Today, my wife and myself joined a 22 strong group on an escorted, 10 mile hike around Mugdock Park.
Information on Mugdock Park
Mugdock Country Park is a country park and historical site located partly in East Dunbartonshire and partly in Stirling. It is around 10 miles north of Glasgow, next to Milngavie, and covers an area of 260 hectares (642 acres).
The route took us past two reservoirs and a loch (lake).
Hiking group walking along edge of Mugdock Loch
Temperature today was about 5c/41f. The ground surface was extremely wet, partly due to melting ice and snow. With exception of a short hail storm the weather today was dry with negligible wind.
Typical section of trail.
Historical sites in the park
We passed two castles and a former WW2 gun battery.
Hiking group passing the ruins of Craigend castle. This was built in 1812 in the Regency Gothic style. After undergoing multiple change of ownerships eventually it’s roof was removed and then deteriorated to current condition. It was never a castle in the military sense, just a residential mansion.View of Mugdock Castle across Mugdock Loch. The Castle was the administrative centre for the lands of Mugdock with first record of it’s existence dated 1372. The castle experienced two attacks during the reign of King Charles I (1625-1649). It is now a ruin.World War Two gun battery infrastructure.Constructed in 1942, almost a year after the Clydebank Blitz, and formed part of the Clyde Basin anti-aircraft defence. There are four placements for 3.7” guns. The command post would have contained the fire-control instruments including a predictor, height finder and radar equipment.Moot Hill near Mugdock Loch. This innocuous piece of slightly elevated land belies a long and complex past. Prior to part draining of the loch the land was an island with a history going back to 1800BC. There may have been two crannogs on the site. Subsequently, in the first millennium, the island may have been used for meetings, parliaments or courts of justice. There exist other, similar ‘Moot Hills’ around the U.K.
Other sites and information
Horse rider about to overtake hikers.Interesting signage. Part of our hiking route followed the line of long-distance trail, the West Highland Way.Woodland sceneChance encounter with reenactment group at visitor centre.Tree fungi on dead tree.We concluded our hike at Milngavie in the evening by which time there was little daylight.
More information for the visitor
Visitors should consider the publication Visitors Guide to Scotland. This contains extensive information including sections on hiking and the West Highland Way. ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.
