Walk 84 – Earl’s Seat, Campsies – 6.6 miles

The download/follow button on this post contains an affiliate link from which I make a small commission. More info in the Privacy Policy – linked in footer. 

At a height of 578 m (1896 ft), Earl's Seat is the highest of the Campsie Fells. Relatively unspectacular-looking, it fades into the background behind it's impressive neighbour Dumgoyne Hill. That said, the summit is a great vantage point with panoramic views across to Loch Lomond and the Scottish Highlands on one side, and the city of Glasgow and beyond on the other. Mostly grassy tracks, the route can be wet underfoot and boggy in places. It is a very exposed area with no shelter so do go prepared in case you run into poor weather! There is a steep section near the start before the route levels off to a far more gentle gradient.

  Car parking available in lay-by off A81 immediately after passing Glengoyne Distillery (G63 9LB). Bus stop on A81 outside Glengoyne Distillery.

Earl's Seat, Campsies

WALK REVIEW: 5th August 2016

Earl’s Seat was suggested to me by a couple of friends when I had asked for recommendations for my Trail 7 Summits Challenge. I had ventured out to attempt it a couple of weeks prior to this trip but had ended up only climbing Dumgoyne due to time restrictions. That day I got a good look at Earl’s Seat and the route involved so I knew exactly what I was coming to this time!

The track was visible all the way. It was mostly short grass and easy to walk on. There were some up and down sections but all very gentle gradients and nothing challenging. Ideal terrain for walking and talking at the same time, as us girls tend to do!

My friend LJ came with me on this walk. I didn’t know until we were there but this turned out to be her first hill walk! I was surprised because I have known her husband since primary school and he has been into hillwalking from a young age so I assumed LJ would have been hiking a few times already. In one sense I felt honoured to be taking someone on their first walk in the Scottish hills; at the same time I was nervous, hoping that she was enjoying the experience and that it was instilling in her the beginnings of a passion for getting out into the hills.

Illustration of where to go after the 2 stiles – you are looking for the red path to the left. The grey/blue path takes you towards Dumgoyne and you could follow this (it is more direct) but where the yellow circle is drawn shows an extrenely steep section. You’d have to go up that then turn left which brings you back down onto the red path anyway…. A bit pointless, and even if you want to go up to the top of Dumgoyne before heading along to Earl’s Seat, I would still recommend the red path. Read my post about Dumgoyne here.
EarlsSeat2
Grassy track leading us around Dumgoyne Hill and deep into the Campsie Fells.
EarlsSeat3
The view back to Dumgoyne – impressive-looking from this angle from every angle it would seem!
EarlsSeat5
LJ on her first hillwalk – looking out towards the ridge we would walk along to reach the summit of Earl’s Seat, visible just off centre in this photo. It did look a long distance away from us at this point! I love this photo and always wonder what was going through her mind as she looked across the peat bogs to her destination!
EarlsSeat7
The track visible up ahead climbing onto the side of Garloch Hill then along the ridge to Earl’s Seat. This photo also shows the fenceline which you pass through (bottom left side of photo).

The summit is a funny place, funny in the ‘strange’ sense. To reach it you need to climb over a barbed wire fence (the jagged parts have been clipped off). I wondered why a stile hadn’t been built over the fence…. and indeed why the fence was even necessary? In any case the trig point provided a welcome wind-break for us as we sheltered from a cool wind to eat our packed lunch 🙂

At the summit we got chatting to a group of guys from the Rolls Royce Mountaineering Club, one of whom told us about a Ben Nevis trip coming up and invited us along. I couldn’t make that date but do regret not asking how I find out about future trips. He explained that they aren’t allowed to advertise it so no Facebook page etc, only word of mouth. He did say they have a newsletter so  I wonder how you go about being added to the distribution list. I haven’t been able to find anything online at all. I did tell them about my website and they seemed keen to have a look so guys, if you are reading, get in touch 🙂

EarlsSeat8
Summit trig point – Earl’s Seat. It is encased between fencelines so you have to climb over them to reach it!
EarlsSeat9
View from the summit – Loch Lomond in the distance
EarlsSeat10
View from the summit: I love the contrast between the flat peatlands and dramatic steep faces found atop the Campsie’s

Share This Post

Support the continued creation of free, high quality content on this website by becoming a Patron or by making a one-off donation.