Hike: The Whangie

The Whangie is a short hike, just outside Glasgow, famous for its unusual rock formations and stunning scenery.

On a quiet Friday morning I decided to take a group of friends on this walk to get them interested in hiking and the outdoors and show them one of my favourite routes in Scotland.

The hike began in Queens View car park where we climbed over a fence and followed the boardwalk across marshy ground until we reached the footpath. We followed the steady incline of the grassy path stopping along the way to catch ours breaths and take in the surrounding views of the Campsies. We then followed the path straight ahead which lead us to a concrete block at the top of the hill. There were fantastic sights all around us including Loch Lomond, Burncrooks Reservoir and even parts of the Highlands.

From there we headed back towards the Whangie and after a short walk downhill, a sharp right turn revealed a gap in the rock and we climbed in between the steep sides of the Whangie. The rocks at either side of us where high and intimidating and left our voices echoing along the narrow natural corridor. After a short rocky climb, we reached a gap in the rock and the rugged Scottish landscape was unveiled before us.

We played around on the rocks for a while and then chose a quiet spot to eat our lunch and take in our surroundings.

The descent was the same route back down but as it was later in the day and from a different perspective, the surroundings were still new and interesting. We talked and laughed as we continued down the path until the car park came back into view and we reached the end of our walk.

We drove five miles north east to a small town called Killearn where we stopped to rest for a while. We visited a lovely café called Three Sisters Bake where we got coffee and some tasty homemade cakes. After we had refuelled, we went back to the car and drove two miles south to Finnich Glen.

Finnich Glen (also known as the Devils Pulpit) is a 100ft gorge with a red river running through it. We walked along a path at the top of the gorge, looking down the steep rock face below until we reached the end of the path and were level with the water. We seen people walking through the gorge but didn’t manage to get there ourselves. We plan to go back in the summer but perhaps with wellies and a rope this time!