A walk of two halves, this route starts with a stroll from pretty Clachan of Campsie along the Strathkelvin Railway Path in East Dunbartonshire. Doubling up as the new long distance John Muir Way, the disused trackbed once carried the Campsie Branch of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, as well as the Blane Valley Railway. It keeps close to Glazert Water as it heads southeast, crossing farmland and passing through woods full of birdsong. All the while, the steep south-facing escarpment of the Campsie Fells towers over the valley. The second half of the walk ventures onto these hills. It climbs the 531m/1,742ft Cort-ma Law for views into the Southern Highlands, before striking out across the escarpment edge. The walk then takes in picturesque Campsie Glen.
1. START From Clachan of Campsie (NS610795), head down the road and turn right at the T-junction. Quickly cross the A891 and take the track between the cottages – opposite the convent entrance – to join a burnside path.
2. Go left at a path junction, over the burn. Cross the road, turn left and take the surfaced path on the right in a few metres. This is the Strathkelvin Railway Path and makes for easy walking for the next few miles. On the way, keep right at a path junction on the edge of Lennoxtown to cross a bridge over Glazert Water. Go straight over a lane and then, after recrossing the burn, straight over the B822, too.
3. After a small tunnel, climb the steps on the left to the platform of the old Milton of Campsie railway station (NS651766). Continue up the steps and swing left onto the B757. Turn right and then go left at the T-junction with the A891. Use the pedestrian lights to cross over and continue west along the pavement for just over a kilometre.
4. About 200m beyond the national speed limit sign, there is a gated driveway set back on the right. Turn right along the farm track immediately after this, making directly for the Campsie Fells. Hidden in the woods along the way is Glorat House (NS640779), a Victorian mansion built on the site of a 16th-century house. Beyond, the track climbs more steeply through a series of bends.
5. On the final bend to the right, close to a group of conifers and just before a cattle grid, take the muddy track to the left. Keep right at any forks through a series of small fields. You’ll see a slender waterfall in a cleft in the hillside ahead. Make directly for this. One final gate gives access to the open slopes near the waterfall. Step onto the track and follow it up towards a large green box. It then swings right to ford the burn.
6. The climb now begins in earnest. Where the gradient eases, don’t be tempted by a track to the L; keep straight ahead and the track will drift left more gradually in a short while. Beyond the gate is a fence; head northeast across the moorland. Keep right to reach a prominent cairn. Continue northeast across damp ground for 450m to reach the trig pillar on Cort-ma Law (NS651799) for distant views of the Southern Highlands.
7. From the top, return to the prominent cairn and turn right along the well-walked route. Eventually, beyond Crichton’s Cairn, this descends grassy slopes. Whenever the path splits, keep to the clearest route.
8. You finally drop to Crow Road, an old drovers’ route, opposite a car park. Walk between the crash barrier and the wall at the lower end of the car park. A trail drops through a kissing-gate and swings left to descend through the trees into Campsie Glen. Go left at a path junction to return to Clachan of Campsie.