LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

I drove to Kirkintilloch in heavy rain and parked near Tesco's in the Regent Centre car park, near the Town Hall. Luckily I only had to wait about two minutes at bus stop for bus 147 on 'Cowgate' before the bus arrived. I was the only passenger on Cumbernauld Road in Muirhead, when another passenger replaced me. I waited at the same sheltered bus stop, in rain, for bus X39 to Castlecary Hotel in Castlecary village. It was still raining when I arrived at the bus stop outside the Hotel. After a short while I decided to brave the rain but fortunately it soon stopped. I walked along the B816 main road towards the east, passing under the railway viaduct and through one of the arches to pass the M80 slip road, then walk over the carriageways of the motorway, via a bridge, towards Allandale Village. Almost immediately I passed the slip road of the motorway from the north, then after another 50 metres (50 yards) a footpath/cycleway and a minor lane, Cumbernauld Road, to the Clyde & Forth Canal Bridge. I took the footpath, which is parallel with the lane until the old road is reached to the south of the canal bridge. At the bridge I turned left on the towpath to join the National Cycle Route 754 towards Kirkintilloch, which almost immediately passed under the low bridge of the M80 motorway and then a finger post and footpath leading to Hazel Road, Banknock. The canal here was very green and surrounded by trees to the south and hedges and trees to the north, making the walk very peaceful and relaxing. I did pass the odd walker or couple but generally the walk along this section seemed to be in a different world, far from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Eventually I reached the bridge of Wyndford Road alongside Wyndford Lock 20 and a small cottage, which was probably the Lockkeeper's cottage many years ago. After the lock I passed a long boat landing platform, the site of an old bridge where the canal narrows to accommodate the bridge, when it existed, and a boat turning area or 'Winding Hole'. From here the canal became very straight and on a small embankment, alongside the small River Kelvin, with an area between which was probably very marshy before the land was drained. The canal was wide on this section and very wide in places, very suitable for fishermen. I eventually reached a welcome picnic area where I had my refreshments, and a good parking area at a canal bridge carrying the lane between the towns of Kilsyth and Cumbernauld. The parking area is a good place for parking if the walk is needed to be split into two halves. This bridge is also where the John Muir Way meets the canal from the Course of the Antonine Wall and the Course of the Military Way. I would have liked to have walked the Course of the Antonine Way and the Military Way, but I'm sure you know that men can't do two things at once. After the bridge the canal was obviously engineered on the side of the hills to the south, because there was a cutting on the south side of the canal and an embankment on the north side of the canal. This situation continued for approximately 7 miles (9.5 Km) for a greater or lesser amount of cutting or embankment until I reached the outskirts of Kirkintilloch. This section of the walk was very green and leafy with the trees and bushes close to the canal, and only the occasional glimpse of the Kilsyth hills to the north at first, then the Campsie Fells to the north later but no views of the nearby River Kelvin. The tranquillity remained until I reached Hillhead Basin and Hillhead Bridge, near the centre of Kirkintilloch Town. The canal towpath slowly climbed to the height of the bridge so I could easily cross the busy Hillhead Road to the towpath which led towards the centre of Kirkintillock, three quarters of a mile or one kilometre away. I continued down the ramp of the towpath to the level of the canal and wondered how the old original boat people of the canals would pass the bridge when horses were used to power the progress to the destination. It must have been very time consuming, especially untying the towrope from the horse and getting the rope to the horse to be retied again on the other side of the bridge. Soon after the bridge the John Muir Way left the canal and continued north along a disused railway track, of the Strathkelvin Railway Walk. This point, at the finger sign post, is also where the National Cycleway Route 155 crossed the canal and the Thomas Muir Trail joined the canal path. No wonder so many paths/ways/trails use this section of the canal, it is a perfect place to enjoy the countryside environment so close to the centre of town. The only drawback has to be the dog owners who insist on not picking up their dog's waste. This is the scourge of all walkers. The next surprise has to be the aqueduct, only a few yards or metres further on my walk adventure. The aqueduct passed high above the Luggie Water, a small river which joined the River Kelvin to the north. I continued and passed under the new bridge of the Kirkintilloch Bypass A806. Within sight of the new bridge of the bypass I could see St Mary's Church and the bridge carrying 'Cowgate', the street where I had parked the car in the car park at the rear of Tesco's Supermarket, the end of the walk. Another interesting walk as part of my 'Fill-In' walks on my journey from Land's End to John 'o Groats.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, - Start: at Banknock – Castlecary Hotel.
Finish: at Kirkintilloch - Cowgate .