The Whangie

Head out from Glasgow towards Drymen coming straight through Bearsden on the A809 or up the Cuilts Rd and turn right if you’ve followed the A81 into Blanefield.  Not far past the blue cows (that change decoration with the seasons… currently one’s headless) on the left and Auchingillan on the right, the road bends to the right and there’s a car park for “Queen’s View”.

The pathway starts at the stile on the stone wall (not great if you’ve got a big lumbering dog).  Follow the path up the hill, where there’s a couple of spots by big rocks to catch your breath and a view of how close you are still to the car park :-).

At the second set of bare rock it looks where the path starts to level out there’s a large wooden stile that used to go over the fence that’s on the ground.  At this point you can follow the path that leads to, through and round the Whangie.  

With the exception of the loop around the Whangie you’ll follow the same path back to this point and down the hill to your car.  It’s a good walk and you’ll occasionally come across rock climbers honing their skills on the rocks.

For the adventurous (we’re back at the wooden stile) if you look up the hill face to your left you’ll see something that looks like a goat trail up that steep,. steep bit.   This is my favourite route, and if you go up this way you’ll get up to the ridge of the hill where you’ll walk and catch the finest views of the Highland Boundary fault and Loch Lomond that I’ve ever seen.

Keep going, gradually uphill and you’ll catch a view of the wee obelisk Trig point at the top of Auchineden Hill where (if your eyes aren’t stinging from the wind) you’ll have a 360⁰ view of Glasgow, the Firth of Clyde (obscured), Loch Lomond and the Campsies.

When you’re ready to head to the rough path that’s pointing towards Loch Lomond, down a wee steep bit where you’ll see another deep cut path heading left.  This’ll take you to the Whangie which you can go through or round, onto the same path that’ll take you back to the car park.