Carn a'Chlamain

Gaelic meaning : Rocky hill of the Buzzard
Height : 3,069 feet
Walk distance : 16.25 miles
OS Map : Atholl
Walk time : 9 hours
Difficulty rating : 4 out of 5

I first spied Carn a' Chlamain while climbing it's rather more famous and massive neighbour Beinn a' Ghlo back in August last year. I remember seeing the land rover track meander gently all the way up to the rocky summit and thinking that it looked like a doddle to climb . . . .

With the West Highland Way part II only 6 weeks away I managed to persuade the wife into giving me an all day pass as, going by all I'd read, this was a full days walking. Just the type of walk I need more of to get me into shape.

 

The bonus to it is I get to head back to the wonderful Glen Tilt, one of my most favourite places.

I'll only detail the walk once you get to the turning point in Glen Tilt at Gaw's Bridge which you don't cross. Instead continue along the road until you come to the bridge at Allt Craoinidh.

Directly from here a faint path heads steeply up hill and is eventually joined by the Land Rover track mentioned earlier. From here Glen Tilt tightens up to more of a steep sided almost V shaped Glen and the views of Beinn a' Ghlo are incredible, giving a true indication of how massive the mountain is.

Follow the track all the way to the top, on the way you'll get fleeting views of the scree covered summit. As you can imagine the path is pretty decent, steep in some areas and rocky in others it's still a good track to walk. The higher you climb the more you see and one of the first landmarks that comes into view is Scheihallion with the Ben Lawers range in the distance.

Once you reach the summit, take a rest and enjoy the surroundings ! You have a fantastic view all around including views all the way to Ben Macdui.

When you're ready follow the path back down the mountain and back to Gaws bridge. Avoiding the cloudburst's along the way !

At Gaw's Bridge you can either head back the route you took earlier or take the Eastern route back to the car park (which I took). I loved this walk even though I was pretty tired by the end of it. Glen Tilt is fantastic and Carn a' Chlamain is a simple enough mountain to climb which gives a great viewing platform to a vast area of the country. Definitely recommended but another walk where the length shouldn't be underestimated.

Here's the profile of the route :

And the route itself :

Almondell and Lin's Mill Aqueduct

Height : 336 feet
Walk distance : 6.5 miles
OS Map : Edinburgh
Difficulty rating : 0.5 out of 5
Walk Time : 3 hours

The weather in April was incredible, bright blue skies and warm temperatures throughout the whole month were ideal conditions for walking. May was a different story all together. Severe gales, rain and cold temperatures limited the chances of getting out and about somewhat, so I looked closer to home for a chance to stretch my legs.

I'm still a little unfamiliar with West Lothian so I'm constantly surprised by what it has to offer. I've been on a short walk around Almondell before without realising the full extent of the size of the park. I was chuffed to find there was a lot more to it than first thought. 


The Lin's Mill walk starts at the car park in Mid Calder where you'll find a handy sign that maps out the park and the features along the way.

The route heads follows a cycle path off to the right and over a bridge before curving up some stairs to the left. The route then passes through some woods and passes a substantial weir on the River Almond. Unfortunately there is a sewage works on the right which ehm . . . spoils the ambience a wee bit. Fortunately the wind was blowing in correct direction so I didn't get a nostril full of it's wares.

You'll soon pass another weir that splits the River and a sluice which eventually (in part) forms the Union Canal. The route heads over a bridge, turning right, then heads between the sluice (on the left) and the River. Pretty soon you'll see a Viaduct. Head under the viaduct and over the metal bridge.

Keep following the path over the stone Naysmith Bridge (built in 1800 by Alexander Naysmith), there is an alternate route here that was blocked by fallen trees when I went so I crossed the bridge.

Soon the path passes an 18th century memorial for Sir Simon Fraser, who was also known as "The Patriot". Sir Fraser was captured fighting alongside Robert The Bruce and executed at the Tower of London, his head was reportedly displayed beside William Wallace's on London Bridge.

Follow the path on the North side and soon a small suspension bridge comes into view, cross over this and take the path that climbs back towards the sluice. Follow this route for a while, heading over the styles along the way

The sluice stays to the right and at times disappears underground for some parts of the section, but it's a straight path and you can't get lost.

There are various farms in the area so make sure you don't stray of course onto private land as there is a small risk of getting confused, stick to the sluice and you'll be fine.

Soon the Lin's Mill aqueduct comes into view, straddling high over the River Almond. The history of the aqueduct is a fairly colourful one. The builder was one William Lin, the last person to die of the plague in Scotland in 1645. Unfortunately for his poor wife, due to the nature of his death no-one would help bury his body so she had to drag his body into the woods and bury him herself. Lin's grave is in the woods above the mill, marked with a simple slab, coat of arms and this inscription "Here lyeth the dust of William Lin right heritor of Linsmiln who dies in the year of the lord 1645"

The path joins a minor road for a section, it then forks in two directions. You can follow either route, if you head down to the left you go under the aqueduct and come up the other side, which if you want to continue the walk is the correct side. Or if you head right you end up in the car park, both sides will let you venture out on to the aqueduct if you wish.

Once on the correct side of the canal follow it until you get to a stone bridge, head over the bridge and on to the road near a farm. Continue straight on the road until, after a kilometre or so, you'll see a sign for the Park pointing to the left. Follow the road until you reach the visitor centre then head between the two gate houses. The route then heads back the way you came.

All in all this is a very nice walk, really easy in every sense and dotted with interesting features along the way. It may not have the atmosphere of a walk in the highlands but don't let that put you off.

Aberfoyle to Loch Achray

Gaelic meaning : Aberfoyle - "confluence of the pool", Loch Achray - Shaking Ford
Walk distance : 9 miles (roughly)
OS Map : The Trossachs
Difficulty rating : 3 out of 5

With the West Highland Way return looming my friends and I are trying to do choose walks which replicate a day on the WHW as closely as possible, so we decided to head for Aberfoyle to get some distance walking and a bit wild camping under our belts.

Our aim was to walk from Aberfoyle, through some of the Queen Elizabeth Forest and camp on the shores of little Loch Achary then walk back the next again day. We managed most of this !

Aberfoyle is a little village just west of Callander in the Trossachs and is one of the main gateway's to the Trossachs. It's name is derived due to the joining of the two headstreams of the Forth near the area. It's historically an area frequented regularly by Rob Roy MacGregor and as you can imagine is an area steeped in history, mystery and intrigue.

We started the walk in the main car park in Aberfoyle and headed for the nearby David Marshall Lodge.
From there we followed a local's advice and took the red route, which led uphill out of the woods and on to a hill that skirted the A821.

The track then re-crosses the road about half a mile further on (!) and heads into the Achray Forest. We spotted a couple of young deer running right in front of us at this point. Unfortunately no one was quick enough to get the camera out for an action shot.

The Achray Forest is a lovely area of woodland filled with waterfalls, wildfowl outdoor activities and raised bogs. Good paths throughout are frequented mainly by cyclists so watch out for people zooming past you.

We eventually realised that we had maybe gone a wee bit of course, despite a couple of folk giving us instructions ! so it was out with the old GPS. We found our way back to a path that would eventually take us to Loch Achray but not without a steep climb up to a great view point in the Menteith Hills and a chance for a wee rest.

Glen Finglas, Ben Ledi and Ben Venue are all visible in the distance, as is a huge area of the wonderful Trossachs.

We headed steeply downhill on the advice of an old wise looking hillwaker and followed the directions given, which led us right back to where we started the walk from ! so at that point we decided to head for the road and use that as our guide. We could have used my GPS but that would have meant long ascents back into the woods. So the road was the easiest option.

We passed along the Dukes Pass and had another 5 minutes rest at the 3 Lochs Car Park enjoying the sunshine, before a Thunderstorm and constant rain for the rest of the trip soaked us to the core. Thankfully, when we arrived at Loch Achray our tent had been set up and most importantly . . . some beers had been laid out in preparation.

I really enjoyed the walk despite getting lost along the way, the Achray Forest is a wonderful place. Loch Achray itself is a lovely little Loch which apparently is world famous for it's calm waters and on occasion mirror like reflections, just not while we were there !

Here's the profile of the route :

And a rough outline of the route :