Ramblers Routes Ramblers Routes Britain’s best walks from the experts Britain’s best walks from the experts Scotland Scotland 09/02/2016 16:34 01 Botanic gardens and canal walk, Glasgow 02 Sandwood Bay and Am Buachaille, Sutherland l Distance 7.2km/4½ miles l Time 2¼hrs l Type Urban l Distance 18km/11 miles l Time 6½hrs l Type Coast and moor NAVIGATION LEVEL FITNESS LEVEL NAVIGATION LEVEL FITNESS LEVEL walk magazine spring 2016 spring magazine walk walk magazine spring 2016 spring magazine walk Plan your walk Plan your walk SANDWOOD BAY Dundee l SUTHERLAND Stirling l l Edinburgh Ullapool l GLASGOW Inverness l WHERE A circular walk WHERE Out-and-back loop through Glasgow’s Botanic via Sandwood Bay, with PHOTOGRAPHY: KEITH FERGUS PHOTOGRAPHY: Gardens and then along excellent views of Am HUGO CAMPOS PHOTOGRAPHY: a section of the Forth and Buachaille sea stack. Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens, one of 1. START From Hillhead Located four miles from the stile. Though deteriorating after Clyde Canal. START/END Blairmore car around 70 parks among the city’s Underground turn R onto Byres nearest road in far north-western Loch Na Gainimh (NC209613), START/END Hillhead park (NC194600). urban sprawl, is a joy to walk Road, walk to Great Western Road Scotland, Sandwood Bay is as wild the scenic trail is impossible to Underground, Byres Road TERRAIN Mostly a well- around. It began life as an early then go straight across onto Queen as British beaches come. It’s also as lose. For the next two miles it (NS567672). maintained track, although 18th-century physic garden before Margaret Drive. Immediately turn picturesque, with a mile of fine slaloms between lochans, with TERRAIN Pavement, parkland the loop involves a scrambly opening in its present location in L into the Botanic Gardens. Keep sand variously flanked by tufty some damp sections and stepping paths, canal towpath. path and then a half-mile 1842. The gardens were the idea straight on and follow a path past dunes, a large loch, crashing surf, stones used beside Loch a’ MAPS OS Explorer 342; section across peat bog. of eminent Glasgow botanist the magnificent Kibble Palace dark cliffs and, a mile south, the Mhuilinn (NC207629). Beyond Loch Landranger 64. MAPS OS Explorer 446; Thomas Hopkirk and it was his (NS568675). This wonderful steeple-straight Am Buachaille sea Clais nan Coinneal (NC212 639), GETTING THERE Glasgow is Landranger 9. bequest of 3,000 plants that structure is open to the public and stack. Most hikers take the same the bay becomes visible. well served by trains and buses GETTING THERE The 806 formed the core of the garden’s well worth exploration. It had first attractive track to and from the from across Scotland. All of the service (weekdays), known as collection. They really prospered been erected at the home of beach, but this route adds value: 2. To the R spreads out large Glasgow Underground trains the ‘Durness Bus’, stops at when William Jackson Hooker, Victorian entrepreneur John Kibble it climbs a hidden path for great Sandwood Loch (NC223644) and, stop at Hillhead. Kinlochbervie – a 3.5-mile another distinguished botanist, on the shores of Loch Long, near views back over the Bay and on nearer, a ruined crofter’s cottage EATING & DRINKING Oran walk along the road from was appointed to the Regius Chair Arrochar. Kibble was something of to Cape Wrath’s lighthouse, and it (NC221642), supposedly haunted Mor, top of Byres Road, Blairmore – en route of Botany at the University of an eccentric (he once cycled across gives the chance to inspect Am by a grizzly Polish sailor once Glasgow G12 8QX (✆ 0141 357 between Durness and Lairg Glasgow in 1821 and within four Loch Long on floats) and therefore Buachaille close up. More sublime shipwrecked in the bay. Continuing 6200, http://oran-mor.co.uk). railway station. Timings at years the plant collections at the deemed it quite natural for Kibble seascapes follow, before the flip onto the beach, the path peters SLEEPING The Belhaven Hotel, Lairg coincide with Inverness gardens numbered 12,000. At Palace to be dismantled, moved by side: a trudge across – depending out and hikers must pick their own 15 Belhaven Terrace, Glasgow train services. the heart of the park stands the barge to Glasgow, and erected in on the time of year – ankle or route across the dunes. ✆ EATING & DRINKING G12 0TG ( 0141 339 3222, remarkable glass Kibble Palace, the Botanic Gardens. shin-deep peat bog. Walking poles Kinlochbervie Hotel, www.belhavenhotel.com). which opened here in 1873. and gaiters are advised. 3. Once on Sandwood Bay, follow VISITOR INFORMATION Kinlochbervie (✆ 01971 Nearby runs the Forth and Clyde 2. At public toilets walk L down mysterious footprints, collect 521275, www.kinlochbervie Glasgow Information Centre, Canal, which links the Forth and steps (signposted Kelvin Walkway) 1. START Set off before 10am to colourful pebbles, picnic behind hotel.com). corner of Sauchiehall Street Clyde estuaries, a distance of then cross a bridge over the River dodge the crowds. From the car a dune, seek out passing dolphins SLEEPING Kinlochbervie and Buchanan Street, some 56km. It opened in 1790, Kelvin. Turn L and follow the park (NC194600) just after from a spray-ridden outcrop (avoid Hotel, as before or, for basic Glasgow G2 3GF. 22 years after construction began Kelvin Walkway for 300 metres, Blairmore, set off northwards in high tide), wait for rumoured shelter, the MBA bothies at ▲ GUIDEBOOK Glasgow: 40 ▲ along a signposted track over a mermaids or simply stride about ▼ taking the L branch at a fork, to ▼ on the waterway. P49-50_WALK 50_RR_SCOTLAND_rotated.final.indd 1 P49-50_WALK 50_RR_SCOTLAND_rotated.final.indd 2 Ordnance Survey mapping ©Crown copyright 2016 Ordnance Survey. Media037/16 Ordnance Surveymapping©Crowncopyright2016Survey. Media037/16 Ordnance Surveymapping©Crowncopyright2016Survey. Continued... Strathan and Strathchailleach. 3 VISITOR INFORMATION 4 Durness Information Centre, 5 4 Sango (✆ 01971 509005). GUIDEBOOKS Walking the Cape Wrath Trail by Iain Harper 2 (£14.95, Cicerone, ISBN 978 6 1852848170); Walking In Scotland’s Far North by Andy Walmsley (£12, Cicerone, 7 ISBN 978 1852843779). LOCAL RAMBLERS GROUP 3 5 Inverness Ramblers (✆ 01463 236204, www.highland 2 ramblers.org.uk/inverness). in rapture. The only barrier to 1 exploration is a wide channel START draining Sandwood Loch; shallow FINISH caves lurk beyond. But do wear warm layers and waterproof clothing: Sandwood Bay is very To download this route and hundreds of others, exposed and prone to squalls. Continued... visit www.ramblers.org.uk/routes 4. To locate the narrow path up Town and Country Walks by Sandwood Bay’s southern cliffs, 1 John Craig and Katie Smith another path meanders through heron and kingfisher, reside. From walk inland between two craggy START (£6.99, Pocket Mountains, parkland. After 0.5km turn R at a Stockingfield (NS570689) follow tendrils when about 50m from the FINISH ISBN 978 0955454813). sign for the Forth and Clyde Canal the Glasgow Branch towpath as it beach’s rock-littered end. It begins LOCAL RAMBLERS GROUP and climb the path to gain the heads south towards Speirs Wharf. on the R. Plotting a discernible Glasgow Ramblers (www. canal towpath. Turn R and walk to Even though Glasgow’s busy West course and sashaying upwards glasgowramblers.org.uk). reach the engineering marvel of End is only a stone’s throw away, quickly, the muddy trail flirts with Maryhill Locks (NS562690, pictured the tranquillity of the walk here sheer drops and vanishes at times, reach the Ha’penny Bridge on previous page). Oval basins is evident. After 1.25km, the only to reappear a few metres To download this route and hundreds of others, (NS567678). Built in the late 19th were constructed to connect towpath passes under Ruchill later. After 20 minutes, reach a visit www.ramblers.org.uk/routes century, for many years it was a neighbouring locks, which allowed Street then over the Bilsland Drive plateau (NC211650) from which toll bridge, with the fee to cross boats to pass each other along the Aqueduct. After another 0.25km, the beach’s full majesty is revealed. being a halfpenny, hence the lock system (as well as allowing the just before a bridge, turn R down Cape Wrath’s lighthouse should 6. Just before the Rubha nan Cùl 7. Cross the trackless bog, keeping name. It was rebuilt after being boats to ascend or descend nearly a flight of steps to Maryhill Road also be apparent in the distance. Gheodhachan promontory the stream to the R and swept away in 1994. 40ft) on what would have been a (NS575678). (N197641), a fork just about maintaining a SSE direction. The busy stretch of water. 5. Trade this magnificent perch for appears. Plough straight on, going isn’t treacherous, but poles 3. Cross the bridge then go 5. Take another R and head back another. Flatter now – and still inland, along the more visible trail. and gaiters are advised. After half through a gate into the Botanics 4. The canal is then followed easily to Queen Margaret Drive and turn prone to vanishing – the path skips Gradually descend into a valley, a mile, Loch a’ Mhuilinn’s western Arboretum, which opened in for 1km to Stockingfield Junction L. Follow this across Queen around the headland toward Am with a wood-post fence on the R. edge (NC207629) materialises, and 1976. The path is easily followed – it is a wonderful place to wander, Margaret Bridge (which spans the Buachaille. Suddenly the 65m-high A stream soon runs parallel, also R, then the main Sandwood Bay through gorgeous parkland, the water flanked by woodland River Kelvin and was built in 1929) stack looms ahead: abandoned and two changes occur: the path track.