Dumyat Circular from Blairlogie

[U059361]

Participants: Isabel and Joe
Weather: Overcast with cool breeze
Route: Worn paths, faint and overgrown at times, farm track.
Wildlife: Red Kite, rabbits
Special Interest: Blairlogie Castle and village, old buildings, sundials etc.

Have walked to top of Dumyat several ties now but always from Sherrifmuir Road so this time decided to go from Blairlogie but also make it a circular by coming down the path on east side and cutting back along farm track to Blairlogie.

Parked at carpark as described on WH. We walked onn through gate and into village for a look round before returning back through it and then following very faint path up the hill side. To say you get up close and personal with the local vegetation is an understatement. Every scratchy, stingy, sticky, itchy plants are on this walk, nettles, gorse and brambles do their best to keep you out and it is tough going pushing through them at the moment. We battered our way through with walking sticks but didn't stop us getting battered back. Throw in high midgie count and it was a bit of a pain just keeping going. It takes a while to break out of trees and all the undergrowth and finally get out onto some grass with only bracken to deal with. The path becomes a bit clearer here but there are numerous sheep tracks too. We just kept climbing, crossed a style over fence, through more bracken and finally over to the path from Sherrifmuir Road. Up to the top is now very straight forward.

At top we had our lunch and enjoyed the view. Isabel's dad was a shepherd up here and we looked at all the changes since.

We then walked over to path heading east for Menstrie Glen. Big drop at start and then goes round south to reach Dumyat Farm track. We then followed this track all the way to main road. There is some gorse clearance happening along here and it will go over Blairlogie too eventually so maybe by November this might be better walking. The track takes you beneath the steep south slopes of Dumyat. From the road, pick up the old drover's road back to the car park. A few brambles looked tempting but still not ready yet.