Autumn in Lennox Forest
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- An autumnal walk in Lennox Forest, starting and finishing at Clachan of Campsie. Along the way we wander through the grounds of what used to be Lennox Castle Hospital - its psychiatric unit once described as a wretched and dehumanising pit - and examine the ruins of Lennox Castle and its predecessor, Woodhead House, both once inhabited by a branch of the Lennox family. A quest to locate an old quarry proves fruitless, but during the search we discover some painted stones and an unusual building whose purpose or function is a mystery.
Over a Kilmarnock pie, we ponder a few Coronavirus matters, then finish at an awesome viewpoint at the edge of Craigend Muir where what feels like all of Scotland's mountains are displayed majestically before us. A great little hike.
Hi Eddie. Great to hear from you. Autumnal Lennox forest. Love from Dundalk Ireland to you and Scotland. 22.32pm. Sunday Irish time. Kind regards Niall O'Connell Eire 🙋👍🙏🇨🇮🥰
Cheers Niall.
Excellent video. I worked at Lennox Castle Hospital & used to walk up & around here with ‘Residents’ who loved getting out for a ramble around this fantastic area. ⭐️
It's a beautiful area, no doubt. Thank you.
Hi graham I have huge interest in both who worked and those who stayed in Lennox castle and would love to hear what your experiences were during your time there
Lovely video Eddy, good to see you out and about. You seemed to have the entire surroundings to yourself, thanks possibly to the scourge of Covid.
You’re right about the youth, they are the ones, mostly to blame for spreading the virus.
Beautiful shades of autumn, and on what looked like a great day for a walk.
I’ve had more than a few of those “Killie” pies, and they are very popular at football grounds.
Take care Eddy and stay safe, regards Rob.
Love the video really beautiful place clachan of campsie or as I know it campsie village , but then I’m english living in wonderful 🏴
Many thanks. Clachan of Campsie is certainly an enchanting place. Good bus service too.
Another great video eddie👍
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Maybe the painted ‘earth hippie’ stones are marking the path down to the auld wives lifts - although I think the main path must be from the Balmore road side! I was in the castle in the mid 80s, the castle and a few other buildings on a project with Glasgow museums - I was told by a neighbour who worked in the castle that a network of underground heating tunnels still exists under parts of the estate! I wonder if that stone buildings was part of the water supply to the hospital, maintaining water pressure, a pump house of some kind, the stone building being contemporary to the family castle and the concrete roof added by the hospital - nice looking pie.
That's interesting. I think you're right about the stones in that they are some sort of marker, but not for the Auld Wives Lifts; the side path seemed to head in the direction of Craigend Wood, and perhaps leads towards a feature you'll see on maps called 'Pattie's Bughts', which I have been meaning to visit for a while. The stone building has a 1930s/1950s look about it. The large windows confuse me. I'll need to ask the Forestry Commission.
@@EdExploresScotland the reservoir for the estate appears to be the one in Clochcore wood, still marked in a modern google map as a reservoir... in the 1937-1961 OS 1:25000 map you can see a little building just to the north east of the reservoir next to the road, perhaps a 100yds or so, is that the building you show in your video? ... it's half an hours walk or so from my Lennoxtown property, however I'm at my Northern estate in Moray for the next several weeks - winter is coming at it's safer in the North :-)
I can see that small building that you refer to, but it's not the building in the video. The building in the video is about half a mile west of that reservoir, at the side of the track. Mind you, it does have an early-20th c reservoir-related structural look about it.
Another great video Ed :)
Thanks again.
Great video Eddy, I know it's a few years old but I am working my way through your catalogue . This is close to the area I grew up and was interested in the quary you referred to, I clearly remember a quary behind Balmore village - close to where Magnus Magnusson brought his family up. We often walked from Bishopbriggs through Cadder Golf Club and then uphill, I am sure the quarry was on the uphill part behind the old church, there was also what we thought were lots of old caves, I later found out that they were mine entrances.
Many thanks. It's certainly a great area for walking.
Thanks Eddy now I'm confused after seeing this video when up in Lennox town visiting a old friend of my husband he didn't mentioned about the castle and we were visiting the campsies now I am going to get a map out and have a look as I live in South of England
The castle's a fenced-off ruin, and I suspect it won't be too long until large sections of surviving wall collapse. But it's a nice area for a walk.
Cracking wee video Eddy, and a Kilmarnock pie ". Not bad are they, that wee building you found could it have been an explosives store for the quarry ? Just a thought. Lennox castle looks like it would have been an impressive place in its days, lovely looking building. As for the painted stones Eddy... err i do not have a clue Lol. Was nice to see you out doing what you love doing again pal, take great care and stay safe. Thanx again Eddy and a big thumbs up from Cambridge 👍👍👍
Many thanks. I'll need to make enquiries about that wee building. I can't see it as an explosives store, mainly because it has large windows, but also because I think when this quarry was in use they just knocked lumps out of the stone with hammers and stuff and didn't use explosives, although I'm not sure.
Interesting, but it's too small to have been a byre. The general appearance is of some sort of 1930s structure related to water reservoirs. Also, I think the decoy system was elsewhere. I'm waiting on a reply from the forestry commission.
Hi Ed, thanks for the video, nicely put together as usual. I've been up in this area quite a bit over the past few months just padding about and looking for large boulders and old quarries. I'll DM you about the one you couldn't locate but you essentially were within about 50m of it! I think this stone construction you ask about near the end of the video might just be an estate 'hut', possibly catering for shooting parties in Victorian times. The windows and ruined fireplace on the East Wall suggest some sort of (temporary) habitable space rather than a barn or food supply storage facility. As you say, it's not that old.
There is indeed an old ice house linked to the main Lennox Castle house, which sits down the steep hill to its north, (as is traditional to keep it cold.) Not much to see there really, its just a single, stone-built chamber set into the hillside, with a small doorway to enter.
Many thanks. That's interesting. When I got back home I realised how close I had been to the quarry, but to get there meant heading over muddy tree-felled ground, so in many ways it's just as well I gave up. Maybe some day. I hadn't realised there was a fireplace in that wee building - I only stuck my head into the gloom of the interior for a second - so what you're saying sounds absolutely right as far as some temporary place to hang out for whatever reason.
Sorry, couldn't seem to see how to message you direct. It seems you figured out how to access the quarry. The easiest way i found was to come in from the South, which is the back / tallest part of the quarry. Carry on south from the 'pie-stop' for 300m then jump the drainage ditch and head west along the faint clearing path for 80m or so. Then on your right the plantation is at its thinnest, only 10m or so and you come out at the top of the quarry. Great views from there and it feels very secluded. The quarry is about 10m tall at that point, tapering lower on either side. It's also quite boggy at the base, and is heavily vegetated.
I was looking for places suitable for rock climbing as that's my main interest. Have you ever come across any large boulders (min. 3-4m tall) or higher rock faces during any of your local wanderings? I've seen the stuff above Strathblane and also out at Craigmore / Craigmaddie but feel there must be more outcrops in the neighbourhood! Ever hopeful!😉
Re rocks and things, west of Craigend Wood is Pattie's Bughts. I've only been in that spot once many years ago, but in addition to a quarry there may be some rock outcrops. Of course the one rock feature that springs to mind is that at The Whangie in the Kilpatrick Hills. Take care.
@@EdExploresScotland Thanks for the reply. I went to check out Pattie's Bughts just before Christmas actually. I came in from the Loch Ardinning side which, although a bit shorter in distance than from Lennox Castle, was a real slog and takes longer in reality! I've also had a look at the small quarry nearby that you mentioned.
Something akin to The Whangie would be perfect, if only it were a bit more approachable! Cheers F
Hey Ed, the Facebook page Scots of the World just featured some drone photos of Lennox Castle.
I'll check it out. Thanks.
Hello Ed,
Very enjoyable video. The architecture of Lennox Castle is stunning, amazing that such a place can end up a ruin. Good to see you relaxing with a pie, I've never tried a Kilmarnock pie before but I'll change that next time I'm in Scotland, it looks really good. The scenery on your walks is wonderful, something we don't see where we live, Norfolk, flat as a pancake.
Take care Ed.
Ian and Angie.
Super walk again and good commentary. Wonderful views at the end. Getting out for a walk is the best thing we can do. Don’t watch the news too much. It will only get you down and fill you with fear. Sadly, thousands of elderly people die every year from flu and other viruses, that’s life, but never before have we destroyed our economy or inflicted so many mental health issues on the wider population.
Back to the pies I see, good video, thanks
Great video as always Eddie, wee pie from down my area good to see if bk in your videos , take care my friend
Good video Eddy! Loved the slow motion bionic man impression at the beginning ha ha. I tend to mute the tv now when anything covid related comes on as it just drags me down. Doing what I can to stay safe, having a big garden is a godsend, keeps me busy and love my books and walking. Those painted stones are a mystery for sure, they add a wee touch of colour though. take care.
I ended up at Lennox town today after walking a wee bit of the John Muir way, crossing your path.. lovely area.
We had a good day, weather-wise. Didn't expect so much sunshine.
I enjoyed your ramble. It does look like fall, even if you thought you were a bit early. We have ‘painted stones’ (more like large pebbles) in our area of the world. They are often partially hidden under shrubs and such like. The idea is to find one and then move it somewhere else. Some of the designs are really lovely - it’s a real treat to discover one. PS No real thoughts on the small outbuilding . A gamekeeper’s hut maybe? Somewhere to hang the deer to cure?
The painted stones are from a facebook group called love on the rocks Scotland... U can keep the stone or place it somewhere eles...
I'll check them out. Many thanks.
Just stumbled across your Culross video, glad to see you're still producing content :)
Thanks.
It's a shame we can't add pictures in this comments section. I've just come across a beautiful drone photo of Lennox Castle emerging from the mists.
Maybe that's something TH-cam could look at. Put your suggestion to them.
Ancient earthworks and stones Queens Park
It's certainly a park full of history.
Firstly, another sterling effort by your good self. The music is just so good. Were you in the music business in your younger years? The other great thing about your videos is that you really do take us with you on an adventure, to places that we would not have known existed or seen. That funny little stone building: I did notice on your map there was a place marked as an office between the Lennox ruin and the quarry. Could this building have been the office?
Many thanks. Just a few pub bands when I was young, but we were never that good. That wee building is a good distance away from the office building. I can see it on just one OS map, but it's function is not indicated.
Hi Eddy. I enjoyed watching your video. I have been living in Lennoxtown the last 10 years and love picking up useful bits of information like this that I never knew of! Out of interest , where can I access the historical mapping I seen in your video?
Many thanks. I use the National Library of Scotland's map image section online for any research. I keep the following page as a web favourite, and work from there:
maps.nls.uk/geo/find/#zoom=15&lat=55.97600&lon=-4.20534&layers=7&b=1&z=1&point=0,0
The type and age of map is on the left-hand-side, and you just find the part of the country you are interested in and click on the map; If looking at OS maps, you'll then see various map ages on the right, and you just click on one. If you just copy and paste the link above it will take you there. I use many of their maps, but mainly Ordnance Survey 6" and 25".
@@EdExploresScotland Hi Eddy. That is great, thanks so much for the link, that’s my evening sorted! Keep up the great work with the videos. Stay safe and catch you around.