AS HILL climbs go, it really doesn’t get much steeper than when scrambling up the steep slopes above the Hillfoot villages of Alva and Menstrie.

But despite the strain on lungs and legs, it was with mounting excitement that I neared the base of one of the crags on the upper part of the hills here, for I was on the look-out for sticky catchfly – one of our rarest plants.

This part of the Ochil’s is the UK’s main stronghold for this exquisite pinky-red flower, which is found in only a handful of other locations around the country. Sticky catchfly likes to grow on and near crags on sunny, south facing slopes, which makes this part of the Ochils perfect for them.

The plant was first discovered in Edinburgh almost 400 years ago and is said to have been the favourite flower of King James VI of Scotland, where it grew on Arthur’s Seat. It has since become the official floral emblem of our capital city.

But on reaching the crags, there was no sign of any sticky catchfly. But my eye did catch something else growing out of a rock crevice – navelwort, or wall pennywort as it is sometimes known.

This unusual plant specialises in gaining tenure in rock crevices and is distinguished by its waxy disc-shaped leaves and long flower spike.

I scanned a gully above me with my binoculars and there it was, a reddish splash of colour against the grey rock – sticky catchfly.

There was another one behind it too, so I quickly scrambled up to the plants on this rock ledge and perched precariously beside them. They are certainly most attractive flowers, a bit like a smaller version of red campion.

They also have an uncertain future, given that they are continually under threat from grazing animals and gorse fires.

But for now, they seem to be holding their own on the high rockfaces above the Hillfoots, and as I looked across to the Wallace Monument and the Gargunnock Hills beyond, I felt a real thrill to be sitting beside such rare and special flowers.

@BroomfieldKeiith