A popular day in the Kilpatrick Hills

[McMole]

A good forecast on the Saturday demanded that I go walking on the Sunday. After contemplating the two and a half hour drive to a Marilyn or two west of Dumfries, I decided instead on a later start and shorter drive to Duncolm, a Marilyn just north of the Erskine Bridge. I reached there at about 10am to find there was still room in the rapidly filling Kilpatrick Braes car park. When I returned after my walk it was overflowing. Obviously a very popular place for a weekend stroll. Over the course of my walk I must have seen over one hundred folk plus numerous dogs.

As I started along the road into the hills I noticed that steel rail barriers had been planted to stop parking on the verge and pavement near the gasworks, and the temporary car park just beyond there was now firmly padlocked shut. It had been created when gas pipeline work last year had closed the Kilpatrick Braes car park.

Vehicles in the distance still finding some pavement to park on

The now closed temporary car park

I joined the procession of folk of all ages heading up the track.

Leaving the public road en route to Loch Humphrey.

It appeared many planned to turn back before the short descent to the dam at Loch Humphrey reservoir. Even fewer continued past the dam as the road became a track which had an especially muddy though short section as it passed through gates at a deer fence after about 800m.

The muddiest 50m of the route about 800m after the dam.

I essentially followed the Walk Highland route - "Duncolm and the Slacks, Old Kilpatrick"- with an added diversion on the way up to bag Fynlock Hill - a Tump. After that I followed the path over Middle Duncolm before climbing to the trig point on top of Duncolm. All this as the day had gradually turned from overcast to bright sunshine.

View from Middle Duncolm of Ben More and Stobinnein

Maximum zoom shot along length of Loch Lomond with lower slopes of Ben Lomond then Ben Lui on right and a very snowy range in the distance - possibly Ben Starav

Zoom of trig point and walkers on Duncolm from Middle Duncolm

Late morning mist over Clydebank

View to the north with Ben Lomond and, I think, Ben More prominent

View of Middle Duncolm on left and Fynlock Hill on right from Duncolm

On my return I met a few more walkers and once past the dam and the pylons took the left fork to The Slacks. At its trig point I stopped for coffee and a snack in company with several others and their dogs.

A panoramic shot from Loch Humphrey to Duncolm taken from The Slacks trig point

Little and Middle Duncolms with Duncolm on the right

From there, still following the Walk Highland route, I took the path south over the heathery ridges and past, not over, the stile.

The redundant stile and the first of the heathery ridges mentioned in the Walk Highlands guide

The fence that it was erected for no longer exists. From there I took the mostly obvious downhill route back to the main track.

Heading downhill with Erskine Bridge and River Clyde below.

I think some of the lower section might not be so obvious when the vegetation is at its full height. That final section didn't appear to be very popular and I think I found why when I had to climb over a padlocked gate in a deer fence. From a later look at Google's aerial view another track crosses the same fence line about 100m to the west (also on the 1:25000 OS map) It looks to be more popular and might be a better choice since any gate there is less likely to be padlocked. With several other start points and many other paths to select I'll add the Kilpatrick Hills to my list for a possible return.