Walking up Dumgoyne with my dog
I’m off for Christmas and really enjoying some time off. But from going to 4-5 walks a day to suddenly none takes a bit off getting used to and for the last few days I’ve been dreaming of walking somewhere new, interesting and dog friendly as walking at Boden Boo or trailing the mutts in Erskine is my day job. So, since I knew it was to be dryish for Sunday and after a bit of research, I decided on visiting Dumgoyne – and it’s only 40 minutes away!
I’m always a bit unsure how to dress for hill walking. I’ve worn too much and overheated and other times I’ve worn too little and spent the walk freezing. So today I wore plenty of layers and brought a rucksack so I could take layers off if I needed to.
Arrival
With the odd wrong turn it took about an hour to arrive to the car park opposite the Glengoyne distillery, but once out of the car all we had to do was cross the road and the walk started immediately. Ruby was delighted as most dogs are when they visit somewhere new and went on a run of discovery. But being a good girl, she never strays too far and always comes when I call her. They were sheep roaming as we were walking Dumgoyne hill but Ruby’s good around livestock and they kept out of the way, but if you decide to bring your dog then take a slip lead just in case. We met quite a few dogs that had to remain on the lead.
Dumgoyne is just a short walk and only 427m high, but it’s steep and intense and it’s like climbing stairs for the 50 minutes it took to reach the summit. It can be quite disorientating walking up a steep slope, and my wellies weren’t the best footwear to be walking up muddy, slippy slopes, and my amazing Salomon boots would have been much better considering how steep it was.
It wasn’t long before I had to take off my jumper and put it on my rucksack but glad I brought it because the thing about hillwalking is, you get very warm and sweaty on the way up but once you’re at the top and stop moving all that heat goes and the sweat chills you down very fast. After 5 minutes I suddenly could feel the chill in the wind and my hands became cold so was glad I had my jumper and gloves in my bag.
I stopped for a quick cuppa and spoke to an experienced hill walker. He pointed out all the hills in the distance and the areas of Glasgow and told me that on a clear day you can even see Arran.
On the way back down it was a lot easier but so steep that it took a lot of leg muscle to keep myself upright and from slipping and my legs began to turn to jelly as they struggled. We passed quite a few walkers heading up and cause it’s not such a big walk they were families including children.
Walking up and down Dumgoyne in the Campsie Fells with a short lunch break took about 2 hours, giving me plenty of the day left. It’s great for families, kids and dogs (if dogs are good around livestock).
Dog Walking at Dumgoyne in pictures:
Dumgoyne from a distance
We park the car at the car park on the side of the road opposite the Glengoyne distillery.
Ruby loves visiting new places and is one happy girlie to be out of the car and start discovering the Campsies.
This is us just starting…
…And already we can see runners making their way back down.
It’s pretty steep from the beginning. If you like the idea of walking up stairs up a large hill then this is for you! In the picture are walkers ahead of us.
Sheep scatter the hill as we walk and it’s getting pretty steep. The trails are muddy and pretty slippy so care has to be taken.
Getting close to the top and there is a great view of the sloping Campsie fells
Close up of the slope
Ruby loved it, found it no bother whatsoever and lead the way the whole time. We’re near the top and Ruby takes in the views
At the top there is the Dumgoyne standing stone. Wow that was pretty hard but was fun.
View from Glasgow from Dumgoyne
Although there was some cloud there was some fantastic views. Here’s Loch Lomond.
Time for a break alongside the other walkers.
After a coffee and a wee lunch we make our way down as other walkers battle their way up.
How to get to Dumgoyne & Notes
Dumgoyne height: 427m
Duration: 50 minutes to get to the top. 2 hours in total.
Parking: Car park opposite Glengoyne distillery
Clothes: Layers, gloves, hat and hiking boots are advisable
