John Muir Way: Strathblane to Longcroft

Monday 25th August 2025

Over the summer I had felt very tired, drained of energy, possibly from the heat or simply stress, which is not unusual for me, so I needed a holiday that would not be too strenuous where I could disengage my brain and allow the lack of pressure on the trail to restore my mind and body. The trail I picked was the John Muir Way which celebrates the Scottish-born naturalist who pioneered the environmental movement and traces the journey from his birthplace in Dunbar to the port on the mouth of the Clyde where he set sail for the New World. I had set off from Helensburgh two days previously, climbing over the hills into Balloch at the southern end of Loch Lomond, and then the following day I climbed over the northern slopes of the Kilpatrick Hills on a long stage of the trail that eventually brought me into Strathblane. There are no mountains on the John Muir Way and the hills that I had crossed on the first two days were less than a thousand feet high but were still the highest points on the whole trail. The third stage of the John Muir Way couldn’t have been gentler as I soon joined the Strathkelvin Railway Path, which follows the route of the disused Blane Valley Railway line and is now a cyclepath. The steep hillside of the Campsie Fells escarpment lines the northern side of the valley but was no comfort for me as I walked through the flat-bottomed valley past a mixture of farmland and woodland.

This was too easy a walk for me and I would have perhaps found it better to have been following a trail with a little more undulation, but instead I was stuck on the level, which was very dull while passing through farmland, but later I came into woodland and alongside the Glazert Water, whose environs were more natural and pleasing to my eye, and made the walking much more pleasing. There is something very soothing for me to be walking through woodland and, despite passing the built-up areas of Lennoxtown and Milton of Campsie, the railway path continued to be lined by trees with the river never far away, but the miles began to drag as the cloud began to clear and the sun shone for the first time on this holiday. By the time I reached the end of the railway footpath, after almost eight miles, I was in a daze from the heat, barely able to walk in a straight line, with no strength left. Finally, I reached the town of Kirkintilloch and after climbing past some industrial units I arrived at the Forth & Clyde Canal where I collapsed onto the first empty seat to rest and have something to eat. It was still hot but after eating I felt much more refreshed and able to resume the trail which follows the towpath beside the wide ship canal for more than three miles with stunning views of the trees that run alongside.

My walk beside the canal came to an end near the village of Twechar where I turned right over a bridge and up the hill, soon turning left to continue climbing along a track. After four hours of flat walking I was overjoyed to finally be climbing a hill, which was also providing me with a cooling breeze and brought me to Bar Hill Roman Fort on the Antonine Wall. This briefly superseded the much more famous Hadrian’s Wall before being abandoned when the Romans retreated to that wall in England. There is not much left of the Antonine Wall and Bar Hill contains some of the best preserved examples. I could see the foundations of the fort on top of the hill while on the northern slopes I found a large ditch with what appeared to be the foundations of the Antonine Wall itself at the bottom, though probably not. I was fascinated by it all. I have previously visited Hadrian’s Wall a couple of times but I had never seen the Antonine Wall so I was glad that the John Muir Way was making me take this diversion. The trail continued to follow the remains of the wall through woodland and past more mundane farmland before reaching a road near the village of Croy where the third stage of the John Muir Way ends, but I wasn’t ready to stop yet, despite there being a convenient railway station at Croy, so I kept going to follow the ridge up to Croy Hill.

This was an enjoyable walk as the path undulated around a series of small hills that interpretation boards claimed were the remains of Roman forts, but to my untrained eye I could not see any sign of this. It was still a great walk through fabulous landscape until it all came tragically to an end when I finally descended back down the hill to the canal. The tedium of walking along the towpath beside the Forth & Clyde Canal resumed, eventually passing under the M80 motorway and I finally left the canal at Underwood Lock to head into Longcroft where I caught a bus to Stirling. It is surprising how tiring it was for me to be walking on the flat, though the hot, sunny weather was perhaps to blame for this. The repetition of every footstep being identical to the one before was exceptionally tedious but with navigation being easy beside the canal or along the railway path I was able to switch off my brain and allow my legs to do the thinking, repeating the same action again and again. My rehabilitation was underway.

John Muir Way: Balloch to Strathblane

Sunday 24th August 2025

After a good night’s sleep at the Glasgow Youth Hostel I caught a train back to Balloch where I resumed my trek along the John Muir Way. I was surprised to see that the ground was wet in Balloch despite it being dry in Glasgow, perhaps from the mist that was still hanging around the southern end of Loch Lomond at that time of the morning, which was leaving a damp feeling to the air. I set off along the trail into Balloch Castle Country Park beside the water, which was already providing me with the feeling that this was a pleasant walk for a Sunday morning, but at a boathouse I turned right to climb up the hill past the fenced off castle and along the access road that took me out of the park. My route continued along quiet country lanes that lacked interest for me, but since I was just walking through gently undulating farmland then walking along a road was better than crossed an endless series of fields as now I could easily maintain a brisk pace and get it other with as quickly as possible. This went on for about six miles with strange-looking dummies outside some of the houses failing to relieve the tedium. After passing Wester Cameron Farm the road came to an end and I finally began to climb, so I stopped to eat some of my lunch, and look at the views north towards the Loch Lomond Hills. Unfortunately, grey overcast skies and the distant hills across low-lying farmland meant this view was not particularly picturesque.

Soon I set off again and turned right into a conifer plantation climbing Tombocle Hill on a forestry track before branching left onto a more interesting path that weaved a course through a felled part of the plantation, which provided me with extensive views over the small regrowth and plenty of flowering heather to decorate the landscape. The good footpath took me over the Carling Burn and after passing over Rough Burn took me out of the plantation and towards the dam for Burncrooks Reservoir. With the weather briefly threatening to rain, I followed the path around the reservoir that sits on the northern flanks of the Kilpatrick Hills, and is as hilly as the John Muir Way ever gets. Conifers were never far away and soon I was back amongst the trees and eventually left the reservoir behind descending on the access road for the dam, past the filter station and eventually reached Eden Mill Farm Shop where I couldn’t help stopping to have a cup of tea and a rest. A short walk from there brought me onto the A809 road and into the Carbeth Hutters Community, a delightful place where many wooden huts provide tranquil solitude for their owners, except for those huts disturbed by those on the John Muir Way that I passed while following the path around the wooded landscape of Carbeth Hill. 

I had a brief glimpse of Carbeth Loch before turning left onto a wide path that is the route of the extremely popular West Highland Way. I didn’t stay on it for long as I soon turned right to continue walking through woodland but then the path widened onto a forestry track which eventually brought me into the village of Strathblane where the second stage of the John Muir Way ends. The weather, which had been poor all day, rallied at the end with the sun attempting to push through the clouds and, though blue sky never made an appearance, I had good views of the Campsie Fells escarpment with Dumgoyne Hill drawing the eye. This made for a welcome improvement to what had been a dull day with long stretches of monotonous walking, but perhaps this was exactly what I had needed. Coming into this holiday I had been feeling very tired so I needed something to help me relax and disengage my brain and, since the John Muir Way is very well signposted, navigation was never a problem for me so I was able to blindly follow the directions and not have to think about anything. Ironically, this is one of the longest and hilliest sections of the whole trail, but compared with the Cambrian Way, which I had completed earlier in the year, it was easy and just what I needed.

John Muir Way: Helensburgh to Balloch

Saturday 23rd August 2025

A few years ago, while studying a map of the long distance trails in Scotland, I came up with an idea to combine several trails into an awesome trek across the central belt of Scotland and down the east coast into Northumberland. The first trail, and taking up more than half the distance, is the John Muir Way, which starts in Helensburgh at the mouth of the Clyde. John Muir was a nineteenth century naturalist who pioneered the environmental movement, especially in the United States. He was born in Dunbar, in Scotland, but while still a child he immigrated to North America where he campaigned for the formation of the first national parks. The John Muir Way follows his final journey from Dunbar to the Firth of Clyde where he set sail for America. However, rather than following in his steps, the trail is usually done in the other direction, retracing John Muir’s journey, starting from Helensburgh. I had a troublesome journey up to Scotland, starting with train strikes on the line to Birmingham, which forced me to travel Friday evening and stay in the Backpacker’s Hostel before the catching the train to Scotland early the following morning, which arrived in Glasgow late, but I eventually reached Helensburgh where I was finally able to begin my trek across Scotland. First, I made my way onto the pier from where the steamers used to set sail across the Atlantic, though not anymore and the pier is now deteriorating. The start of the trail is on the landward side of the pier beside a memorial to John Muir and from there it heads up the hill, through the town and away from the coast.

The trail took me past some grand houses, around Helensburgh Upper Station, and on to reach Hill House, which is regarded as an architectural masterpiece, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, but I couldn’t see it as it was covered in scaffolding and I wasn’t there to look around houses. Instead I headed through a strip of woodland along the edge of Helensburgh that brought me onto the main road to walk along a cycle path beside it, which was enlivened by many wild flowers including crocosmia, rosebay willowherb and knapweed. I knew I was not going to be traversing any mountains on this holiday, so the sight to the north of the hills of the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park filled me with a longing to be heading in that direction, but I needed gentle walks on this holiday so maybe this was for the best. I had hardly done any walking over the summer, since completing the Cambrian Way at the beginning of June, partly due to the heat, but also stress and poor sleep, so my primary goal for this holiday was just to let go of the noise of everyday life and embrace life on the trail. There is nothing better for me than walking and I had loved doing the Cambrian Way so it had been a shock for me to return to normal life afterwards. Now that I was finally back on the trail I could let it do its miraculous work on my psyche. When I eventually came off the cycle path I turned onto a path that is often closed for tree felling, so I was curious to see what I would find. I had expected a thick conifer plantation, but instead deciduous trees lined the path while the conifers were so young I could see over their tops which let me see more of the mountains to the north and of Loch Lomond to the east.

Despite the overcast skies, this was a picturesque walk with the purple flowers of devil’s bit scabious and heather adding to the scene as I crossed Bannachra Muir gradually climbing around Ben Bowie. On the eastern slopes I came across a barrier across the forestry track and a sign that indicated there were felling operations ahead and I would need to take a diversion. This forced me to descend back towards Helensburgh along a great path with stunning views across the Firth of Clyde while heather lined the path. Before returning to Helensburgh the diversion eventually took me left across the hillside on a tedious, wide track to reach a farmer’s road and finally climb back up the hill, past the farm and eventually return to the John Muir Way below Killoeter escarpment. This diversion took me over an hour and was very tiring, so I relieved to be back on the trail, which soon led me onto Stoneymollan Muir with views down to Loch Lomond and the end of this stage of the trail, in Balloch. Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures at this point so I have nothing to preserve the memory of that delightful descent until I reached a line of trees that marked my coming off the moor and onto a road that led me into Balloch. This fabulous descent started my treatment to refresh my body from the summer’s hardships and by the time I reached the bottom I felt much better.

The John Muir Way took me over the busy A82 road and into the Loch Lomond Shores complex, which I had previously visited at the start of my first walking holiday in Scotland, back in 2004, before doing the West Highland Way. Now, I rushed past the crowds and shops and through the woodland that lines the southern tip of Loch Lomond to eventually reach the railway station in Balloch, which is at the end of the first stage of the John Muir Way. This first day of my holiday was a brief taste of the walking that was ahead of me, made a little longer due to the diversion around Gouk Hill, which I could have done without. The weather was never bad, but sunshine was rare and fleeting while persistent cloud covered the skies and ensured that it was never too hot, so this short walk was a relaxing start to my holiday.

Cambrian Way rerun: Llyn Ogwen to Conwy

Friday 6th June 2025

Three weeks after I set off along the Cambrian Way, last spring, I began the twenty-first stage of this challenging long distance trail. It was a relief after the rain of the day before to find sunshine as I left Idwal Cottage Youth Hostel early in the morning for the longest stretch of high-level walking on the whole route that takes in six mountains more than three thousand feet high. First I crossed the road above Rhaeadr Ogwen falls to join the rough path that crosses the foot of the steep slopes of Pen yr Ole Wen along the shore of Llyn Ogwen. A path climbs from the bridge straight up the mountain, but it is not recommended as it is very steep and eroded so the Cambrian Way deliberately avoids it by following the route that I have always taken on previous visits here. The path beside the lake is very rocky with some scrambling required around boulders and after the heavy rain of the day before the ground was very wet which made my way even trickier than normal, but it gradually improved and eventually I reached the Afon Lloer beside Tal y Llyn Ogwen where I turned left to climb the hillside beside the stream. The weather often seems to be poor when I take this route into the Carneddau Mountains so I felt lucky to have good weather for my final day on the Cambrian Way as if I was being rewarded for my efforts not only for the day before but for the past three weeks on the whole trail. Before finally moving away from the stream I made a point of refilling my water bottle because I knew there would not be any more chance to do so for a long while.

A clear path led me to an enjoyable scramble up some rocks, but any hope I may have had that my way would now be easy were dashed as I saw at the top of the scramble that the eastern ridge of Pen yr Ole Wen continues to rise steeply all the way up to the summit of my first three thousand footer of the day. A cold wind was blowing at the top of Pen yr Ole Wen which prompted me to put on my cagoule before setting off along the stony ridge that led me over Carnedd Fach while I enjoyed extensive views north and towards the highest mountains in the Carneddau. Soon I reached the summit of Carnedd Dafydd, my second high mountain of the day, and immediately I set off along the fabulous ridge that snakes around the head of Cwm Pen-llafar above the crags of Ysgolion Duon. There was often no wind blowing while I was on this path which always feels magical at the top of a mountain and added to my enjoyment as I made my way along the long, variable ridge over grass, loose stones and large boulders that kept me entertained until eventually leading me to the lowest point on the ridge before the final steep climb to the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn, the second highest mountain in Wales. Some dark clouds were gathering over the summit and on the far side it was misty so views were now intermittent and as a few drops of rain were falling I continued along the ridge through the mist to pass over Foel Grach and reach mountain number five, now known as Carnedd Gwenllian, but it was called Carnedd Uchaf when I first visited the mountain. My route now turned east, to my right, and as the weather began to improve, or as I left the bad weather behind, I climbed up to Foel-fras, my final three thousand footer of the day, however, I still had a lot of walking to do. I would have loved it if my way was downhill from here all the way into Conwy, but tragically that was not the case. 

With awesome views towards the Conwy valley and out to sea I descended over the small rises of Drum and Carnedd y Ddelw before turning right to descend more steeply down to the pass of Bwlch y Ddeufaen. I was dismayed while I realised that at the pass I would have to climb the steep heather-covered slopes beyond, so I resignedly set off up the hill which went on for much longer than I hoped until eventually I reached the summit of Foel Lwyd where I followed a wall across a col and over the craggy hill of Tal y Fan. The broad grassy slopes beyond revealed a tremendous view that for the first time included Conwy Castle, so, after three weeks my ultimate goal was finally in view, and after reaching a standing stone I followed a wide track on a gentle descent that I hoped would lead me all the way there. Unfortunately Cambrian Way was not going to end that easily for me as it left the wide track to cross a low ridge and descend into a valley. When I eventually thought of checking my location I realised that I had missed a turning and should not have been descending into a valley. Rather than turning around and climbing back up the hill, which with hindsight I should have done, I tried to take a shortcut, but the only route I found was ridiculously steep climbing straight back up the hill. When I eventually reached the correct path I was completely exhausted and staggered along the path around the side of the hill to Sychnant Pass. The finale to the Cambrian Way follows a meandering route over Mynydd y Dref, known as Conwy Mountain, where I had stunning views towards Llandudno and along the ridge towards Conwy Castle, which looked fantastic as it heralded the end of my three week trek along the Cambrian Way.

This felt like a grandstand finish to the trail, but I felt it had put the start to shame which was pathetic in comparison. In an attempt to contrast with the end at Conwy Castle, the Cambrian Way begins at Cardiff Castle, but it lacks the same gravitas. Rather than a castle to castle trail, it should be coast to coast and while walking along the ridge of Conwy Mountain I felt like I had reached the north coast of Wales, but Cardiff Castle is a long way from the coast. I tried to correct that by starting from Cardiff Bay, which is perhaps a better starting place. All too soon I came off the hill and into the streets of Conwy, through the town walls and to the foot of Conwy Castle where I found the plaque that commemorates the end of the Cambrian Way. After three weeks, and nine months since my first attempt at doing the Cambrian Way, I had completed the trail, but this final stage, especially my exhausting climb back out of the valley near the end, left me so tired I couldn’t think clearly to reflect on my achievement. This is an epic trail that I thoroughly enjoyed doing, so much so that I didn’t want to go back to work afterwards. Ordinary life paled in comparison to the highs of life on the trail, especially after three weeks. Few other trails are able to match the variety, including the grand traverses over many different mountains that are included on the Cambrian Way. As I caught a train home the following day all I could think about was how to tackle the Cambrian Way a third time.