The pics from the top: The start point of The West Highland Way at Milngavie; Glasgow University; Drumgoyne Hill in The Campsie Fells; John walking with Ben Lomond on the horizon.Day 38 - Tuesday May 12th. Another sparkling day of clear skies and warm sunshine. John walked to Kelvin Grove from the Central Station and we met on the bridge over the Kelvin River just under the imposing towers of Glasgow University. At this point, the river runs in a remarkably deep canyon, considering it is in the middle of a city, and as a result is hardly noticeable excepting from the bridge. We walked past the main university buildings then up the streets past the bourgeois houses and tenements of Kelvinside, the poshest part of Glasgow.
My mother was brought up in a Glasgow tenement, which was a terraced block, well built usually of red sandstone, but for high density housing with communal washing and toilet facilities. Whole families lived in a very few rooms and a tenement was forced to be a very close community. People lived on very little and drunkenness was a big problem. Out of this environment came the aphorisms, 'cleanliness is next to Godliness' and 'the demon drink' both of which could have been bywords for my mother's early life.
We joined the Kelvin Walkway which follows the river northwards to Milngavie. Again, following rivers and cycle/ old railway tracks makes for easy walking as such ways are level, well surfaced and normally attractive, and we were on such ways for most of today. The Kelvin Walkway is quite pleasant, winding along through the woods at the bottom of the Kelvin valley, generally within sight of the peat-brown river. But there seems to be little attention to the vegetation in the area which is rarely interesting and often infested with swathes of Japanese Knot Weed, a noxious invasive plant that is proscribed by Defra and which local authorities are supposed to try to eradicate. John tells me that there has been a big campaign to do just that in Cornwall, and if nothing is done about it along the Clyde and its tributaries, it will completely take over.
We took a small diversion up the Forth & Clyde Canal where there is a series of large locks at Maryhill and one was struck again at the energy of the Victorians in engineering such large projects which remain to today. The cycle way rather peters out at a science park, and there followed a street walk followed by a very muddy bit where we re-joined the Kelvin, that looped Eastwards before turning back towards Milngarvie (pronounced Mullgie - don't ask!). As we followed this, the views open out and we began to get a taste of what was to come as the Campsie Fells came into view.
Today is a 'luxury' walking day as we had coffee at 11:30, then on reaching Milngavie, we left our packs with some people (located extraordinarily enough in an Ironmonger shop that also sold vegetables) who undertook to transport them to our overnight accommodation each day until Fort William for £30. We walked out of there, with little day packs on, feeling like we were walking on air! It is SO much easier, especially on a long day. We had soup for lunch at a pub, then also at 4:30pm had afternoon tea with scones and jam! We reflected on Saturday when we sat in the rain on a cold stone bridge with a strong wind blowing and had some water and trail mix - there have been many. Also in the days to come, it is unlikely we will encounter such luxury as settlements become few and far between.
So, The West Highland Way starts at Milngavie, and we started at about 1:30. We were amused that, after the photographs under the large and handsome portal that marks it's beginning, you go straight down into a carpark! However, very soon you are walking through parks and woods which were looking lovely at this time of year. The going all through this afternoon was very easy and very beautiful. The Campsie fells, dominated by the small but impressive peak called Dumgoyne, open out in front of you. There were great swathes of bluebells, marsh marigolds, gorse and other flowers, and the trees were looking gorgeous with their young leaves thrusting out in all shades of green.
There is a lovely view across Craigallain Loch towards the Campsies which is famously spoiled by yet another power line. There is now a proposal to construct a huge new power supply line from the north coast of Scotland through the Highlands to where it is needed in the south: there has to be a better way to deal with our energy needs. A large proportion of the power is lost in transit, and they really do industrialise otherwise pristine landscapes. Unfortunately, the UK Government has been hopeless on energy policy for a great many years, and as a result matters tend to revert to the known option, opportunities to capitalise on British expertise are lost, and we are ill-prepared for the future.
From Craigallain Loch on, the walk was quite magnificent, with constantly changing views of the Campsie Fells and great panoramas of the Highlands, dominated by Ben Lomond. I have never before seen this magnificent peak so clearly, towering above all else around it. With easy walking, no packs, great views and plenty of refreshment we were happy walking bunnies, even after 20 miles.
The day finished off watching a heron fish, then views of a huge castle-style mansion called Dalnair House.
Tomorrow's forecast is excellent - hooray!
My mother was brought up in a Glasgow tenement, which was a terraced block, well built usually of red sandstone, but for high density housing with communal washing and toilet facilities. Whole families lived in a very few rooms and a tenement was forced to be a very close community. People lived on very little and drunkenness was a big problem. Out of this environment came the aphorisms, 'cleanliness is next to Godliness' and 'the demon drink' both of which could have been bywords for my mother's early life.
We joined the Kelvin Walkway which follows the river northwards to Milngavie. Again, following rivers and cycle/ old railway tracks makes for easy walking as such ways are level, well surfaced and normally attractive, and we were on such ways for most of today. The Kelvin Walkway is quite pleasant, winding along through the woods at the bottom of the Kelvin valley, generally within sight of the peat-brown river. But there seems to be little attention to the vegetation in the area which is rarely interesting and often infested with swathes of Japanese Knot Weed, a noxious invasive plant that is proscribed by Defra and which local authorities are supposed to try to eradicate. John tells me that there has been a big campaign to do just that in Cornwall, and if nothing is done about it along the Clyde and its tributaries, it will completely take over.
We took a small diversion up the Forth & Clyde Canal where there is a series of large locks at Maryhill and one was struck again at the energy of the Victorians in engineering such large projects which remain to today. The cycle way rather peters out at a science park, and there followed a street walk followed by a very muddy bit where we re-joined the Kelvin, that looped Eastwards before turning back towards Milngarvie (pronounced Mullgie - don't ask!). As we followed this, the views open out and we began to get a taste of what was to come as the Campsie Fells came into view.
Today is a 'luxury' walking day as we had coffee at 11:30, then on reaching Milngavie, we left our packs with some people (located extraordinarily enough in an Ironmonger shop that also sold vegetables) who undertook to transport them to our overnight accommodation each day until Fort William for £30. We walked out of there, with little day packs on, feeling like we were walking on air! It is SO much easier, especially on a long day. We had soup for lunch at a pub, then also at 4:30pm had afternoon tea with scones and jam! We reflected on Saturday when we sat in the rain on a cold stone bridge with a strong wind blowing and had some water and trail mix - there have been many. Also in the days to come, it is unlikely we will encounter such luxury as settlements become few and far between.
So, The West Highland Way starts at Milngavie, and we started at about 1:30. We were amused that, after the photographs under the large and handsome portal that marks it's beginning, you go straight down into a carpark! However, very soon you are walking through parks and woods which were looking lovely at this time of year. The going all through this afternoon was very easy and very beautiful. The Campsie fells, dominated by the small but impressive peak called Dumgoyne, open out in front of you. There were great swathes of bluebells, marsh marigolds, gorse and other flowers, and the trees were looking gorgeous with their young leaves thrusting out in all shades of green.
There is a lovely view across Craigallain Loch towards the Campsies which is famously spoiled by yet another power line. There is now a proposal to construct a huge new power supply line from the north coast of Scotland through the Highlands to where it is needed in the south: there has to be a better way to deal with our energy needs. A large proportion of the power is lost in transit, and they really do industrialise otherwise pristine landscapes. Unfortunately, the UK Government has been hopeless on energy policy for a great many years, and as a result matters tend to revert to the known option, opportunities to capitalise on British expertise are lost, and we are ill-prepared for the future.
From Craigallain Loch on, the walk was quite magnificent, with constantly changing views of the Campsie Fells and great panoramas of the Highlands, dominated by Ben Lomond. I have never before seen this magnificent peak so clearly, towering above all else around it. With easy walking, no packs, great views and plenty of refreshment we were happy walking bunnies, even after 20 miles.
The day finished off watching a heron fish, then views of a huge castle-style mansion called Dalnair House.
Tomorrow's forecast is excellent - hooray!
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