Craig of Neilston

This is a short(ish) walk out to a small local hill, more commonly known as Neilston Quarry since it was once...a quarry. It's not that high but it has decent views out over the Levern Valley and across to the Lochliboside Hills.

It may once have had a fortified enclosure on it, probably similar to the one on Craig of Carnock but there's no sign of it these days. There's more information on that here.

The quarry face is pretty popular with climbers and the local emergency services use it for training. There's more info on that here.

The route initially follows the same path as that for Neilston Pad, then branches off to head for the hilltop and round the quarry edge. From there you head down to Neilstonside and follow the Levern Water down Midge Glen and returning to the village centre via Crofthead Mill.

Part One - To the Fork

1. Starting from the old bank building on Main Street, cross over Main Street, then turn left into Station Road and follow that to the end.

2. Turn right on Kingston Road, go past the railway station, car park, and Kingston Park and keep going until you're past the housing.

3. Cross over Kingston Road and turn left into the farm track just a little further on from Glen Shee Avenue.

4. Follow the farm track, turn right at Craig of Neilston Farm and go through a kissing gate onto the track beyond then head up the slight slope until you get to a fork in the path.

From here, the left fork will take you to Neilston Pad, which you should have a good view of ahead, but right is the way we want to go.

Part Two - To Craig of Neilston

1. Take the right-hand fork and follow it past a small pond, locally called the Keeper's Pond, on the right. If you're lucky, you might spot a Grey Heron here.

2. Not far past the pond you'll see a small track on the right leading to a stile on the skyline. You can take that route if you like but the stile is pretty high, which might be daunting for some. The last time we passed, there was a hole in the fence beside it but it may have been repaired since.

3. Continue along the main path until you reach a gate and go through the kissing gate to one side of it.

4. Immediately turn right onto a track leading uphill and follow that until you reach a fork.

5. The left path will take you down through the bottom of the quarry, bypassing the heady crags at the top, but it can get very slippery when wet. Both of us have slipped and fallen going down that path so we tend to avoid it now.

6. Take the right path and follow it up to the top of the hill, from where you get a good view of the quarry and the surrounding countryside.

Part Three - To Midge Glen

1. After appreciating the view, carefully make your way along the edge of the quarry, carefully stepping over any climbing ropes across the way, and follow the track down to the Kingston Road. Again, watch your step on the grassy slope if it's wet - I've gone down on my backside here as well.

2. Cross over Kingston Road, taking care as the traffic moves pretty fast along that stretch, and head left until you reach a right-hand junction.

3. Turn right, you'll see a wee car park near the top of this road, and follow it down. You'll go past a farm track on the left to Neilstonside Farm, another farm track on the right with a big  PRIVATE  NO ENTRY sign (they're not very friendly) and Keeper's Lodge just past that.

4. Keep following the road and you'll pass a small gate on the left leading into Neilstonside Wood and just past that is Neilstonside Bridge, which crosses over the Levern water.

5. Just past the bridge you'll see a sign for a Footpath on the right. Take that and go through the gate into Midge Glen.

Midge Glen

Midge Glen, also called Midge-hole Glen and Image-hole Glen, is so named because, during the Scottish Reformation, some local reformationists dragged the image of the Virgin Mary from the chapel at Waterside and threw it into the falls in this glen.

Religious nuttery aside, the glen is a pretty little tree-lined valley, almost a gorge in the upper part, that follows the Levern Water down to Uplawmoor Road and the more diabolically-named Brimstone Bridge.

There are two waterfalls in the glen, called Kilnminning’s Linn and Dusty’s Linn, one of which is likely that which received the image of the Virgin so long ago. Be careful if you fancy a closer look at them as the slope is pretty steep.

Part Four - To Crofthead Mill

1. Follow the path down Midge Glen, past the waterfalls and you'll come to another fork. The left fork leads you up onto the now-defunct Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway track bed, which you can follow left to Uplawmoor or right into the Bovis housing estate in Neilston. There's an ongoing project to develop the railway track into a walking and cycling route between Neilston and Uplawmoor so that could feature in a future route.

2. Take the right-hand fork and follow the path down the glen, going under the old railway bridge and eventually coming out on Uplawmoor Road. There's space here to park a couple of cars if you're looking to park at this end.

3. Turn right and cross over Uplawmoor Road. You'll see a small gate in the fence so go through that into the field beyond, which is where the annual Neilston Agricultural Show is held.

4. Follow the path to the right, alongside the Levern Water. Keep following the river and you'll go past a bridge over it on the right. The path you're on will turn left up the slope but keep straight on, around or over the traffic-blocking log, onto the path beyond.

5. Keep going straight on past High Crofthead House on the left and a junction on the right that just leads back up to Uplawmoor Road. You'll go round another gate just a little further on.

6. You'll go past a small dam in the river, you'll likely hear the waterfall, called Blackwater Dam and again you might see a Grey Heron here. It's tricky to get a view and you might have to go off path so be careful.

7. Emerge from the path onto Crofthead Road and follow it down to it's junction with Holehouse Brae. You'll go past the old mill-workers cottages on the right, cross over the Levern Water (you'll need to get on tip-toes to see over the bridge parapet here) and you'll see Crofthead MIll, which dates back to the 1790s, on the left.

Part Five - Back to The Bank

1. Turn right and head up Holehouse Brae, crossing over when you see the pavement on the other side. Keep going until you get to a break in the hedge on the left.

2. Go through onto the field beyond and follow the path. There are a few paths you can choose here but don't go uphill or downhill and keep on until you see a path leading up and right to some bushes.

3. Take the right-hand path uphill and follow it past the bushes and you'll come to a gate so go through that onto Broadlie Road.

4. Follow Broadlie Road all the way up to Main Street.

5. Turn right on Main Street and head back along to The Bank.