Radar Love: The Way to Holehead

Holehead is the third highest point in the Campsie Fells after Earl's Seat and the Meikle Bin, but it's really not for the height that I'm going. It's out of love.... love for that little golf ball that sits on my horizon just out of view of the naked eye. I first saw this golf ball (actually a radar station run by the Met Office) from the summit of Dumbreck about a couple of kilometres to the west. I then recognised it from my living room window with my binoculars, and then, when I bought a new OS map last week I realized that of course (!) there is a gravel road up there (I have given up on some hills simply due to the extremely boggy nature of the ground in order to get to them).

Anyway, here's the view from my living room in Cessnock.... (8x zoom)...

Beyond Art, beyond science, beyond even knowledge.... lie the hills! (Across the Science Centre, Kelvingrove Art Gallery, and Glasgow University, to the fells and the radar station clearly visible on the left).

Beautiful! What can you say.... 12 minutes on the train, and about the same on the bike, and I'm here... in the back of beyond.... not too hot, not too cold, not too cloudy, not too sunny.... perfect ordinariness revealed as paradise!  [At the top of the Old Mugdock Road]

At the car park (bench for we cyclists) in the sky looking west to the Kilpatricks (note the crag and tail form of Duncolm on the right).

Looking down to Clachan of Campsie and Schoenstatt. (The half-demolished Lennox Castle is centre left of the picture hidden in the woodland)

Hanging on for dear life! Going down the immaculate Crow Road...

The gravel path up to Holehead and the radar station.

The view across to the Meikle Bin and Carron Reservoir just to the left.

Looking into the valley from the trig point.

Shapes and spaces. You can perhaps make out on the left of the horizon the outline of Ben Lomond.

The idyllic woodland at Finglen Burn on the Thomas Muir strathkelvin walkway.

The craggy outline of Dunglass plug.

The trip begins with the train to Milngavie where you can take the quieter road up to Mugdock Village and then down the Old Mugdock Road to Strathblane. Here, the Thomas Muir path is waiting for you to take you all along to Lennoxtown where you can branch off and join the Crow Road. Despite its reputation it's not that steep and is actually quite pleasant to cycle when you get a rhythm going.

From the car park, it's still another few kilometres up to the gravel path up to Holehead, and then it's another 2 kilomtres up the path!! Thankfully though we are on solid ground and it doesn't take long to get up on foot with bike in tow. If you do cycle back down it, be careful as it's very steep in places and the ground is rocky....

Coming down the Crow Road to Lennoxtown is like flying. Again caution is required but not too much as it's a quiet and well-tarmacked road. Just watch out for the road works halfway up.

From Lennoxtown, I was going to carry on round to Lenzie and get the train back from there, but since the wind was blowing the other way I just decided to head back the way I came. And that little stretch of the Thomas Muir path past Dunglass and Ballagan is a joy to cycle. The whole mesa of the Campsie Fells rises up like some primordial dinosaur behind you as the Blane Valley opens up in front. Back up to Mugdock and down the other side and I'm on the train back to Partick for 14.26 (I arrived at Milngavie at 10.03). Quite amazing really since I am no speed merchant, and I did take a few breaks. It's even more amazing when I get home to my humble fourth floor Cessnockian apartment and look north out of my bay window and see that little whote orb glowing in the sunlight 20km away.

In fact, that's the thing, in some cities you can't see anything from your window save for someone else's kitchen, but here, from arguably one of the more down to earth areas of the city, I can see not only the horizon but a few interesting structures along the way. Never underestimate the view from one's living room! It's a great motivator to get out there.