Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn...

Something a little different today!  The title of this post is - as you may have figured - not in English, but in Gaelic.  It means "Stone of Manau" (an ancient stone dating from pre-Christian times), and is the origin of the name of Britain's smallest historic county, Clackmannanshire.

One of Scotland's traditional counties, in 1975, it was absorbed into the new Central Region, under the name of "Clackmannan District".  This was never popular the fiercely proud locals, and in 1996, was restored to county status under the name of Clackmannanshire.

With an area of just 61 square mile, the county is home to a population of less than 49,000 (based on 2005 figures).  Around half of the population live in the main town and administrative centre of Alloa.  The old county town of Clackmannan is home to the aforementioned "Stone of Manau".

The local economy is very much centred on agriculture and brewing, while coal-mining and weaving also used to be thriving industries in the area.

Here is a video by a local aerial photographer, Rob Fallen.  Enjoy!