Scotland Off the Beaten Track

Renfrewshire | Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park | Short walk | ★★★ [Windy Hill] A quick ascent of Windy Hill near Lochwinnoch is the easiest way to experience the solitude and views of Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park without tramping across miles of pathless moorland. The cairn on the aptly-named, open summit is made of stones carried up by local schoolchildren in the 1970s, and the views from here into the park's interior are excellent. Perhaps a candidate for a Glasgow post-work walk? [The first section through forest contrasts nicely with the open slopes higher up] 📌 Walk: Windy Hill - it's a breeze! ★★★ Start / finish at car park at Muirshiel Visitor Centre, minor road end 4 mi northwest of Lochwinnoch, G.R.: NS 312632 ///expensive.moats.perch ▶ 2 km / 1 mi | ▲ 100 m | ⌚ Short | ⬤ Easy Features: Muirshiel Visitor Centre ; △ Windy Hill (316 m) Terrain: Excellent paths: stony lower down, grassy near summit, occasionally steep. Route & map Car park

Dumfries & Galloway | Moffat Hills | Full day walk | ★★★ [There's a great view down Nether Torr Gill to Blackhope Burn and the west side of the horseshoe] If the Southern Uplands have a stereotype of gently rolling hills then Moffat Dale must be an exception, with steep slopes rising 500 vertical metres or more on either side. After an immediate energy-sapping climb (nothing gentle about this!), the grassy ridges surrounding the tributary of Blackhope Burn form Scotland's best horseshoe route this side of the Central Belt. Hart Fell at the head of the valley is the highest summit but Saddle Yolk is the most dramatic, with a very short but airy ridge to reach it. [The Saddle Yokes from Black Craig] 📌 Walk: Hart Fell horseshoe - vintage Moffat Dale ★★★ Start / finish at Blackshope cottage (layby - don't block access), A708 5 mi northeast of Moffat, G.R.: NT 147098 ///gulped.dimension.engages ▶ 13 km / 8 mi | ▲ 890 m | ⌚ Full day | ⬤ Tough Features: △

Glasgow | Shawlands | Park | ★★★ [View towards the Campsie Fells from Queen's Park] On the east side of Shawlands - the suburb at the heart of Glasgow's Southside - is a low hill making up Queen's Park. Decent views across the city from the top extend as far as Ben Lomond on a clear day, while locals with sledges descend on the northern slopes at the first hint of the white stuff. For the rest the year, the woodland paths and pond makes an attractive diversion if you're visiting the area; there are also glasshouses incorporating a small reptile house and aviary at the south corner. [Queen's Park] Location & info 📌 Queen's Park (Glasgow) ★★★ East side of Shawlands, 2 mi south of George Square, Glasgow. Glasshouses are off Langside Road at G.R.: NS 578618 ///film.escape.flood Park always open. Glasshouses: daily | Free [Reptile house (12/9/15)] [View towards Glasgow]

Glasgow | Southside | Castle | ★★★ [Crookston Castle] Crookston Castle's location seems a bit weird, nowadays in the middle of housing estates west of Pollok Country Park . But then you remember that this 15th century ruin easily pre-dates all the buildings around it, and its hilltop location is a sensible vantage point over the surrounding land: today, southwest Glasgow . For a ruin (and a free one at that) there's lots to explore, with ever-steepening spiral staircases and ladders accessing various rooms in the northeast tower and eventually the roof. This is a lovely bit of calm and history set in a suburban park amongst modern, everyday surroundings. [Unusually for a ruined castle, views from the tower are of surrounding housing estates] Location & info 📌 Crookston Castle ★★★ Off Towerside Crescent, Pollok, 4 mi southwest of George Square, Glasgow, G.R.: NS 525627 ///giant.space.oven Open daily, April to September; Saturday to Wednesday, October to