ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN.
Another solo train trip from my house into Glasgow Central then out to Neilston Train Station. Still under £3 return.
Most of the route out to Neilston is below street level so no urban views but at this time of year, June/July it is a very green trench and more upmarket passengers getting on and off the train at the various stations inform you what district you are passing at the time. You do notice a difference without viewing the houses above I was amused to discover. The novelty of a train trip still fresh with me. Like an armchair detective going clockwise round a monopoly board from Old Kent Road to Mayfair, guessing each district status on the type of passengers only. Even with eyes closed. No other clues allowed apart from clothes, general mannerisms, and accent. Then looking at the station name. I think this is Whitecraigs... below.
A waiting room. Quite a rare sight in these days of close to bringing in full automation, many stations just having a ticket machine on an otherwise bare platform. Having my over 60s card I just pay on the train, hoping it will have a ticket collector on it as my discount card doesn't work using the machine.
One of the original reasons for travelling on this line was I always wondered what it would be like to go over the Victorian viaduct on a train...viewing the full beauty of the Barrhead Dams from above..... but after 45 years of wondering what it would be like... it's not that special... and over in a flash. So quick I missed it all together on the first train run to Neilston.
Much better experience viewing the train and viaduct from below, walking through the dams on foot or bike.
Arrived at Neilston without incident and spotted another nice bench outside the local park/ playing field. My plan was to walk up Kirkton Road, then Glanderston Road then Fingalton Road then Barrhead Road through Newton Mearns then Cadoc Wood and Capelrig Way to Patterton Station. The first three minor roads without pavements but very quiet usually with grass verges to stand on to let any cars go past. Normally one car every five or ten minutes from past experience. It's over 40 years since I last walked this route though. Kirkton Road was a bit scruffy and potholed to begin with but I knew it would soon turn magical.
This is a walking area I used to visit on foot or by bike when I lived in Pollok/Nitshill so I already knew it was beautiful and unlike the overgrown but still nice Dams to Darnley Country Park this area still has working farms, livestock, fields of crops...and was very much like the Dams to Darnley area and what it used to look like up until the mid 1970s before all the housing developments occurred and the farms and livestock disappeared. Neilston Pad here, above.
And this minor road network remains untouched and is still a gem to walk through. Although I enjoyed mountains when I was fit enough to climb them rolling scenery like this was where I started out as a young teenager and where I now have ended up in the autumn of this existence. And I'm really happy with that. I like this type of scenery as well.
Back with the rolling fields and cattle again...... Even without pavements this is a lovely walk and especially in May, June, and July with nature at its fullest.
Hedgerows full of colour on both sides of the road. Dog rose here. The greatest perfume.
Loads of bees and flying insects...
Wildlife in the small dams...Great crested grebe here...
Grey wagtail in a stream....
And beautiful rolling countryside all around.
With herds of contented cattle munching the grass short. And they still prefer the grass out of reach over the fence. Maybe the original inspiration for the grass is always greener....
The blooms of June/ July. Nice to look at but some of the Umbelliferae (white disc shaped plants like these) are deadly to animals and humans. Safer not to touch any, just admire visually, unless an expert. I'm amazed more children didn't get poisoned back then as we stuck loads of things in our mouths just to see what it tasted/ smelled like on our teenage adventures. We never had much money for treats between meals so anything we found outdoors to eat was a bonus.
On the train ride over I initially thought about climbing Neilston Pad and Duncarnock, the two small hills in the area, as well during this walk but it was fairly hot and humid, 24 c and sunny, so contented myself with the minor road network although I did visit Glanderston Dam. Seen below and above.
Glanderston Dam and Duncarnock. A popular little hill and site of an ancient fort occupied by a local tribe.
Enjoyable minor roads stuffed with wild flowers.
Slightly rolling countryside but an easy walk in the main.
Very few cars and only one other walker encountered on these minor roads.
Looking back with folk on Duncarnock.
Another view of Duncarnock. Gorse bush.
Sheep meadows and Moss Heights Hi Rise flats in Glasgow.
More sheep meadows with sheep listless in the heat.
Barrhead Road as it runs through Newton Mearns. At the lowest dip in the road, where the car is, a small stream runs down through woods on the left. This is the next green part of the walk.
Cadoc Wood and The Capelrig Way. A tarmac ribbon that leads to Eastwood High School and Patterton Train Station. Around a three hour walk at an easy pace. Very enjoyable. Full of happy memories of being 12 to 14 again. Patterton, a tiny hamlet of a few houses back then situated on a quiet minor road, used to feel very rural and a detached house just down from the train station had a small shop in it's garage/shed during the 1960s/1970s era where you could buy fizzy drink cans/small bottles and crisps. Always a much needed treat as Patterton was on the limits of how far we could walk from Nitshill, in early Adidas trainers in those days... might even have been thin rubber gym shoes, can't remember, no rucksacks, no water bottles, no food with us, no boots, usually no jackets either if it rained, just a jumper, t shirt and denim jeans or shorts in summer... but still magical. Now there's more houses and a huge park and ride facility for the train station, room for 100 plus vehicles.
Cadoc wood is mainly tree lined but pleasant enough.
The Capelrig Way is more open, less trees.
Which leads out to Eastwood High school and then Patterton Train Station.
One thing I noticed on the walk was that Aurs Road, the only road leading through the Barrhead Dams, is closed off at present for all of 2024. It is a dangerous road for cyclists or walkers, no pavements and increasingly heavy traffic, so road improvements should make it a lot straighter with foot and cycle paths. As I said posh areas normally build golf courses rather than parks so Newton Mearns, a continuously expanding upmarket housing district, may at last have a safe access route to it's nearest beauty spot. I like the Dams to Darnley Country Park for its current quiet serenity but I've had my fun in it over many decades and the children and families of Newton Mearns deserve a place like this when it's always been right on the doorstep but out of reach due to safety concerns and no pavements to get there.
