Strathblane to Kilsyth | John Muir Way

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Overview

Distance:

13 miles, 20.8 km

Average time to complete:

4 hours' walking, 2.5 hours' cycling

Description

This leg is a 13-mile walk, one of the longer sections, but it has some lovely open stretches on good surfaces. Head off to Clachan of Campsie underneath Cort-ma Law hill and then onto Kirkintilloch’s rich, historic town centre for elevenses. Here you join the first canal stretch, enjoying flat walking on the old towpath before encountering your first Roman Fort at Bar Hill. Take some time out to recreate in your imagination the ancient settlement and rest weary legs after that steep pull up to the summit. Auchinstarry Marina hosts a great eco-pub, so why not stop off for food or a floating overnight stop?

Terrain

This section mainly follows a refurbished railway path and a level canal towpath. Although the route crosses through Kirkintilloch, it uses an off-road path At Twechar the route splits in two: walkers head up and over the Antonine Wall, taking in the Roman Fort at Bar Hill. Although it's a steep track, cyclists can use the walking braid but AVOID riding on the soft surfaces at the protected Bar Hill archaeological site. Otherwise cyclists can stay on the canal towpath all the way to the marina at Auchinstarry. The public toilets are situated at the Co-operative in Lennoxtown, Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre, Twechar Healthy Living Centre and Clachan of Campsie.

Getting There

By rail: the route can be accessed at the Kilsyth end from Croy train station, 1km from the trail.

By bus: Strathblane is covered by the X10 Glasgow-Stirling route. The 88C bus service links Kilsyth, Kirkintilloch and Lennoxtown.

By car: there is a small car park opposite Strathblane Parish Church and at eastern end of this section at Auchinstarry Marina.

Points of interest

Thomas Muir Heritage Trail

18km in length running from Clachan of Campsie by Lennoxtown to Huntershill, Bishopbriggs, the route offers a great walking or cycling experience.

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The Auld Kirk Museum

Kirkintilloch houses one of Scotland's smallest 4-star visitor attractions – the Auld Kirk Museum.

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Mugdock Country Park

Large country park with historic buildings, lochs, ponds, woodland and hills with restaurant, shop and business facilities.

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Merkland Local Nature Reserve

Merkland is a mosaic of woodland, wetland and grassland with open water and burns developed on a former colliery site.

Loch Ardinning Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserve

Loch Ardinning is a visitor-friendly wildlife haven with 142 hectares of varied habitat, including wetland, woodland, grassland and moorland. The loch itself supports a number of wintering and breeding wildfowl and is rich in invertebrate life.

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Lenzie Moss Local Nature Reserve

Visit in summer to enjoy the range of butterflies and dragonflies.

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Kirkintilloch Town Centre

Kirkintilloch is a historic and strategic town. Latterly it produced internationally-recognised red telephone boxes.

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Dunglass Hill

This volcanic plug sits right beside the path near Strathblane and although not as high as the nearby Campsie Fells, is still worth a quick ascent to catch the view of the surrounding area.