Mugdock – Two Ruined Castles in the Woods Above Glasgow
About a mile on foot.
Mugdock Country Park is a stretch of old woodland and moor just north of Milngavie, on the very edge of Glasgow.
Hidden in it are two ruins: Craigend Castle, a roofless Gothic mansion among the trees, and Mugdock Castle, a medieval tower standing over its own small loch. A short walk from the visitor centre links the two, and there are cafés and a play park waiting back at the start.
- Time
- An hour to an hour and a half: about a mile there and back from the visitor centre, a little more by the paths.
- The path
- Waymarked woodland paths.
- Where to start
- The main car park beside the visitor centre, open 9am to 6pm every day. Smaller car parks are open all the time.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. The main car park is open from 9am to 6pm. From November to January set off by 1.30pm.
- Children
- A short walk to two ruins, with a play park by the visitor centre.
- Toilets
- Beside the visitor centre and the main car park.
- Before you set out
- Walk the woods in daylight. The park's free map is at the visitor centre.
The walk
Park in the main car park of Mugdock Country Park, beside the visitor centre, north of Milngavie. Entry to the park is free. The main car park is open from 9am to 6pm every day, and some smaller car parks are open all the time. Toilets, cafés, shops and a play park are all beside the visitor centre. Pick up the park's free map there, because the park doesn't publish lengths for its walks.
The walk it suggests is the one to Mugdock Castle, passing Craigend Castle on the way. Craigend is the ruin of a 19th-century Gothic mansion that was later a zoo, standing in the trees close to the visitor centre. Mugdock Castle is some 500 years older, the 14th-century stronghold of the Grahams of Montrose, and its one tall tower still stands above Mugdock Loch. On the map the castle is 750 metres from Craigend. So it's about a mile there and back as the crow flies, a little more by the paths, and an hour to an hour and a half with time at both ruins.
The paths are waymarked and run through old woodland. Mugdock is in East Dunbartonshire Council's care, and its page is the place to look for what's on. From November to January, set off by 1.30pm.
If it rains
The paths run under trees and the cafés are at the start, so a shower does no harm.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Moment Blythswood Street, 8 miles away. Sleeps 2.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Robert Burrows via Google