Bishop Hill – Gliders and Loch Leven from the Top
3 miles · 2 hours · a 461 m hill · there and back
free parking · dogs on a lead
Bishop Hill is the steep green wall on the east side of Loch Leven, and the top of it is one of the best places to see the whole loch at once.
It's a stiff climb of about an hour from Portmoak church, through a wood and out onto open hillside. Gliders from the airfield below ride the wind along the face of the hill, so you may well have company up there.
Where it starts
Start at the car park at Portmoak Parish Church, near Scotlandwell, postcode KY13 9HY.
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Before you go
Getting there
No charge.
On the path
About two hours: 2.5 km (1.5 miles) each way and an hour each way, a steep climb to a top at 461 m. Long steep slopes on earth paths that are often muddy, with self-closing and kissing gates. A steep hour up and a slippery way down: for children who are used to hills.
Good to know
All year in daylight, and best on a clear day for the view. The paths are often muddy. From November to January set off by 1pm. Dogs on a lead near the sheep on the hill. Toilets none at the church car park or on the hill. Long steep slopes and paths that are often muddy: take care on the way down.
The walk
Park in the car park at Portmoak Parish Church, near Scotlandwell on the east side of Loch Leven. There's no charge. It's 2.5 km, or a mile and a half, from the church to the top of Bishop Hill, and it takes about an hour each way. The climb is steep from the start, first up through Kilmagad Wood and then out onto open hillside, on paths that are often muddy.
The top is 461 metres above the sea. Loch Leven lies below you to the west with its islands, and the Lomond Hills run away to the east. The Scottish Gliding Centre has its airfield at the foot of the hill. On a good flying day the gliders rise on the air along the face of it, and you can watch them from above.
Come down the same way, and take care on the steep ground, which is slippery when it's wet. There are gates to pass on the way up, and sheep on the hill, so keep dogs on a lead near them. There are no toilets. From November to January, set off by 1pm.
If it rains
The wood gives a little shelter low down, but the top is open to the wind and the steep paths turn to mud. Keep this one for a clear, dry day, when the gliders are flying too.
After the walk
Something to do with the rest of the day, nearest the end of the walk first.
With the rest of the day
5 min by roadThings to doScottish Gliding CentreAir experience flights in two-seat gliders from Portmoak on the shore of Loch Leven, over the hills and lochs of Perthshire and Fife.
12 min by roadThings to doThe Bunnet StaneA strange mushroom of sandstone on the slopes of West Lomond in Fife, a flat rock cap balanced on a thin stalk, with a small cave cut beneath it.Places to stay near the walk
Our places to stay nearest the start, by road.
An advert · Newburgh
Lindores Lodge
A farmhouse for eight on the Black family's working farm a mile from Newburgh in north Fife, with a seven-seater hot tub and room for three dogs.
Sleeps 8 · 25 minutes by road
See Lindores Lodge
More walks near here
Within a short drive of the start.
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For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by ewelina janusz via Google
Maps from OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors; heights from Mapzen's terrain tiles.