[Closed] Milngavie to Dumbarton via Kilpatrick hills

@sonofmike of this parish used to do that regularly as he lived in Milton and biked over to meet GMBC punters? @Iainc shold know too?.

Strava heatmap shows that there is a way. Up past Cochno (great name!).

I've never been that way, but Strava heatmaps shows the path from the back of BurnCrooks towards MountBlow and Dunbarton has been ridden, if it is where I think it is you'll be pushing up the hill once you leave the path round Burncrooks reservoir as it's pretty steep, and if the path isn't surfaced the rest could well be a boggy mess this time of year. I might have a look in summer when it's dry, as it could make a nice loop for me with the John Muir way to Helensburgh.

I've seen the path from the reservoir it will indeed be a boggy mess. I can handle that, wasn't expecting flowing single track.

Just wondered if there was a route I was missing.

Cheers folks.

yeah, above posts cover it. A boggy mess is the reality, though haven't done it for a year or so, and there was a lot of work being done associated with John Muir Way money. Hopefully others have some more up to date intel. If it is as it was then best tackled on a cold frozen day after a cold frozen fortnight... Never dries out in summer..

Great route in a drought. Wait until it freezes. Once you leave the JMW after exiting the gate on the south side of Burncrooks, it’s bog all the way to Humphrey pretty much.

I head out the WHW, through Auchengillan centre (to cut out a bit of Stockiemuir Rd), up and over the back of the Whangie, along JMW and take the wee trail off to the left of the JMW once through the gate at the end of Burncrooks. Path passes Duncolm(s) and essentially heads straight for Humphrey.

I tend to go and ride the fun stuff up the Kilpatricks and then loop back home via Greenside and Cochno and drop back down to Stockiemuir Rd via various options and back onto Craigton Rd.
You could use my return route as your out route to avoid some of the bog.
Can send you a Strava GPX of a loop so you can see both directions if you like?

Years ago, before they added the jmw path, I walked up from Overtoun to the black linn reservoir. Fairly straightforward.

I pressed upwards in the direction of the ‘doughnut’ hill, but I headed eastwards along ‘Meikle Saughen Brae’.

It was a very enjoyable walk at that point. The path runs parallel to the forestry plantation with the upside down T-shaped firebreak.

After that, it was a real struggle, getting east to burncrooks reservoir. After the path over meikle saughen braes petered out, I had to plough down over some very boggy terrain. So boggy that I was nearly sinking up to my waist in parts.

With the new jmw path, it might be possible to descend from meikle saughen braes and head north in the direction of the ‘knockupple’* and the galangad burn towards a path that connects with the jmw near the Dumbarton muir forestry plantation. I’ve no experience of that terrain, tbh.

I’ve also walked on the west side of the forestry plantation with the upside down T-shaped firebreak and it was one of the most hellish experiences in recent years. Wet and tussly.

So, the jmw needs a connecting path, up to meikle saughen braes.

From watching YouTube, some people get to burncrooks or kilmannan reservoir and then head in a westerly direction towards lily loch and then up to duncolm hill, and then continue westwards towards loch Humphrey, which connects with the path leading up from Overtoun, past the ‘Lang Craigs’.

I’ve done that, albeit in the opposite direction, dragging the bike down from duncolm over fairly difficult terrain.

Another option is to follow a road, past kilmannan reservoir that terminates near the top of the cochno loch and drag the bike to the path that skirts around the easterly side of cochno loch and both sides of the jaw reservoir (there’s even an island to visit!). Once you reach the dam at the jaw reservoir, you can either bottle it, or head up cochno hill and then down towards green side reservoir, up then up the slacks towards loch humphrey, etc.

I’d allow for loads of daylight before you go off exploring up there.
Try and stick to the high ground. It’s a hellish bog in many parts.
And the high ground tends to have a ‘cap’ of limestone which aids drainage.

*great spot for a wild-camp?

Good luck😜

Correction:

Should read “knockupple* and the knockupple burn”.

You can ride the forest track from Carbeth up to Kilmannan Reservoir (either directly or via Burncrooks) and keep climbing to the south which takes you to Cochno Loch. There's then singletrack (all rideable you just have to find where it jinks off the forest road at the second turning hammerhead on the right) down the east side of Cochno Loch and across the causeway and island between Cochno and Jaw Reservoir. You can then either descend from Jaw directly towards Duntocher or ride up Cochno Hill and over to Greenside Reservoir and then up the steep path to The Slacks. From there you could descend the main track from Loch Humphrey down to the Erskine Bridge, and pick up the Balloch cycleway to Dumbarton, or head round Loch Humphrey to pick up some of the tracks there and descend to Milton.

There is a singletrack from the high gate on the Burncrooks Reservoir path that head to the east side of Lily Loch, past the west side of the Duncolms and down to Loch Humphrey, but it's a narrow line in the grass in places and boggy in others. Best done after a few good hard frosts or after a couple of weeks of dry weather.

As has been mentioned
Up over the Burnscrook to Duncolm view then over to Humphrey then overtoun loop to Dumbarton
Then back up Overtoun climb(Boggy mess) then play on the trails at Brown hill
Spexsy Hitman Mr H and four play Ub571 then back over
Or do the Craigton to back of Faifley then up Cochno road to the Jaw and Cochno
Then down Cochno rollercoaster to the Greenie then up the Slacks and down over to Humphrey and again the Overtoun decsent and Milton brae for a nice wee Rocky techy ride then out on A82 at Police station