Dog walk

Bar Hill Fort

Glasgow, Kilsyth

Type of walk

Hilly

What's here

Free Parking, Off Lead Areas, Pathed Routes, Animals On Route, Picnic Areas

About this walk

Just off B8023. Park at the Miners Institute or the Church in Twechar.

The Fort is on the Antonine Wall and incorporates the remain of a Roman fort and an even older pre historic settlement.

The fort is accessed from a pedestrian footpath, accessed directly from the road. The path is a slow but sometimes a wee bit steep climb uphill, suitable for most abilities. Bear left when you get the chance, and are past the farm buildings to get to the fort. You can continue to walk beyond if you desire, and there is a ridged woodland nearby perfect for that (obvious when you're at the top of the hill)

The fort itself has historic plaques explaining the archaeology you can see and incorporates the remains of a bath house. the Antonine Wall was the northern most point of the Roman Empire at it's peak, and runs right across central Scotland. Bar Hill Fort is one of the best preserved bits of the wall. There are lovely views down across Kilsyth. When you're done with your walk you can stop at the Auchinstarry Marina, which has a pub/restaurant. There are also picnic tables there, but my advice is take a packed lunch and eat it at the top of the hill. This marina is part of the forth and clyde canal, which itself offers extended opportunities for walking. There is also a small hilly trail (maybe a mile) next to the free car park at the marina. The marina has a small number of canal vessels docked there. In peak season there's usually a take away van on offer too.

The archaeology on offer is great and there's loads of open space for the dogs to run free. There is a working farm with fenced fields en route, so if your dog is excitable around livestock, take a lead. It is a historical site of some importance, so it's appreciated by the rest of us if no mess is left.

More info

The author provided the following links to more information

Undiscovered Scotland Visit

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toomtabard

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Comments (3)

sizzlea89
9 years ago

Went here today and absolutelu loved it! Dogs had a fangfantastic time.
Pmack49
3 years ago

Lovely walk. Parked on the street beside the pedestrian path to the fort. Hill by name, hill by nature, but it was lovely to stop and enjoy the view while I got my breath back. Once past the cows, there were acres for the dogs to run about it. Once at the fort it's fenced (but not dog secure). We went on a Sunday around 4 and were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves. Lots of time to learn about the fort and take pics of the dogs having fun.
SiobhanSimpson
23 days ago

Was meeting a friend to walk our dogs in the area (I'm not from the area, she recently moved there). Googled found this and it was excellent. Excellent views. Very steep hill in places, we were fine with this, but probably important to know.