LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

I drove to Kirkintilloch and parked in Kerr Street near Tesco Supermarket, the start of my walk. As the weather was poor I visited Tesco's and bought a cheap umbrella because I'd neglected to take one with me. I walked south along Cowgate (Street) until I reach the Forth & Clyde Canal, then turned right, or west, on the towpath, down the ramp towards Milngavie. Here the canal had apartments to the south and bushes and trees to the north, with a well maintained towpath alongside a wall. As I continued, the apartments were replaced by offices and eventually industrial buildings, and the wall by a high fence to obstruct any views to the north. I passed a very unusual modern 'V' shaped footbridge before I reached the countryside with green flora all around. Next came a long floating boat mooring platform on the far side of the canal, occupied with pleasure boats by a lovely hamlet. The green scenery continued but before I reached the course of the Antonine Wall, the southern side of the canal opened up to reveal wide open fields of crops. The Antonine Wall had disappeared long ago but on the course of the wall it was possible to see the occasional ramparts of the earthworks or the remains of the Roman Fort foundations. It was only a short distance further along the canal to a boat floating mooring platform and the 'Glasgow Bridge', a modern bridge with its name on a plaque under the bridge carrying the Kirkintilloch Road A803 above. The 'Stables' Free Public House is adjacent to the western side of the bridge and is an excellent place for refreshments with its large car park round the back, or a starting place for a walk before a meal. Just after the bridge was a finger sign post and opposite The Stables pub was a mooring bay on the south side of the canal with two tourist boats. The first was the largest, a beautiful boat called the 'Voyager' and the second called 'Gypsy Princess'. I'm sure a phone call to the pub would discover the dates and sailing times of the boats. On the northern side of the canal was another floating mooring platform where passing boats could tie up and be encouraged to possibly use the facilities of the pub. This was obviously the case for a narrow boat called 'Scotch Mist'. On the western end of the pontoon was a Decorated Studio Boat called 'Craft Daft on a Raft', with end-to-end bunting. That was another welcome surprise in the rain. After the Glasgow Bridge I passed a small inlet with a slipway at the far end and surrounded by trees. When I passed there was an old pleasure boat on a trailer which appeared to need plenty of work to restore. I wonder if it is still there! From this point the scenery was again very rural with misty views across the fields and a hedgerow and trees on the right until I reached the next bridge, a metal girder bridge. This bridge carried Torrance Road A807 and was called 'Hungryside Bridge', probably a drawbridge many years ago before the motor vehicle. The River Kelvin and Torrance Village was nearby. Just after the bridge there was a small parking area, ideal for splitting this section of my walk into more manageable walks if necessary. The scenery to the next bridge continued as previously but the rain stopped so the brighter skies gave more colour to the surroundings. This made the twisty section even more picturesque, especially during the curving section of the canal and when the only moving vessel of the day passed me, 'Kimberley', a narrow boat. Before the next bridge came Cadder Wharf which consisted of another floating platform and a car parking area by the short Cadder Road to Cadder Parish Church, the Church of Science, near Cadder Bridge 23, Cadder Village and Bishopbriggs Town. This is an ideal place for anyone who is using the canal on holiday to collect provisions because it is only a short walk or less than a kilometer to Strathkelvin Retail Park in Bishopbriggs. After the bridge was a well maintained private dwelling which was probably built for canal purposes many years ago. I continued walking to the next bridge along another wooded section on both sides of the canal for the majority of the way. At this bridge, Farm Bridge, I left the canal behind at a finger sign post via a short gated road to Balmuildy Road and walked north towards Milngavie. This road was very busy with traffic so extra care was required until I reached the Kelvin Walkway. The unclassified road was extra busy because, as I discovered on my bus journey back to the car, the local area had road closures. The Balmuildy Road was approximately 3km or 2 miles long with three sharp turns, left, right and left passing Wilderness Plantation, the site of a Roman Fort, Hunter Environmental Village and Easter Balmuildy Roman Fort Site and local buildings before turning right on the Main Road A879. I walked north for 400 metres or 400 yards to the River Kelvin Walkway but the path looked completely overgrown to my disappointment, so I continued north on the A879 towards the A807 junction. Just before the roundabout junction at the boundary between Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire, I reached the Allander Water and the Kelvin Walkway again, but I couldn't find a footpath of the walkway again. I consulted the map and decided to try the Boclair Road from the roundabout at the Allander Water Bridge. I eventually found the walkway which after a while became easy to follow because the river was straight and dyked by an embankment on both sides. I followed the walkway on top of the south west embankment. This part of the walk was very open with good views all around. After the Pow Burn I crossed the footbridge to the opposite side of the Allander Water and walked for about 600 metres or yards, passing the Football Academy before crossing the Prescott Footbridge. I continued north on a path between the river and the railway to the A81 Glasgow Road. I crossed the road to follow the Walkway again through a wooded area, passing Tesco Superstore to B8030 Woodburn Way. At a pay & display car park I turned left and almost immediately right along a short footpath to turn right on Douglas Street for a short distance to the West Highland Way Obelisk in the town centre, Milngavie, the end of the day's walk. It was a short walk to the entrance to the Railway Station where I waited for a bus back to Kirkintilloch to collect my car. Unfortunately I had just missed the bus and had to wait for almost an hour before the next bus. Then I committed the cardinal sin of using my mobile (cell) phone to catch up with my emails and the news. When I eventually looked up my bus was leaving the bus stop, I waved but the bus driver ignored me. How to waste an hour of time? Not to worry there's always the next bus. It was a sad end to a good day's adventure of walking and exploring the Scottish Countryside. Happy days.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, - Start: at Kirkintilloch - Cowgate.
Finish: at Milngavie - Douglas Street, Start of Pennine Way .