Castle Semple – A Loch, a Wooded Hill and a Ruined Church
About 3.7 miles on foot.
Castle Semple Loch lies along the edge of the village of Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, a long sheet of water busy with swans, geese and small sailing boats.
An easy walk of about 6 km follows its shore into Parkhill Wood, climbs a low hill for the view, and reaches the roofless shell of an old collegiate church among the trees. It comes back along a disused railway line, and there's a café at the visitor centre where you start.
- Time
- About two hours: a figure of eight of about 6 km (3.7 miles) with some 90 metres of climb, as a walker's guide measures it.
- The path
- The loch shore by the centre and the tarmac cycle path back are level. The paths through Parkhill Wood are earth and gravel, muddy in places, with a short climb.
- Where to start
- The car park at Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, on the east side of Lochwinnoch. Free.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by 1pm. The visitor centre's toilets are open every day from 9am to 4pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead near the swans and geese at the water's edge.
- Children
- An easy walk with birds to watch at the start. Bikes use the path back.
- Before you set out
- The visitor centre's toilets are open every day from 9am to 4pm. Its café opens every day, 10am to 4pm in winter and 9am to 5pm in summer.
The walk
Park at Castle Semple Visitor Centre on Lochlip Road, on the east side of Lochwinnoch, right on the shore of the loch. Parking is free. The centre's toilets are open every day from 9am to 4pm, and its café opens from 10am to 4pm every day in winter and 9am to 5pm in summer, with hot drinks, savoury snacks, cakes and ice cream. The walk is a figure of eight of about 6 km, or a little under four miles, with some 90 metres of climb, and a walker's guide to it allows two hours.
It sets out along the loch shore, where mute swans and greylag geese gather and dinghies and kayaks go out from the centre. Then it turns into Parkhill Wood and makes the short climb to Park Hill, a low top of only 90 metres that still gives a good look back down the loch. Beyond the hill, in the trees, stands the ruin of Castle Semple Collegiate Church, roofless but with its walls still standing. The way back is the old railway line, now a tarmac cycle path, so keep an ear out for bikes.
The paths out are wide earth and gravel and can be muddy after rain, and the climb to Park Hill and down to the church is marked by red arrows on boulders. Keep dogs on a lead near the birds at the water's edge. From November to January, set off by 1pm.
If it rains
The wood gives some shelter and the railway path back is tarmac, so a shower needn't stop you. After heavy rain the paths in Parkhill Wood are muddy: wear boots, or keep to the loch shore and the cycle path.
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 Talli House, 7 miles away. Sleeps 4; next free Fri 30 Oct to Sun 1 Nov.
Then Moment Blythswood Street, 15 miles away. Sleeps 2.
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For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Long “LW” Walk via Google