Gillian's Walks

This post contains affiliate links from which I may make a commission. All opinions are my own. If you’d like more information you can contact me via the Contact page, a link to which is at the bottom of this page in the footer.

The Whangie: strange by name and strange by nature! This massive and unique rocky outcrop seems to appear out of nowhere on an otherwise grassy hillside. Situated at an elevation of 300m (984 ft), the 10m high rocks have a narrow passageway through the middle, formed during the Ice Age. Easy to reach by following the well-worn although muddy footpath which climbs at a gentle gradient. On a clear day enjoy the views across to Loch Lomond and the Campsies as well as the hills of the Scottish Highlands to the north.

  Queen’s View car park, just off A809. No public transport to walk start point.

  Route:  From Queen’s View car park, cross a stile over the wall. Follow the path South West then North West to a second stile. At the fork in the path here keep right (West) to skirt around the bottom of the crags. At a path junction 850m along keep right (lowest path) After 640m you will arrive at The Whangie. After exploring The Whangie, leave from the South side of The Whangie, where there is a footpath leading off to the left (East). There is a fork 150m along. Turning right (South East) takes you up to the trig point on Auchineden Hill (357m high). If you aren’t going to Auchineden Hill, continue ahead (North East) at the fork. Keep left at any forks as you continue for 540m to a path junction beneath some crags. This is the same path junction you were at earlier. From here retrace your steps back to Queen’s View car park.

Use this website often? I invite you to support my work through Patreon or by making a one-off donation.

---

WALK REPORT: 10th July 2017

I had been keeping an eye on the weather forecast since the previous night when my   friend and I had made our last-minute decision to take the kids to the Whangie. BBC Weather assured me that it was to rain in the morning and clear up in the afternoon. And so it did. Unfortunately what started off as a dry and sunny afternoon, gradually became duller, greyer and wetter the closer we drove to the Queen’s View car park…. Long story short: we got absolutely soaked to the skin! I changed my son’s socks twice during the walk and each time I was literally able to wring the water out of them. Not quite what we’d had in mind!

There was also the small issue of our children having different walking paces. While my friend’s two and my eldest marched off happily at a normal pace, my youngest meandered along, playing with his bow and arrow. That wouldn’t normally have bothered me, however it was just too wet for all that faffing around today. We could have aborted but we had driven an hour to get here so we were doing it (cruel mum!). In all honesty, I still had faith that the rain would ease up and we would get some sort of view soon. Didn’t happen. The result was that we all reached the long-awaited and much anticipated rocks at different times, the first to arrive ending up freezing cold and miserable by the time I got there with Thomas. Nobody was in the mood to be hanging around. A total flop! I had been looking forward to bringing my kids here for months: I hear that the rocks of the Whangie are great fun for the kids to climb on and that the views towards Loch Lomond, the Highlands and the Campsies are amazing. We will definitely return on a better day to experience all of that. Without the bow and arrow, and with waterproof footwear all round!

Do get in touch to let me know about your positive experiences of this well-known walk! I know there are many!