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Menstrie is the most westerly of the Hillfoot villages, close to the Stirling council boundary and overlooked by the steep Ochil face above the Menstrie Burn. The village is associated with Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, and its castle is one of the most intact historic buildings in the county. The Menstrie Burn gorge above the village carries ancient ash and oak woodland before opening onto the Ochil heather plateau; the Devon Water runs south of the village, with alder and willow lining the banks. Oilseed rape on the Carse fields between Menstrie and Cambus is among the most accessible early-season forage in the western part of Clackmannanshire.

Oilseed rape on the Forth Carse between Alloa, Tullibody and the Stirling boundary is the dominant April-to-May flow, one of the most reliable in central Scotland, and sets fast so requires prompt extraction. White clover follows on the improved lowland pastures and the amenity grasslands of the Alloa park network from June through July. Sycamore on the Devon and Black Devon valley margins and in the Ochil village gardens drives the May gap flow. Hawthorn is prolific on the lower hillside hedgerows and the field boundaries of the Carse. The Ochil Hills above Alva, Tillicoultry and Dollar carry extensive heather moorland from mid-July through September; the steep access tracks allow colonies to be moved up for a late-season heather crop. Bramble on former industrial sites around Alloa and on the Ochil lower slopes extends the summer forage into August. Himalayan balsam is establishing along the Devon Water corridor. Ivy on the older sandstone buildings of Alloa and Clackmannan closes the calendar in October.