📌 Clachan of Campsie, East Dunbartonshire
★★★★
In bygone years a path used to snake up the Campsie Glen gorge, passing a succession of spectacular waterfalls beneath imposing rock walls. Known as Jacob’s Ladder, it attracted adventure-seeking Glaswegians in large numbers before falling into disrepair later in the 20th century, with its decline into obscurity hastened by rockfalls. The entire route can no longer safely be walked in its entirety, but a walk (or scramble, depending on how far you go) into the gorge from each end is still well worth it. A visitor hub at Clachan of Campsie acts as the gateway for the lower section of rapids, while a higher car park on Crow Road is reached by a winding, 3-mile drive and provides access to the waterfalls in the upper part of the glen, as well as a popular route to Cort-ma Law. A steep but straightforward, 300 metre-long footpath also links both car parks directly, staying well clear of the glen itself. The waterfalls are spectacular following wet weather, but there is a lot of steep and slippery ground along with unprotected drops – so great care is required if exploring beyond the first, most accessible (and unfortunately, most litter-strewn) falls in both locations (more info below). The photos below are ordered from bottom to top, i.e. in an upstream direction.
Clachan of Campsie 
Good path into the lower glen 
Lower glen rapids, accessed by a good path 
Lower glen rapids, accessed by a good path 
Lowest of the main waterfalls 
Section of the old “Jacob’s Ladder” path (right) 
Upward progress is blocked at this waterfall, the highest of the Lower Falls 
Middle part of the glen (no obvious path access) 
Middle part of the glen (no obvious path access) 
Lowest of the Upper Falls, with cave beyhind 
Cave behind the waterfall 
Scramble accessing the waterfall with cave behind 
Middle of the Upper Falls (with reasonable access path) 
Looking towards the upper of the Upper Falls 
Highest of the falls featured here 
Link path between the lower (Clachan of Campsie) & upper (Crow Road) car parks
Campsie Glen Lower Falls ★★★
🌍 Location
📌 On the Kirk Burn immediately north of Clachan of Campsie
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 610798
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.991906,-4.230053
🚌 Bus to Clachan of Campsie
🚗 Car park at 🧭 NS 611796 / 🛰️ 55.989010,-4.228658
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park head north on a good path, keeping left at a fork to reach the lowest of the Lower Falls after a 5-min walk (⬤ Easy). The path becomes much rougher after this with fallen trees to negotiate and a little scrambling in places (⬤ Tough). ⚠️ Check weather conditions before attempting this route – not advisable if the burn is in full spate / rising (risk of becoming trapped) or during heavy rainfall (risk of landslides / rockfall). The “path” leads to several more waterfalls before further progress is blocked to walkers by a cliff band (the sloping ledge rock climb on the right here is outwith the scope of this page).
Campsie Glen Upper Falls ★★★★
🌍 Location
📌 On the Kirk Burn, off Crow Road (B822) 2 mi north of Lennoxtown
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 614803
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.994998,-4.224320
🚌 Bus to Clachan of Campsie (0.5 mi via steep link path)
🚗 Car park at 🧭 NS 613801 / 🛰️ 55.993646,-4.225622
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s a 5-min walk (each way) to the Upper Falls. Descend on a good path, almost immediately turning right onto a rougher one to reach the middle of this group of 3 falls. From here, the waterfall above is reached via a rough, muddy path (⬤ Moderate). ⚠️ The waterfall below (the one you can walk behind, except in spate conditions) is reached by a rather exposed, muddy path ending in a short scramble down a rocky step (care required – a fixed rope helps at time of update in April 2022) (⬤ Tough). There is a further waterfall below this one, but the way down looks very dangerous indeed, & outwith the scope of this page.
