Back in March this year we decided to have a week off work and spend some time exploring the wonderful area we had moved to. One of the first walks we did was up from Lendrick Hill, close to Brig O' Turk. We loved the route so much, that when my bestie came up to stay last week this was where we took her for a walk, brew-up and a wild swim.

Well way-marked trail

One of the reasons we chose this walk was because the map indicated that there were walks in the area. Arriving initially from the Callander direction we parked in the Little Druim Wood car park. There is a good interpretation board and walk leaflets available, so we did a bit of a mix and match of the walks in the Woodland Trust leaflet, which you can download here.

From the car park set off following the green Little Druim Wood trail, which is a play trail and ideal for small children. There are sculptures and various interactive activities to keep them very happy exploring. Up the hill after the deer sculpture take a right to follow the brown route markers - it tells you it will be muddy, which is part of the appeal. This leads to a viewpoint across to Ben Venue, before the path drops down over damp meadowland to the road. When we did this walk in September there were a wide variety of fungi along this section.

Glen Finglas

Crossover the road and pick up the orange route, going left through a gate and over the boardwalk. This is a lovely bit of marshland, full of wildlife and bog loving plants. If you look across towards a hut you are looking at the old curling pond, where games were played on the ice. I was part of a curling club for a couple of seasons many years ago and would love to play on an outdoor pond. Most of the ponds now are sadly neglected as they just never freeze over - this is good for the wildlife but not so good for my ambitions of outdoor curling!

The boardwalk takes you up through birch woodland and eventually onto a tarmac road where you turn right, still following the orange route and going up the hill. At the fork the route goes right, although you could take the short detour to look at the view which inspired many a poet, including Wordsworth and Coleridge. Continuing to the right it is quite a steep hill up the road, so the bench is very welcome. We stopped both times here to have a brew - it was the perfect place in march with splendid views, however not so good in September as the midges decended and we cut the brew-up short!

Keep going up and you get to a nother viewpoint over Loch Finglas - we were quite astonished at the difference a dry summer makes to the water levels. This loch feeds down to Loch Katrine in the valley below frow where the water is piped to Glasgow, evidence of the route is to be seen in the bridge at Killearn and along the "pipetrack" between Killearn and Strathblane. Glasgow must have needed a lot of water in 2021!

Woodland Waterfall

Shortly after the viewpoint take the orange-marked route up to your right. Once through the deer fence you have nearly completed the climb and you start a gentle descent through birch and oak wood - on both our vists the fungi were quite spectacular and the banks are well worth a closer look, with interesting mosses, lichen and liverwort.

Another detour from the route takes you to see a rather spectacular waterfall - at least it was in March - by September it had been reduced to a trickle. Back to the path and start quite a sharp descent to Lendrick Hill car park and the visitor centre. Bear left at the car park and follow the path back to Little Druim Woods car park where you started.

More Adventures in The Area

We have also ventured to this area on another couple of occasions - once to meet our son and have a higher level (boggy) walk and the second time to meet our daughter for a barbecue followed by a swim in Loch Venachar. We finished our trip to the area in September with a dip too, although it was a bit of a dull day and the loch didn't look quite as alluring as the previous trip!

The Glen Finglas estate is the largest site that The Woodland Trust cares for  - it has been managing the site for over 20 years, so there is plenty more information about this lovely area on their website.

In terms of this walk I would say it was better in March, because the views were so much better. However there is plenty to enjoy all year round and I am sure as autumn comes in the colours will be amazing.

One of many varieties of fungi
View across Loch Finglas in March
Loch finglas in September
The same view 6 months later
Gentle descent to the car park
View of Loch Venachar from the top path

 

 

Distance:    7.5 km

Difficulty:    Medium (steep hill)

Terrain:       Good tracks or road,

Well signposted

 

Fungi in Glen Finglas

1 Comment

  1. Teddy on September 10, 2021 at 6:20 pm

    It was a stunning walk with a very invigorating swim. Loved it. Thank you for taking me.

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