Last Friday, 7 of us (plus Bramble the miniature Schnauzer), walked part of the 11 mile long Glasgow Ramblers’ ‘Magnificent 11’. The Mag11, as its known locally, also claims to be the greenest urban walk in Scotland. It is a four-part circular walk of 11 miles that links 7 wonderful greenspace habitats on Glasgow’s south side, including Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) and a Site of Scientific Interest. (SSSI).
The Magnificent 11 was first made known to us by one of our former members – Catherine Watt who was a keen rambler – whom we sadly lost at the end of 2024. Catherine had been part of the Glasgow Rambler’s volunteer group that worked with other local groups to see the Mag 11 project come to fruition. Her husband Alan (also a keen rambler) kindly acted as our guide explaining many of the interesting points of note including sites of former mills that used water power to wash and soften woollen cloth and leather, a hillock where Mary Queen of Scots (fresh from her escape from Loch Leven Castle) had apparently stood to watch her hastily formed small army being defeated at the Battle of Langside in 1568). During our walk we crossed two bridges; The White Bridge (built in 1835) which is the oldest known iron bridge in Glasgow and a bridge named after a former 18th century Snuff Mill. We stopped to take group photos at each.
Our chosen route took us through part of the Linn Park LNR with much of it in a steep sided gorge following the White Cart River. We didn’t spot the Kingfisher that apparently frequents the small waterfall (known as a Linn in Scots) but we were blessed with perfect weather and finished the walk with coffee and cake at the nearby Holmwood House (a NT for Scotland property) where another member joined us . Here is a link to information on the whole walk including detailed maps and transport information for anyone interested in learning more.
