Lothian Car Club organised British Hill Climb Championship rounds at Bo'ness Hillclimb from 1948 until 1967, when the construction of a housing estate over the upper section of the Bo'ness track forced the club to find a new venue. In 1967, the hillclimb course at Doune was designed by Ray Fielding and built on land at the Carse of Cambus, with the first competitive event taking place in April 1968. Raymond Mays formally opened the course in June of that year, at which meeting Sir Nicholas Williamson set the initial hill record of 48.84 seconds in a Brabham BT21C.
The course runs for 1,476 yards (1,350 metres), a length it has held since 1977. The start line was positioned approximately 33 yards (30 metres) further back from 1968 to 1973, and between 1974 and 1976 lay beyond what is now the first corner, before settling at its current position. The course climbs through a sequence of named sections: a relatively open lower stretch, then Oak Tree where heavy foliage overhangs from the left, followed by Garden Gate and a dark tree-tunnel, then the Junction and a steep ascent to East Brae across the open Meadow, and finally the Esses leading to the finish. The top of the hill requires a sharper right-hand turn than its appearance suggests, demanding a careful balance between speed and corner-entry commitment. The track was resurfaced in January 1992, a new paddock established in 2000, and a paddock ring road installed in 2002. Competitors and spectators have characterised the combination of narrow Armco-lined tarmac, constantly changing surface character, and the East Brae climb as making Doune one of the most demanding and atmospheric hillclimb venues in Britain.
Doune has hosted rounds of both the Scottish Hillclimb Championship and the British Hill Climb Championship throughout its history, typically scheduling Scottish rounds in April, June, and September and British Championship rounds in June and September. No meetings were held in 2020 or April 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lothian Car Club has won the Hillclimb and Sprint Association's award for best-organised event of the year on multiple occasions. Notable British Championship round winners at the venue include Mike MacDowel (1971), Chris Cramer (1986), and Martin Groves, who dominated the circuit across the mid-2000s in a Gould-NME and set successive course records — bringing the record to 35.95 seconds in June 2009. Scott Moran lowered the outright mark progressively through 2014, setting 34.99 in June and then 34.76 seconds in the second round that day, driving a Gould GR61X. The current outright record was set by Alex Summers on 19 June 2022 during the British Hill Climb Championship Top 12 runoff, when he drove a DJ Firestorm 2650cc to a time of 34.21 seconds.
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