Fantastic Circular Cycle Ride from Appletree

Eighteen mile Cycle ride around Croftamie

The pretty Barnford Footbridge with the distinctive Drumgoyne poking up above it.

Today we took a fantastic round trip cycle ride from Appletree Cottage.  This took us eighteen and a half miles from Appletree Cottage to Caldarvan Station, Wester Cameron, across Cameron Muir to Finnich Toll, down to Blane Bridge then over Barnford Bridge back to Croftamie and eventually Appletree Cottage.

Google map showing our cycle route. Appletree Cottage is where the red dot is.

Going in an anti-clockwise direction (heading westwards first of all) along the route gave the impression that we were going more downhill than uphill!

From the entrance to Appletree Cottage we head west along the single track road.

Mavie Mill, about a mile and a half along the road from Appletree Cottage

There is little traffic on the road - and just the odd farm vehicle.  
​After a couple of miles, we come to a T junction.  We take the left hand turn signposted Cycle Route 7 and Caldarvan Station.

We turned left here. The roads are mainly traffic free - with occasional farm vehicles.

The views are fantastic as we cycle along.  We can see up into the Kilpatrick hills in the south and to the Ben Lomond, the Luss Hills and the Arrochar Alps to the north.

The view up towards the Kilpatrick Hills. The field in the centre has just been rolled by the tractor which is just visible through the trees to the left.

After another couple of miles, we come to another T junction.  This time we turn left, signposted Caldarvan Station and John Muir Way.  
Caldarvan Station today is a tiny hamlet of houses built around the original railway station.  Originally named Gartocharn Station, it opened in 1856 and was a stop on the Forth and Clyde Junction Railway which ran from Balloch to Stirling.
The line was not successful though as its stations were often miles away from the villages they purported to serve.  After closure in the fifties the track was removed and few artifacts now remain although it is still possible to make out traces of the platform at Caldarvan Station.

Clear Signage showing the way.

Caldarvan Station is a small hamlet. The single storey pink building in the centre is the original station house.

After Caldarvan Station there is a little bit of a climb which takes us up to cross roads on the Auchincarroch Road.  The right-hand turn leads to Jamestown and Balloch.  Straight ahead leads to Merkins Farm but we take the left hand turn signposted as the John Muir way and a dead-end/ no-through road.

A view to the north with Ben Lomond the highest hill in the distance. The buildings on the left are Gallangad Farm.

We are now heading east along part of the Auchincarroch Road towards Gallangad Muir and Wester Cameron Farm.  After the climb from Caldarvan Station we are on slightly higher ground and the view across to Ben Lomond and the surround hills is fantastic. 

Looking back at Wester Cameron Farm buildings on the left. Ben Lomond is on the right.

We cycle a couple of miles to the end of the tarmac road to Wester Cameron Farm.  At the farm we go straight ahead through the gate following the John Muir Way sign.

Signpost where we part company with the John Muir way.

Shortly after passing Wester Cameron Farm buildings the road begins to rise steeply.  This is the ascent to Cameron Muir - a wild and lonely place.
This forms part of the John Muir Way, a 130 -mile (215-Kilometre) route which runs from Dunbar on the east coast of Scotland to Helensburgh in the west. It was opened in April 2014 to commemorate the Scottish conservationist John Muir who became founder of the United States National Parks Service.
The route is suitable for walkers and cyclists although some sections may be more suitable for off-road cycles.
Around Croftamie the route splits – where travellers have the option of taking the road route on the low-lying ground whilst the more ambitious can head up into the hills – as we are doing

Looking north across Cameron Muir we can see Appletree Cottage and Shandon Farm in the distance. Ben Lomond is on the left.

The only muddy part of the route on the day we cycled

Looking across Cameron Muir with the Campsie Hills and Killearn village in the distance.

Soon we part way with the John Muir way as it turns south and ascends further up into the commercial woodland and over the hills towards Carbeth..  As we cross Cameron Muir.  it is hard to appreciate that up until the nineteenth century this was farmed.  There were at least three farms and a mill dotted around it - all of which now lie in various states of ruin.  The first section of rough farm track joins a road recently re-constructed to allow access for forestry vehicles to transport timber from the forest.. 

As we approach Finnich Toll the road is bordered with whin bushes in full bloom.

 Towards the eastern end of Cameron Muir, the road is bordered by pretty Whin (Gorse) bushes in full bloom with their yellow flowers which smell slightly of coconut.
As we descend towards the main road our track forks.  We take the right-hand road down past the cottage at Finnich Toll.
At Finnich Toll, which is a T junction we continue straight ahead down the hill signposted Killearn.  The many cars parked at the toll belong to the many visitors to the nearby Devil’s Pulpit.
​This is the start of about a mile on the main roads.
​At the bottom of the hill we cross the single track Blane Bridge with its traffic lights.
At the bottom of the hill, we cross the single-track Blane Bridge with its traffic lights and continue to the second, larger roundabout on the A81.  We take the first exit and continue on this main road for about four hundred yards until a track on the left takes us down to the  Barnford Bridge over the Endrick Water.

Looking north towards Gartness from Barnford Bridge

Dalnair Farm and Crow Hill are in the centre. Dalnair Castle by Croftamie can be seen through the trees on the right.

The bridge is just wide enough to allow you to push your bike across.
This is one of the prettiest parts of the route.  Many years ago, Barnford Farm existed close to the bridge but little evidence of its structures survive today.
From the bridge we can see the Campsie Hills to the south with the distinctive Drumgoyne hill at the western end.
Once across the bridge we follow the farm track up the hill.  As we look down, we can see the enormous loop of the Endrick water as it circles the field below.  At times of heavy rainfall, the field is often flooded - and even today, after a fairly long dry spell there is still a pond of water in the middle of the field.
At the top of the hill we can see Dalnair Farm and Crow Hill lying below us.  

The railway path which is part of Cycle Route 7 and the John Muir way forks off to the left.

To the right we can see Dalnair Castle peeking through the trees.  This recently refurbished pile is now home to several apartment dwellers with recent housing having been constructed in the grounds.
The farm track has now become a tarmac road and joins another single-track road, the Gartness Road, at a T junction.  This road forms part of the West Highland Way which runs from Milngavie in the north of Glasgow to Fort William on the west coast.  Ninety-six miles long (154km) the route can be quite challenging even in fine weather.
We turn left and follow the West Highland Way for about half a mile until we come to a path running off to the left, formed on the track-bed of a former railway (the Forth and Clyde Junction Railway again).
We follow this path for about a mile until we come to a high bridge across the Endrick Water.

The foot-bridge over the Endrick Water - looking towards Croftamie

The railway path continues to Croftamie

More fantastic views on Cycle Route 7 which runs from Sunderland to Inverness

Once over the bridge we can see over to the Luss Hills and Ben Lomond again.  The path leads us to Croftamie Village where we cross the main road and continue along until we join the pretty tree-lined  single track road leading back to Appletree Cottage
We had an excellent ride in fine weather - and look forward to doing it again soon!

The pretty tree-lined route along the single track road leading to Appletree Cottage and Shandon Farm, the latter can be seen through the trees to the left.

Cattle by the Endrick Water at Barnford Bridge.