Milngavie Loop (via Clachan of Campsie & Lennox Forest)

The train to Milngavie takes about twenty minutes from Partick. From the train station head up the hill (a great energizer to start us off!) past Mugdock Reservoir to the village of Mugdock, and then, after admiring the views, take the Old Mugdock Road downhill towards Strathblane.

 From Old Mugdock village head for Strathblane down the Old Mugdock Road.

At Strathblane, opposite the church, take the path towards Lennoxtown that runs parallel with the A891. It is an excellent path for both walkers and cyclists and offers up equally excellent views of the great Campsie mesa to the north. Before reaching Dunglass look out for Ballagan Burn, (a fine little stream with some overhanging trees), which comes down from the Ballagan Glen in the Campsie Fells. It's a serene little spot to rest and get the flask out (assuming that the cows haven't beat you to it!).

Dunglass is a strange formation 153m high, more or less directly opposite the great fissure of Ballagan Glen. It's well worth a walk to the top (15 minutes should do it from the path) for the views along the Blane Valley. These views might give you some idea of how (on earth) this hulking rock got here. Moreover, it's a good vantage point from where to spot birds. Ravens have been known to nest on the sheer east face (in front of us).

Clachan of Campsie is a lovely little village at the foot of the fells. There's even a bike shop if you get into a bit of trouble. Campsie Glen is a day trip in itself and is a wonderful place for a picnic should you decide to stop here. Right next door is the Schoenstatt shrine and religious retreat which moved here in 1989. It's certainly worth a look and its grounds are impeccable.

The fascinating graveyard at Clachan of Campsie.  

From Clachan of Campise head back to the path which now runs alongside the Glazert Water. Things have changed a lot since my 1968 OS map so be prepared to get slightly lost. All I can say is that somewhere along the line (not quite as far along as Lennoxtown) there is a rough farm path leading up into Lennox Forest. Follow this and you will come to Muirhead Farm and Lennox 'plantation' itself. Again, you will probably notice the silence, the complete absence of people, and the almost scary sense of space. From here, you can either head down via Blairskaith Quarry or through a patch of forest and along a makeshift trail (marked in blue on map above) which will spit us out on to Tower Road. Here, there is an opportunity to check out the Old Wives' Lifts (thought to be some kind of druidic altar) on Craigmaddie Muir (marked as a pink pyramid on map), and/or the remains of Craigmaddie Castle next door. [For more info. on these, check out the superb Archaeology Around Glasgow by Susan Hothersall and Gordon Mason's excellent Castles of Glasgow  & The Clyde Valley].

 

The view south over Glasgow from Blairskaith trig point.

The Old Wives' Lifts.

The back roads here lead us gently down to Baldernock and its ancient parish church and graveyard before sweeping through Dougalston Golf Course and back to Milngavie.