Great Trossachs Path: 4 – Ancient woodland, Roman forts and saintly mounds

6.91 miles 3h 44m ascent 233m

Glen Finglas Visitor Centre-Callander

A great walk. Autumn colours, good paths through woodland and moor, with views down to Loch Venachar, a disused railway through the farmland and marshes of Leny Meadows to end at wee mound of Tom ma Chisaig. And all on a dry day.

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

The walk started with an uphill section (a climb of about 100m) through woodland of Kendrick Hill. There were small Woodland Trust information boards with information about the various trees and something about the ‘myths’ associated with them such as Ash wood being burned to ward off evil spirits. This needled the pedant in me, since the burning of Ash is history, the belief it warded off evil spirits being the folklore. But I know what they meant, and it made the information a tad more interesting.

Lendrick Woods

It was easier walking once we had levelled off even though there was still quite a bit of up and down. I wondered if this had been an older road but think it more likely it had been a forestry track. It is certainly a well-made path and gave us excellent views of Loch Venachar, with glimpses of Loch Achray and Loch Drunkie, in its hanging valley (photo at the top of the post). 

It was even warm enough to walk without a jacket.  There were a great deal more wildflowers here than we had seen further west in the previous couple of days.

Crossing Milton Glen Burn offered us a choice, a ford or a bridge. 

Milton Glen Burn

We chose the bridge, having checked beneath it for trolls first of course. Once we came out of the trees, the sun was showing its face. The path across moorland was narrower, more obviously a footpath than a forestry track. 

Looking towards Dunmore Hill, Callander just visible

After passing the track up to Dunmore fort our own path took us downhill, into the valley of the smith’s cascade, Eas Gobhain. The gentle slopes below us were covered with autumn greens, yellows and browns, the masting Rowans adding a touch of red.

Rowan with mast fruiting

I hadn’t realised how close to the road we were until I saw the black and white chevrons of a sharp turn sign close by. After crossing the A821 a short track took us onto a track that first hinted at having been a railway and then declared it clearly. This had been the Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway, opened in 1858 and closed in the Beeching Cuts.

There is a wheel set into a stone wall at the start of the path, and from its gearing I thought it might be part of a machine. My first thought was something to do with a watermill. The Garbh Uisge (river) isn’t far away. But that’s as far as I got until a couple of days later, when in my bedtime reading, “The New Science of Strong Materials” by J E Gordon, I came across a drawing of Trevithick’s Coalbrookdale locomotive.

Trevithick’s 1805 Coalbrookdale Locomotive

These are not exactly the same wheels. Ours had curly spokes. But I would guess the wheel came from a steam engine of some sort and was placed here as a nod to the railway.

There were several benches beside the path, usually a sign that people taking short walks start not too far away. We had our lunch on one overlooking what remains of a Roman fort.

Bochastle Roman Fort

The Romans built this fort around 83 AD, which was quite far-sighted given how handy the railway would be a couple of millennia later. This was in the line of forts controlling access to the highland glens may have only been used for a single winter.

The raised disused railway took us across low lying farmland and marshes towards Callander. The first raindrops fell but the real rain held off until we were driving home. The Garth Uisge, near to Callander didn’t live up to its name. Presumably the rough water is upstream nearer Leny Falls.

A rather gentle Garbh Uisge

The path into Callander had a large X and an O on poles. I can’t find any more information about these but I suppose they might be a another nod to the railways.

We couldn’t find a definite end or start for the Great Trossachs Path and walked about looking for something tangible. We found signs pointing towards it that led us into the Meadows car park. The GTP website gives a GPS that seems to be inside one of the buildings there.

We decided to make Tam na Chisaig, St Kessog’s mound, our final end point for photos. 

River Teith from St Kessog’s Mount in Callander
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