by Dave Hewitt » Wed Sep 20, 2017 10:20 am
I've not as yet visited the actual site so can't comment directly - Dumyat's not really my patch and although I live close to it I'm only on it around ten times per year. RTC would be much better placed to comment as he can be a 100 Dumyats per year man. I much prefer the various 2000ft things further along the Hillfoots, eg I'm up Ben Cleuch five or six times for every Dumyat.
From the various pictures I've seen it's clearly, as GLW says, a work in progress, and such things - road, tracks, paths - can look grim at the construction stage. Better perhaps to wait a couple of years to see how the finished product looks once it's had chance to bed in. At present it doesn't look great, admittedly.
As to the broader question of whether it's necessary, Dumyat is a very popular hill - quite possibly the busiest one in central Scotland between Ben Lomond and Arthur's Seat - and the approach from the high start on the Sheriffmuir road accounts for a huge proportion of ascents - I'd say at least 80%, quite possibly nearer to 90%. There have therefore been issues with erosion and general wear and tear over recent years - although it's really only the middle section, on the western approach to the fence, that has become seriously boggy. The start up grassy paths from the road, and the finish via various gravel paths and bits of bedrock, seem to have stayed more or less solid although are certainly very obviously well-used paths. Quite a lot of mountain bikers also go up and down this way (as per the picture), often in wet conditions, and that probably doesn't help. Overall, it's one of those "loved to death" hills and probably is in need of some restoration and attention, although whether in the form being undertaken remains to be seen.
As I say, I hardly ever use the main path, at least not its lower part. There are half a dozen other good paths up Dumyat that are, in my opinion, better and more pleasant in terms of avoiding the busyness and the erosion and also providing more interesting terrain and views. The race route from the uni via Yellowcraig Wood is a nicer way to the upper part of the main path, and there are lots of ways that avoid it completely - eg the "parallel path" just over the brow from further along the Sheriffmuir road, the Lossburn approach (good for curlews etc) from even further along, and the various low start approaches from Blairlogie and Menstrie. All of these are better, I'd say, and to be recommended - but I'm quite glad that they're all still pretty quiet with the masses preferring the standard easy western approach.
It's good to see that the MP Stephen Kerr has raised the matter quickly and is having discussions with people involved with the new path; it'll be interesting to see what comes of that over the next while.
