Queen Mary's Seat

Walking with Kids


Last year, as the days begin to get shorter and the temperature dropped, it was best to try out shorter hikes not too far from home. We had already visited Cathkin Braes a couple of years ago to look at the mountain bike track, which was used for the Commonwealth Games in 2014, but this time we came  back to try one of the walks. 

Where is it?

Map Location
Cathkin Braes is just on the outskirts of Glasgow and is the highest point in the city at just over 200m, it is located near Castlemilk. It is a country park and there are plentuy of walks around the area. We travelled from the East Kilbride direction and had parked at the lay-by/parking spaces on Cathkin Road. 

The Route


The Route

Elevation Profile

From the parking space we followed the track that ran parallel to the road, this continued for a mile or so through the woods. Every now and the you can catch glimpses of the city. There were a couple of sign posts but I think this was more for cyclists than walkers. After only half an hour of walking we came to the viewpoint, a curved wall which may have held information about the area or the city, but no longer does. The large cairn in the area marks where Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have observed the defeat of her forces at the Battle of Langside. 
The Sign Leads the Way

Woodland Walk

More Woods

Signpost

The Summit

From here we followed one of the tracks down and back around the park. We were basically following one of the bike tracks. The route did get muddy in places and it took us through more woodland before coming back out at the wind turbine. 
Following the Bike Track

Near the End
This is good for a quick walk out with the kids and the chance to see Glasgow from a distance. It also marks our second car park in the sky visit in the last 2 months. 

Distance: 2.1km
Time Taken: 49min
Height: 196m

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dechmont Hill

Image
Walking With Kids At last, after a weekend where it barely stopped raining there was a break in the weather, and a chance to get out. Dechmont hill is our closest climb and measures just under 200m, which gives the kids a chance to get to the top. We parked on the road that runs parallel behind Gilbertfield road. The walk started on the track that leads to Dechmont farm and the shooting range. They are now turning this area into housing, so be careful of builders lorries etc. We took a left turn at the road which leads to the farm, and then a right at the Dechmont Range House, now abandoned. The track ends at a small compound, but takes you past the ruins of Gilbertfield Castle. Gilbertfield Castle The compound contains a couple of old houses which acts as a control station for the shooting range. There is no access through it, instead take a left turn before the end of the track and make your way through the grass. There is a path through here but can be obscured by the tall grass sur
Read more

Bike and Hike

Image
"It was a shame that for all the beauty of the scenery that the top of the mountain was covered in mist." Ben Alder and Ben Bheoil  These two Munros stand south of Dalwhinnie in a remote part of Scotland. The best way of getting to them is to cycle out to Culra bothy, some 17km, which, I suppose is one way of warming up before a lengthy hike. These hills were not even on my radar for possible hills to visit but something happened that changed all that. I have had a mountain bike for over 20 years now, for over 15 years it has been covered up, sitting, rusting out the back. A few years ago I did replace the main gear cassette and chain however frustrated at not getting the gears working properly I gave up and left it. That was until the start of the summer. I had decided on not worrying about gears, all I wanted to do is to cycle and to have a bike that would be a low maintenance as possible. With that in mind I took the gear shifters off, pushed the rear mech back and fixed t
Read more

Cort-ma Law

Image
  Cort-ma Law Less than an hours drive from Glasgow, just north of Lennoxtown are the Campsie hills, which allows for a quick days hike.  Starting Point The best place to start is at the Campsie Glen waterfall car park. This can get busy, so it is best to try and get a parking space early. The walk itself starts directly opposite the car park.  Car park location Location of hill Route The track ascends immediately from the carpark travelling east, go past the old shelter covered in graffiti. Shelter Hike up from the car park The track continues upward and the track could be tricky at this point for younger walkers. The first part of the walk ends at a small cairn marker.  First marker cairn From there the hike undulates for 2km as it snakes it's way slightly south of the actual top. Here you will reach a bigger cairn marker.  Second marker cairn From this marker turn north east to the trig point 4.5 km distance. The height of the summit is 526m. We reached the top with 4 kids in 1
Read more