Clackmannanshire sits on the north bank of the River Forth in central Scotland and is the country’s smallest council area. Its administrative centre is Alloa, a town with a long industrial past in brewing and glassmaking, and with Alloa Tower, a large 14th‑century tower house close to the river. Other towns and villages include Clackmannan, Sauchie, Tullibody, Alva, Dollar, Tillicoultry and Menstrie, each linked by short distances on a compact road and rail network. The county town of Clackmannan gives its name to the area and sits near the historic mercat cross and churchyard.
The Ochil Hills form a sharp northern boundary, the scarp of the Ochil Fault rising above settlements and giving short steep routes into upland pasture and woodlands. Dollar Glen and Castle Campbell lie where a tributary cuts into the hills, and the River Devon runs through the central valley before joining the Forth. Farms and former industrial sites fill the lowland belt; council services and small businesses are concentrated around Alloa and the neighbouring settlements.
