Hill of Stake

Follow the yellow circular from the Visitor Centre along the mine path initially. As an alternative to coming back down the Raith glen, you could walk up to Mistylaw and follow the dotted line back down. Although someone at the Visitor Centre suggested 3 hours to do this circular I quickly found out that it was going to be close to 5. I decided at East Girt Hill to head straight back down the glen. The yellow route took me a good four (with two 15 minute breaks).

The last time I was up in the Muirshiel wilds I heard an old-timer ask about the route towards Hill of Stake (Dracula's most feared hill!), and the highest point of the Inverclyde-Mistylaw-Queenside hill-moor system. And so, having had the thought planted in my mind, I came up this morning with a view to getting up it. The initial road up to the Visitor Centre is a 3 mile beauty with tantalising views of the hill in question eking out into the sky in the distance.

Looking up towards Hill of Stake in the grey distance from the 3 mile road that leads up to Muirshiel Visitor Centre.

From left to right: Little Craig Minnan, Craig Minnan, and Windyhill.

At the end of the barytes mine trail and the beginning of the climb into Hill of Stake. It took one hour of walking to get here from the Visitor Centre and it will take another hour of walking to get to the summit of Hill of Stake. 

From Hill of Stake looking west towards Arran and Cumbrae.

Hill of Stake from East Girt Hill

Looking back down the Raith Burn Glen towards the Visitor Centre (where the woods are). It's a helluva trudge from here to there, in and out of corries and avoiding heather-covered burns which could easily involve broken bones if not seen in time. At the end I even had to brave walking through the river. By that time my feet were so wet that it made little difference. It took two good hours of spritely (as spritely as you can walking through bogs and heathland) trudging to get back down to the Visitor Centre and dry solid land. This sort of walking takes so much out of you that, inevitably, part of you forever stays on that hillside (and part of that hillside forever stays with you). All I can say is thank god for lucozade and the fine weather. If it had been misty and wet as it is usually, I may have remained up there in my entirety!