Scottish Poetry Selection
- Rural Walks Near Dollar

Burn of Care in Dollar Glen The poem below by Sylvester H. Neil (1850-1922) was written in 1873 and published in the Alloa Journal and Clackmannanshire Advertiser in 1874. The poem was sent to Rampant Scotland by someone whose great-grand-uncle was the author of the poem. Local people still go for walks in Dollar Glen, to the north of the Clackmannan town. The photo here is of the Burn of Care in Dollar Glen, near Castle Campbell.


Rural Walks Near Dollar

How lovely are thy sylvan scenes,
    Famed by the gentle perfumed breeze,
And sparkling bright, thy crystal streams
    Glide gently bye beneath the trees.
How proudly thy romantic hills,
    Stand clad in shaggy heath;
Their foaming cascades madly rill,
    Into the glens beneath.

How cheerful in thy mossy dells,
    I’ve oftimes tuned my lute,
Adorned with the sweet blue bells,
    And linnets never mute.
The folliage festoons o’er the top,
    Of varied flowers that cluster,
Bespingled with the clear dew droop,
    Glittering with diamond luster.

Thy green old Castle Campbell stands,
    Majesticly on high;
Though part hath crumbled into sand,
    In waste and ruin lie,
Its lofty walls hath sheltered friends,
    And foes they did beguile,
Yea, shelter they did oftimes lend,
    Unto the great Argyle.

Thy lovely glen is fresh and green,
    Its fragrance fills the air,
Dear memory loves such vernal scenes,
    Strange beauty dwelleth there;
And with one daughter young and fair,
    Fondly I use to rove,
Down by the winding Devon clear,
    To whisper words of love.

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