Alva Glen, Scotland

The southern wall of the Ochil Hills is riven by a series of exciting rocky gorges, in stark contrast to the neighbouring plains of the Forth valley. Alva Glen is as dramatic and scenic as its counterparts, filled with a series of at least five waterfalls in its forested lower reaches. Small reservoirs and dams are testament to the Hillfoots Villages’ once thriving textile industry; at one point the path also lies on top of the pipe which used to supply Alva with water. Smuggler’s Cave is the glen’s other unique feature: a yawning chasm of bare rock with a hidden waterfall at the top of it as the burn squeezes into the upper cavern. If you’re as sure-footed as the sheep wandering the hillsides then you can get right down to the cave, and also return to the start on Pate’s Road: a narrow trod high above the gorge. There’s a lot of steep and dangerous ground around here, so it’s probably inadvisable to venture off the paths.