Finnich Glen

Finnich Glen, commonly known as the Devil’s Pulpit, is a narrow sandstone gorge near the villages of Killearn and Croftamie in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The gorge was carved by the Carnock Burn through layers of red sandstone and reaches approximately 21 metres in depth, with near-vertical walls covered by mosses, ferns and overhanging woodland. The colour of the sandstone beneath the shallow water gives parts of the stream a distinctive reddish appearance. The name the Devil’s Pulpit originally referred only to a mushroom-shaped rock standing in the burn, around which the water divides, but it is now widely used for the entire gorge. A steep flight of stone steps known as Jacob’s Ladder or the Devil’s Steps descends through a narrow opening in the rock. The staircase was constructed at the request of a former owner of the Killearn estate and was already documented in 1861.

Finnich Glen has appeared in The Eagle (2011), the first season of Outlander (2014), King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) and The Nest (2020). Its narrow stream, waterfalls, red sandstone bed and moss-covered walls have represented a battlefield in ancient Caledonia, a spring capable of exposing lies, the supernatural Darklands, the wilderness surrounding a Pokémon research laboratory and the fictional Calderwood Falls.

In The Eagle (2011), Finnich Glen is used for the climactic battle between Marcus Aquila, Esca, the surviving members of the Ninth Legion and the pursuing Seal People. After recovering the lost eagle standard and attempting to escape south towards Roman territory, Marcus becomes unable to continue because of his injured leg. Esca returns with former legionaries who survived the destruction of the Ninth and are seeking an opportunity to redeem themselves. The Romans form a defensive line in the narrow gorge and fight the Seal warriors while standing knee-deep in the Carnock Burn. Marcus eventually confronts and kills the Seal prince in the water, allowing the remaining Romans to retain the eagle. Filming inside the confined gorge presented considerable logistical difficulties, and the production had to lower its camera, lighting and sound equipment into Finnich Glen by winch while cast and crew descended the old stone staircase.

In the first-season Outlander episode “The Garrison Commander”, Finnich Glen represents St Ninian’s Spring, also known as the Liar’s Spring. After Dougal MacKenzie removes Claire from Captain Jonathan Randall’s custody, he takes her into the gorge and explains that the water will punish anyone who drinks from it and then tells a lie. Dougal asks Claire directly whether she is an English spy. She drinks from the spring and truthfully denies being one, despite continuing to conceal her real identity and the fact that she has travelled from the twentieth century. Dougal accepts the result of the test and becomes more willing to trust her. The scene uses the shallow stream, small waterfalls and enclosing sandstone walls to create the secluded supernatural spring.

In King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), Finnich Glen appears during Arthur’s journey through the Darklands. The Mage sends Arthur into the dangerous wilderness alone, carrying Excalibur towards a distant tower and altar stone as part of the process of forcing him to accept and control the sword’s power. A brief section of the journey shows Arthur standing in the stream between the steep, moss-covered walls of Finnich Glen. The footage is combined with other Scottish landscapes, including the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye, and with visual effects used for the giant creatures and supernatural hazards encountered during the trial. Finnich Glen therefore represents one section of the Darklands rather than a separately named location within the story.

In Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019), Finnich Glen contributes to the wilderness outside Ryme City where Tim Goodman, Lucy Stevens, Detective Pikachu and Psyduck investigate the abandoned Pokémon research laboratory operated by Dr Ann Laurent. The production filmed around Finnich Glen as well as Glen Affric, Glen Orchy and Glen Nevis to create the forested landscape surrounding the facility. After discovering that the laboratory conducted experiments involving Mewtwo and genetically altered Pokémon, the group escapes into what initially appears to be a natural mountain valley. The ground begins moving beneath them, revealing that the surrounding hills are enormous Torterra awakened from their dormant state. Real Scottish landscape footage was extensively combined with digital terrain, animated forests and computer-generated Pokémon to create the Torterra Valley sequence, with Finnich Glen forming part of the location material gathered for the approach to and aftermath of the laboratory investigation.

In the BBC miniseries The Nest (2020), Finnich Glen represents Calderwood Falls, the favourite childhood place of teenage surrogate Kaya McDermott. In the third episode, “Prom”, Kaya tells Jack that her grandfather brought her there when she was young and that she remembers the falls as peaceful and enchanted. After Kaya’s criminal past is exposed and she disappears following a confrontation at the school prom, Jack realises that she is likely to have gone to Calderwood Falls. He travels there and finds her unconscious beside the water, leading to her hospitalisation and the premature delivery of the baby she is carrying for Dan and Emily Docherty. The production used the stream, falls and enclosed gorge for the sequence, with equipment lowered into the difficult location by a pulley system and kayaks used to move cast or equipment through parts of the water.

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