Clackmannanshire is the smallest county in Scotland, known affectionately as 'The Wee County', and Alloa is its county town. Once known for the manufacture of knitting yarn, the production of glass and the brewing of beer, the economy of the town today is centred mainly on the leisure and retail industries. Alloa harbour was also once a major trade centre, its major business the export of coal, chiefly destined for the United States. The Hillfoot Villages of Blairlogie, Menstrie, Alva, Tillicoultry, Dollar and Muckhart, which lie at the base of the Ochil Hills, 5 miles from Alloa, also now focus on leisure and retail. However, they were once centres of the weaving industry, the mills powered by streams flowing down from the neighbouring hills. Walter Burt uses a collection of modern and period images to show how Alloa and the Hillfoot Villages have developed and changed over the years.