The Thomas Muir Heritage Trail
Participants: Just me
This information board at the start of the Trail at Huntershill in Bishopbriggs gives the background.....
The Trail is 18km in length and stretches from Huntershill to Clachan of Campsie passing landscapes and villages that have a direct link to the Thomas Muir story. It could be walked in a day but I broke it down into 4 stages during February and March 2021 as I was looking for walks to fill as many lock- down days as possible.
Stage 1. Huntershill to Cadder
There is a commemorative cairn and Martyrs' Gate at Huntershill, and a coffee and souvenir shop, although it was closed due to lock-down restrictions .....
From the top of Huntershill, there was a good view over Bishopbriggs to the Campsie Fells which looked a long way away.....
The Trail is well signposted.....
Down in Bishopbriggs, the Trail goes through the public park (first photo below) before winding through residential streets to reach the Forth and Clyde canal just west of the Balmullo bridge. The second photo below is the view east from the bridge....
It then joins the towpath heading east in the direction of Kirkintilloch before arriving at Cadder bridge; there are occasional views of the Campsie Fells still some distance away to the north.....
The imposing building that is Cadder Church is nearby. Muir was a church elder who represented the congregation in resisting landlords who wanted to impose their own choice of Minister on the congregation. He won the argument.....
Stage 2: Cadder to Kirkintilloch
I continued along the towpath passing under the Hungryside bridge.....
This was all familiar territory from walking Ben; the canal towpath is great for dog walking. After this bridge, there are gaps in the shrubbery lining the path so you get sight of the Campsie Fells, looking a bit closer now.....
Then it was the Glasgow Road bridge and what is now the Stables restaurant and bar, formerly a staging post for changing the horses towing the canal boats. It was of course closed so no opportunity for a drink stop today. So onwards to Kirkintilloch.
Looking back at the next stretch of the canal and forward to a very modern pedestrian bridge at Kirkintilloch marina. Kirkintilloch is the canal centre of Scotland and there are usually boats to be seen during the summer....
A short distance further on, I arrived in the centre of Kirkintilloch, roughly the half way point on the Trail. An opponent of Muir, the Rev William Dunn, was the Minister here. He spent three months in the Tolbooth in Edinburgh for tearing a Reform Society minute book.
Stage 3. Kirkintilloch to Milton of Campsie
A short distance after the bridge, the Trail turns to the north, leaving the canal and continuing on what was the track of the Campsie branch of the Edinburgh & Glasgow railway, opened in 1848 and which went as far as Strathblane. Nothing to do with Muir but just before leaving the canal, the path crosses a small aqueduct named the "Unique Bridge". This is because it carries the canal and the former railway line on separate levels with the Luggie Water below both. When the railway was being built, its engineers took the line under the aqueduct by constructing a twin arched culvert and diverting the river through it.
The Unique bridge from the former railway line showing how the canal, railway and burn were separated.....
I found the next section the least interesting. It follows the course of firstly the river Kelvin and then the Glazert Water but the route is pretty shut in by trees and there is not much to see.....
About half way to Milton of Campsie, the track passes between the remains of another aqueduct which carried the Kilsyth to Maryhill (Kelvin Valley) railway. If only all of these lines were still in use today!
Although the railway closed in 1951, Milton of Campsie station has been preserved and is looked after by a local group.....
There is a train at the platform but it is not going very far!
Stage 4. Milton of Campsie to Clachan of Campsie
The first part of this stage is again fairly shut in but there are glimpses of the Fells, getting much closer now.....
The Trail now parallels the Milton to Strathblane road, the A891. After about a mile, the view opens out again; Cort-ma-Law dominates to the north; my destination, Clachan of Campsie, is in the dip at the extreme left of the photo.....
The next village is Lennoxtown. A Reform Society was established here in 1792. There was a station here as well but unlike at Milton there is now no trace. Passing Lennoxtown.....
The Glazert Water.....
Shortly after passing under this bridge, the Railway Walk is left behind for a bit although it rejoins it further on......
but only for a few hundred metres before leaving it for the last time and swinging north on a path heading for the houses at Haughhead. The railway track carries on westwards along the foot of the hills to Strathblane; I have now put that walk on my list of things to do.....
I was now on the last lap. At Haughhead, I crossed the A891 and entered the grounds of Schoenstatt, a retreat and pilgrimage centre. The house was formerly named Ballencleroch and was the home of a close friend of Muir, John McFarlan, known as "The Liberal Laird". It was a hotel before being damaged by fire and rebuilt as a retreat.....
The Trail skirts the house before emerging at the houses at Clachan of Campsie, the end of the walk.....
I was now right at the foot of the hills, a route starts from here to the summit of Cort-ma-Law, which dominates the village. I haven't done it yet but it is something else that is now on my to do list. Although the coffee shop at the start of the walk at Huntershill was closed, the one here was open for take-aways so I paid it a visit. Before doing so however, there was one other point of interest that I had to visit- the old Campsie Parish Church and St Machan's Graveyard. A vociferous opponent of political reform and of Muir, The Rev James Lapsley, was the Minister here. He provided incriminating evidence at Muir's trial......
“I have devoted myself to the cause of the people.
It is a good cause… It shall ultimately prevail…
It shall finally triumph”
Thomas Muir (Aug 1793)
Not my usual type of walk-in fact, my first ever Trail or Way- but one that was well worth doing. I found out a lot about local history that I was previously oblivious about.
