Walk of the week: Under the Craigs, Gargunnock

Published on Friday 16 January 2009 11:08

THE Gargunnock Hills had been my aim – the vast tracts of moorland above the escarpment which dominates the south of the billiard table-flat Carse of Stirling. But low cloud and mist made the prospect of going high unappealing.

Nevertheless, I wanted to stretch my legs, so I headed for Gargunnock and set out on the Under the Craigs walk with a little help with directions from the kind lady in the Village Store and a gamekeeper I met on the hill. This walk is one of a number in the area outlined in a leaflet available from Stirling tourist information office (I hadn't picked one up before setting out).

A waterfall was the first objective; a fine cascade, pouring from the steep sides of the hills. It was only on turning away from this that I experienced one of nature's best shows. Below me, the mist had dropped a little and was at my feet, stretched out like the world's largest duvet, covering all below. Above, however, the cloud remained, leaving me sandwiched in about 500 feet of clear air.

After this there was a good moorland tramp, intermittently going back into the all-enveloping mist. On a clear day, the views across to the mountains of the Trossachs are impressive and (almost) as good as the clear-air sandwich I had experienced. Once back among farmland, the route takes you along quiet lanes and finishes along a path by 'The Beeches', a line of trees which leads you back into Gargunnock.

The walk can be very muddy in places, so wear boots. You are also on ground open to the elements so be properly wrapped up with waterproofs.

Distance 4.5 miles.

Height climbed 600ft.

Time 3 to 4 hours.

Map OS Landranger 57.

Park In the centre of Gargunnock, opposite the Gargunnock Inn.

In summary Walk down the main street, past the Village Store on the right, then straight on, uphill past the Parish Church.

At the edge of the village, just before some national speed-limit signs, go right, down a metalled track, following a sign for Hill Footpath.

After going through a metal gate, past a house standing on its own, and over a stile, follow the track across fields, round to the right and over another stile before reaching woodland.

On the edge of the woodland, cross a further stile and turn right. A track takes you across a ford in the Gargunnock Burn and up to a metal gate. Just before the gate, go left, up past an orange-tipped marker post.

Pass another one in a wall to the right and keep going across open ground to reach a fence close to a waterfall. Return to the marker post in the wall and cross a stile next to it. Go over a ditch, avoiding large clumps of gorse, and follow a few more marker posts in a westerly direction.

Keep going in a straight line until you reach another wall – a large gorse-filled gorge needs to be crossed with care. Cross a stile in the wall and turn right to follow it down to a bright orange marker indicating a gas pipeline under the ground.

Go left and follow markers indicating the pipeline. After about half a mile, cross a derelict wall and bear slightly right to pick up a track. This leads through a metal gate and round to the right to leave behind the open hillside, and go through a couple more gates.

Follow the track down, then past fields and Knock O'Ronald farmhouse. A lane leads down to a bridge across the Leckie Burn, next to a cottage, where you go straight on. After about half a mile, the lane goes sharp left but keep going in a straight line to pick up a path by a line of trees, which takes you back to Gargunnock. Keep roughly straight as you go past houses to reach the top of the main street, where you go right to return to the start.

Refreshments

The Gargunnock Inn is worth a trip to the village for its fantastic food alone. Note that it only opens at 5pm on weekdays but at noon on Saturdays and Sundays.

While you are in the area Stirling, with its castle and the Wallace Monument, is only a few miles down the road.