Last summer I realised that I love walking. In fact, I love it so much that I do it for several hours every day if I have the time – from Merchant City to the West End or to Springburn, you name it, I walk there and back again.
Back at uni that’s suddenly not so easy anymore and my ambition is additionally scrutinised by horrible weather. Luckily, a friend called me up recently and asked if I wanted to spend my weekend walking the Thomas Muir Way, except from finish to start – Bishopsbriggs to Clachan of Campsie via Kirkintilloch. Sounded like a great day out to me.
Even though we wanted to leave early in the morning, I managed to jeopardise the whole plan on the day. With a horrible hangover from a party the night before, I had to drag myself out of bed and to the bus station. Lots of coffee and fresh air luckily helped me get back on my feet rather quickly but my orientation skills remained somewhere close to zero for the full day. Due to that, we managed to miss the first bus stop in Bishopsbriggs and I didn’t get to see Huntershill House, Thomas Muir’s family home. So, we decided to start off at the train station, as that was where we found the first sign posts for the trail. I have to say that all in all the trail is easy to find and follow but the points of interest are not. We walked past Birdston Farm House as we couldn’t make out the location on the map and only realised we had seen some sights on our way home. Unlucky for the tourist in me but the pictures I did snap still came out well.
The trail runs along the Forth and Clyde Canal until Kirkintilloch and then continues along Glazert Water and the Strathkelvin Railway Path all the way to the Campsie Fells.
We didn’t manage to walk the full 18 miles, as it got dark early and started raining but 14 miles is still quite good. Next time, we’re planning to finish the trail and want to extend the route to Milngavie through Mugdock Country Park. Hopefully, I’ll manage to make out the remaining sights as well. The only thing keeping us back right now is the return of freezing temperatures.
What about you? Do you enjoy walking as much as I do?
See you around,
Walking The Thomas Muir Trail
The Thomas Muir Heritage Trail links the Campsie Fells to North Glasgow. We walked the trail in reverse, starting in Bishopbriggs and ending in Clachan of Campsie. At 18km, the trail is easy to walk in a day and offers some lovely scenery, crossing the John Muir Way as well as the Strathkelvin Railway Path.
