The walk: Duncolm and the Slacks

Map: OS Landranger 64 (GR 471775)

Distance: 10 miles (16.5km)

Time: 5 hours 30 minutes

Terrain: track and path

The Kilpatrick Hills lie between Bearsden and Dumbarton overlooking the Clyde and offer walks to distinct, if small, summits with fine views. The terrain is mostly grassy moorland with tracks and paths, giving fairly straightforward walking.

Duncolm, with its bun-shaped summit, is the highest point, and the route here links it with Cochno Hill and The Slacks, two lower summits.

The route can be started from Duntocher via the Auchencraig path beside the Cochno Burn which leads to Cochno Road, or from the car park at GR 503740 on Cochno Road. Exit back to the road, turn right and straight ahead on to the access road to Cochno Farm, following a footpath signpost to Jaw Reservoir. Leave the road on the right at another sign, go through a kissing gate, round a field to another gate, then straight on to another gate giving access to a track. Follow the track up and through the break in the trees from where a distinct path leads up to open hillside. Keep right where the path divides, ascending beside the small Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall to Jaw Reservoir.

Head left on a grassy track, keeping left where it divides, to gain the high ridge and summit of Cochno Hill. From here, the route is clear. The Slacks lies to the west across the glen of the Loch Humphrey Burn and Duncolm to the north. From the top of Cochno Hill descend the right-hand of two grassy tracks heading to the rightmost of the electricity pylons from where a stony track leads to the dam across Greenside Reservoir.

Cross over and ascend another grassy track to the trig point on top of The Slacks, and views to the Clyde and Erskine Bridge. From the top, descend a grassy track west for a short way, then sharply north-east to avoid a boggy area and gain a fence line on the craggy northern side. Follow the fence west along the crest of Boglairoch and down to the gravel track beside Loch Humphrey.

Head rightwards towards Duncolm, to where the track ends at a gate and a grassy track continues round Little and Middle Duncolm, to the final ascent to Duncolm’s trig point.

Descend south from the summit on a steep path beside a fence to a wall, which is followed to a stile giving access to a marshy path left of the fence. Cross the burn, staying close to the fence to reach a stile and Greenside Reservoir. A path continues round the east side of the reservoir to the dam and the outward route, which is reversed to the start.