Tappoch Broch, Stirlingshire

Tappoch Broch, sometimes known as Torwood Broch, stands hidden in a forest in the village of Torwood.

To find the broch take a minor road off the A9 into the village of Torwood. After a third of a mile look for a track on the left, signposted as a public right of way. You will need to park on the road with consideration, rather than attempt to drive down the track, as there is no safe place to park without causing obstruction to the properties it leads to.  It is worth noting that if you walk half a mile further along the track, you come to Torwood Castle, so a lovely stroll in the countryside you get to see both a fabulous broch as well as a castle.

You will be pleased to know that the broch is sign-posted from the track and not far from the forest path, albeit it leads into Tor Forest and quickly becomes difficult to follow if you're not careful.

The Broch occupies the summit of the hill you climb, and your first glimpse of it is through the trees in a clearing of a mound covered in heather and bracken. What is less easy to appreciate once inside is that it is surrounded by a pair of defensive concentric banks, which would originally have been boulder-faced walls with rubble cores. On the summer day we visited, the inside of the broch was covered in wildflowers, with the hum of bees as well as butterflies and dragonflies adding to the tranquillity of this fabulous location. 

Unlike many of the larger more complete broch's of the north, the outer walls are buried within the mound or hidden beneath bracken, almost as if it had been dug out of the hill. However, once inside you will find many of the features you would expect to find in the floor of a broch. On a summers day quite a magical place to explore at the end of an easy short walk.