Walk: Ballagan Glen – 192 layers of history

📌 Campsie Fells, Stirling
★★

Ballagan Glen is home to a series of tremendous waterfalls, including where the Spout of Ballagan plunges 21 metres off the Campsie Fells escarpment. The gorge below displays 192 alternating shale and limestone rock strata known as the Ballagan Beds. Unfortunately this nature reserve seems reluctant to give up its secrets, so this is a walk for keen geologists or determined waterfall lovers only. Reaching a viewpoint for the Beds is straightforward enough, but paths seem to fade to nothing (although some internet sources suggest otherwise) if you attempt to reach the base of the waterfall – best seen after heavy rain. Tall ferns and leafy woodland obstruct the view, but to a lesser extent during winter or spring. The Kirkhouse Inn in nearby Strathblane serves potential recovery fodder.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish on Dunglass View, 10-min walk east of Strathblane village centre

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 567795

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.986234,-4.300514

🚌 Bus to Strathblane

🚗 Street parking

📝 Key info

▶ 3 km / 2 mi | ▲ 140 m | ⌛ 1.5 hr

Features: 🌳 Ballagan Glen; ⛰️ Ballagan Beds; 🌊 Spout of Ballagan ★★

⬤ Tough | Busy road with no pavement, then tarmac drive up to Ballagan House. Reasonable path becomes faint after emerging from woodland. Pathless, steep and vegetated ground if you continue to waterfall – care & patience required (omitting this lowers walk difficulty to ⬤ Moderate).

➡️ Out-and-back walk: start – Ballagan House via A891 – reserve boundary – Ballagan Beds viewpoint – Spout of Ballagan – return by outward route. Map of route from A891 to reserve boundary 🔗 here

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Buzzard over reserve; sheep and cows next to road.

Weather: Sunny spells after overnight rain, but showers threatening. Temperature in single figures.

October 2015

Spout of Ballagan ★★