Paisley Canal to Greenock via Corlick Hill

What a beautiful route this is! And what a beautiful summer's day to inaugurate it! [23rd August 2015]

I am constantly amazed at how easily it is to get out into the countryside from where I am in Cessnock (almost the centre of the city!). I dive over Paisley Road West and the motorway, cross a wee path and a field full of wildflowers and buzzing creatures by Bellahouston Secondary School and there I am at Dumbreck station, or 'the station of ten thousand trees' as I like to call it. Once on the train, I open my flask, open my map, and enjoy the 12 minute journey through a corridor of a million trees to Paisley Canal. This little line itself, once in danger of closing, is a peach! From Dumbreck, we pass through a moss (Mosspark), by a hill (Corkerhill), a castle (Crookston), and a hawk (Hawkhead). This line is as much about the temporal as it is the spatial, but then, when you do as much wayfaring as I do, you soon learn that there is no difference between space and time.

Anyhoo....

The trip more or less begins at Quarrier's Village since we have covered the sustrans path from Paisley before. It's about 7 miles from Paisley Canal along the marvellous sustrans path to here. A great warmer if ever there were one, before heading out onto the bucolic backroads of Inverclyde.

Just follow the blue line from Quarrier's Village up to the road leading up to Gryffe Reservoir.

Then, over Corlick Hill (there is a tarmac road down the west side of the hill past Whitelees Cottage), down to Drumfrochar, and then up the road to the French Monument.

The main avenue in Quarrier's Village.

The whaleback outline of Hill of Stake (from Hattrick Farm) which we were up two days ago. Now I can't go anywhere without seeing its illustrious greywacke profile.

The inimitable Caircurran (t bun) Hill from the organic B788 road.

You've been telt!  I thought  was in the bible belt for a minute until I realized I was just passing through Inverclyde!

On the quiet B788 just before the turn-off to the Gryffe Reservoirs. You can see Corlick Hill just to the left of the sign. The hill on the right is Lurg Moor where the Romans once had an observation post.

For a moment I thought that was Christopher Walken & Jane Fonda coming towards me (see previous post 'Cycling in Cinema') on this beautiful back road up to Gryffe Reservoir. Not so sure about recumbent bicycles - they just look too awkward and 'dodgy' (though truth be told I have never ridden one).

At the foot of the Corlick Hill path, a path that isn't as pathy as perhaps it should be, but is nonetheless a lot easier than the bog and heathland of many surrounding hills. The sign tells us that it is 1.5km to the summit (303m). Allow an hour or so (with bike), 30-40 minutes if simply on foot.

There really is nothing quite like carrying yourself and your bike over a hill. The view south from the summit of Corlick Hill over Gryffe Reservoir to Creuch Hill et al.

Passing Drumfrochar Station, looking down towards Greenock.

The Free French Memorial above Greenock & Gourock, dedicated to all the poor (French) bastards that died during the Atlantic campaign in WWI.

The road down to Greenock West from the Free French Monument. Beautiful! You can freewheel all the way down to Greenock West train station, or if you fancy, you can continue on into Greenock proper and admire the immaculate mural of the Glaswegian artist Charles Anderson on the front of the former Greenock Library (see below), as well as some very fine old stone buildings.

Charles Anderson did various murals like these in Glasgow. You've probably seen at least one of them but can't remember where. Think Charing X, or Kelvin Hall...