Knapps Loch, Kilmacolm

by | Sep 21, 2012 | 2 comments

How to get to the Knapps Loch, Kilmacolm

Knapps Loch, Kilmacolm PA13, UK

The Knapps, Kilmacolm

A trip to the Knapps Loch, Inverclyde!

Kilmacolm isn’t far from Finlaystone and Wilfred and Chilli often go to the Knapps at weekends with their owner.  The Knapps are large fields often being grazed on by cows with the large man-made Knapps Loch bang in the middle of it.  The loch is home to brown trout, but a fishing permit is required to fish there.  There’s also a pair of swans nesting there and the occasional heron!  So along with Wilf and Chilli, I took along Ruby and Mack.

It was a beautiful and sunny Autumn day today but I felt a bit funny driving to Inverclyde since I am a Renfrewshire dog walker!  Would I encounter hostile Inverclyde dog walkers wondering what this out of town dog walker was doing moseying on their turf!?  I didn’t know but I was hoping the dogs would be on their best behaviour after all I was representing Renfrewshire!  So once I got there I took the dogs out and was about to enter when I saw that cows were roaming in the same fields we would be walking in!  “Crap!” I thought, “What do I do now!?”  So I phoned Isobel, owner of Wilf and Chilli and she said it was ok to go in as her dogs didn’t bother with the cows so I thought, “Oh well, I’m here now!” and took the dogs in!

The cows didn’t mind us being there one bit, and neither were the dogs concerned with the cows!  So we headed to the Knapps Loch as that’s Wilfred’s favourite place and I knew Ruby would love it as she is a keen swimmer too!

The loch at the Knapps is actually pretty big, massive even and very clean too!  So once there I chucked some sticks in for Wilfred and Ruby to fetch.  Just a few minutes into the walk and local dog owners and their dogs began arriving which gave me some peace of mind.  There was a mother and daughter with their dog, but their young dog didn’t ignore the cows, and I could hear the mother shouting, “Bad girl!  Bad girl!”  The dog didn’t listen. It was having too much fun… but thankfully, the cows were obviously used to it and didn’t show any concern for this young mischievous dog.

The fields surrounding the Loch are large, and you can easily enjoy a nice long walk – the dogs sure did!  They were running about, taking up all the scents of the wildlife that live there, chasing each other and getting wet and dirty!  The grass is nice and soft, but it is littered with cowpats with a few very muddy areas so wellies are a must even in nice weather!

It took an hour or so to make our way around and we could easily have stayed longer.  Overall I think it’s a great place to visit, the large open litter free fields encourage the dogs to run around, and because of the Knapps Livestock, it is a very secure area!

So, although it’s not in Renfrewshire, it is a place that we will visit when we can!

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By Jamie Shanks

BDWS is owned and run by me, Jamie Shanks. I’ve been a professional dog walker since 2010. When I’m not walking dogs, I’m usually at home entertaining my three dogs and attending to five hens and my vegetable garden. 

2 Comments

  1. Hi I’m a photographer and was wondering if its a public right of way to walk round or part of the loch.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • It is yeah. I go there, other pro dog walkers go there, dog owners go there – it always has people in it, but you need a permit to fish. I met the owner last year at the Kilmacolm agricultural show and she complained a bit about the dog walkers not picking up poo but didn’t mind them being there.

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