I had, upon the purchase of an up-to-date OS map, decided to brave the ridge path up to Mistylaw, but since the path was almost non-existant and the ground such that a wrong step might swallow you whole, I changed direction upon seeing the new and peculiar Lairdside Hill nearby. On top of that, Mistylaw just seemed too far away to walk in such boggy conditions.
Anyway, the bonus is I discovered a couple of new hills, not least the inimitable plug of Dunconnel hill just to the south of Lairdside Hill, which juts out of the land quite unceremoniously. The walk to Lairdshill begins just after the gate at Muirfauldhouse. I took the bike hoping for a path but after a few hundred metres decided to ditch it quite literally in a ditch beside an old stone wall - there was no way I was getting up here with a bike in tow. The cycle up to Muirfauldhouse is steep but short, and from the train station at Lochwinnoch is relatively simple to get to, travelling through the village's Church Street all the way through and up, turning left over the river and by the millhouse just before the weir.
The old millhouse and bridge. Just follow the road round to the right and then up to the left onto what I suppose is one the steepest gradient roads in the whole Glasgow valley.
It's pretty difficult to capture steepness through a lens but this one does it pretty well. I guess the gradient is over 15%, and even on my lowest gear I struggled to get halfway up before calling it a day, but then most of my cycling is about walking too, so I'm used to it.
Looking on to the back of Turnave Hill with its rocky necklace. I just left the bike here before continuing on foot up to the left to Lairdside Hill.
The gangly outline of Lairside Hill
From the summit of Lairdside Hill looking north to Windyhill (centre), Craig Minnan (right), and the Highlands beyond.
Looking south-west to Ailsa Craig.
By far the most amazing thing about Lairdside Hill is the summit and the views. For the first time in my greater Glasgow gallivanting I could see at a glance the city and the sea.... together. As I stood on the summit my right eye took in the sea as my left gathered the city. It was incredible if only to realise how utterly close the city is to the sea! Sure, we all know how far it is, how long it takes you by car, by train, etc. but to see it in the flesh - the city and the sea in a oner - is quite a different experience. I can't help thinking now, and what with the ET-esque outline of the hill itself, that the left and right flanks of Lairdside Hill are actually its eyes, the one looking to the city, the other to the sea. I have rarely come across a hill that has embodied such vision!
The other amazing thing is the vista enopening the whole of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire to the east. I could just see the top of Neilston Pad as the land rises up from the city creating the valley walls, and then behind it, all the hills I visited last week: Corkindale Law, Howcraigs Hill, Knockenae Plantation et al. This is the beauty of hill-walking, not just the obvious health benefits, but the shifting perspectives allowing one to understand that things have the appearance of being different in different conditions, from different angles, in different seasons. Being able to understand this in the flesh allows one to embody this understanding and translate it into less expansive scenarios. There is no better way to understand the self and its relations.
Excuse the poor audio - but (as every cyclist knows) it wouldn't be the same without the wind ;)
How amazing and epic to see Ailsa Craig from there! Thanks. p*
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