Beith & Lochwinnoch

9 miles / 15 km

A bit of a strange walk.. There are some scenic roads less travelled here and this walk was cobbled together to include these roads plus make it a long walk. There are a half a mile bit of the walk on the very busy Kilbirnie - Lochwinnoch road which makes this a walk I cannot recommend. But I have included this walk here. The first part of the walk; Beith - Gateside - Beith is recommended.

Pretty Hard

There are two pretty long climbs here. The climb out of Gateside and the climb on the Geilsland Road from the Balgray whisky bonds are pretty hard. The rest of the walk is either flat or downhill. Beith is a nice village and worthy a visit. Bring plenty of drinks, gels and protein bars.




McGill's Bus 904 from Paisley Abbey to Beith, 1 time an hour.

Jump off the bus at the Beith Laigh Road bus stop. Ask the bus driver or follow the advice from the onboard announcer or TV screen. Take the road to the left, back up the road from the bus stop and then the first road to the right, Wilson Street. Then after 100 yards/meters, take the first road to the left, Mitchel Street up the hill where it changes name to Head Street. Continue on this road to the Beith bypass road. Cross this busy road and go straight ahead, choosing the pavement on the left side of the road. This road should be signposted Gateside and Lugton. The walk on this pavement to Gateside is pretty scenic.
Gateside too is a nice hamlet and worthy a visit. The road becomes pretty steep after this hamlet and the pavement disappears up to the first crossroad of the day. The crossroad is marked Balgray Bonds. Take this road to the right. This road are flat in the beginning before it climbs a small hill which it then crests.




The views from this hill is very good. Just before the industrial estate to the right, take this narrow small road to the right again past this industrial estate (whisky bonds). This road takes you past a small farm until you reaches another crossroad. Take the road to the right. This road climbs up a hill between the hedges. The views from the top of this hill back towards the hill you have just climbed (first picture) and then towards Beith (second picture) are impressive.






The road descends down on the Geilsland Road towards the Beith bypass. Cross the bypass road and take the Barrmill Road to the right after crossing the busy bypass road. This road takes you down to the centre of Beith.



Head for the Kings Road, signposted Recycling Centre. Follow the pavement on the right. This road takes you down the hill past the cemetery. There is a new housing scheme just after the cemetery. The pavement ends just after the new housing scheme. The walk now follows a single track road. A pretty busy single track road takes the walk down to the bridge crossing the railway line. This bridge has some good views towards Kilbirnie Loch. See picture below.



The road now crosses the plains at the bottom of this glen/valley before it ends in the Kilbirnie - Lochwinnoch Road crossroads. The scenery here is pretty good.



Take this busy road up the hill to the right. Keep as much to the right as you can as this road is pretty unfriendly for us walkers up this hill and over to the next crossroads at Langslie Cattery. Take the road to the left signposted Langslie Cattery for about 150 yards/meters and then take the path to the left again down to the walking/cycling path, the ex railway line. Take this walking/cycle path to the right in the direction of Lochwinnoch. This path is pretty good but still a bit dull..



The path ends up in Lochwinnoch and the playing fields there. Follow this path down to the Lochlip Road. Cross this road and take the path to the right. This path crosses a river before the crossroads. Take the path signposted to the Lochwinnoch Railway Station where this walk ends.


Train from Lochwinnoch Train Station to Johnstone/Paisley/Glasgow 2 times an hour.

Enjoy the walk !!