Pollokshaws West Loop via Duncarnock Mount

Today, the day of the Commonwealth Games Marathon, I decided to take off from the strangled city and head up to the sacred mountain of Duncarnock, a classic crag and tail landform created by the flow of glaciers coming down from the north. I cycled through Pollok Country Park again to get to Pollokshaws West train station where I took the train up to Barrhead. Here, the backroad up towards Neilston is a beauty and really gets the blood flowing. Indeed, this whole route (as short as it is) is hills, hills, and more hills. And of course the views from most of these hills are impeccable.

Just follow the quiet road round (the dark blue line on the map ignoring any reddish lines!) to Craigton Farm and enter here following the path and then over the field towards the trig point at Duncarnock Mount. It's a great approach as you make your way through what appears to be an erratic field of boulders. And then of course you have that view. It's no surprise that this was a major hill-fort from ancient times.

The little waiting room at the train station was jamming! South-west community cycles are based here and you can hire bikes at the station.

 

The classic north face profile of Neilston Pad which, if you're standing at the top of Crow Road or halfway up Byres Road, will reveal itself to any keen seers.

The crossroads at the top of the world. Just a mile or so from Neilston the whole valley opens up. The entrance to Snypes Dam is just on the left.

Duncarnock Mount, the classic form of a crag & tail, showing the flow of the glacier that created it (here, from north to south)

An erratic boulder and limousin cow in the field approaching Duncarnock.

Coffee at the top of the world! (The trig point of Duncarnock)

Awesome!!!! Note where the light is ;)

The road back down to the city is all downhill. It is the B769 which we access at Newton Mearns. It is a great little road, all the more so because of its slight downhill gradient, passing Patterton, Thornliebank and Pollokshaws West train stations. Since I live in Cessnock, I just cut through Pollok Country Park and over the motorway and I'm home. I estimated that the road back from Duncarnock to my home took me less than half an hour... Quite amazing really!