

The Hill is threatened by the re-activation of workings at Murrayshall Quarry on the Hill’s southern slope by Tarmac and Hanson Aggregates. Already considerably spoiled by years of quarrying - the beautiful Lake with its stunning margin of multi-coloured rhododendrons succumbed to the Quarry 20 years ago - even greater destruction is now promised.

This is a place of recreation for hundreds of local people. It’s packed with wild life, some of it rare: deer, badgers, peregrine falcons, red squirrels are just a few. Athletes and cyclists train in it, children play there and many local people simply walk in it and enjoy it. It has at least two prehistoric sites, and 18^th century lime kilns. But most of all, of course, and this has aroused real anger nationally and internationally, it’s a site of historical importance.

The Gillies Hill was where Bruce stationed his camp followers and servants, ghillie in Gaelic, before the Battle of Bannockburn. At a crucial moment in the Battle, the gillies came around the edge of the Hill, clashing their pots and pans: the English thought they were fresh Scottish reinforcements, and their morale, already much weakened, collapsed.

"The defeated English army was finally put to flight by a charge of about 2,000 Scots—whether light armed troops or camp followers is uncertain—who swept down from Gillies Hill, which overlooked the battlefield to the west. The subsequent slaughter was immense, and many of those who survived the wrath of the Scots perished in the Bannock Burn and the morasses beyond."
Source: Encyclopædia Britannica - Bannockburn, Battle of (emphasis added)