Renfrewshire

8 miles / 14 km

A pretty hard walk from the Lochwinnoch train stop/Roadhead Roundabout up to Barcraigs Reservoir and then over Hartfield and then down to Elderslie. The views are good and this is a good walk.

Hard

This walk has some steep climbs in the beginning before the rest of the walk is pretty undulating and flat before the last descent down to Elderslie. Bring plenty of water and some good shoes here. The surface is small tarmac roads throughout this walk.

Train from Glasgow/Paisley to Lochwinnoch train stop 2 - 3 times an hour.
McGill's Bus 904 from Paisley Town Hall/Johnstone to Roadhead Roundabout 1 time an hour.

If starting from the Lochwinnoch train stop, walk up the road to the right on the pavement up to the roundabout on the Paisley - Beith road where this walk starts.
From the Roadhead Roundabout, take the road to the left, Auchengrange Hill, up the hill (what a fitting road name....). The climb is pretty steep here and a good wake-up call for the body. In particular for the lungs and the heart. At the crossroad on the top of this hill/road/at the white wall, take the Belltree Road to the left. This road is a bit undulating with some good views across the glen towards Lochwinnoch.




A bridge has to be crossed before a new, short climb takes you up to a crossroad. Take the road straight up the hill to the right. The road is climbing pretty steadily but not that steep. This is a good physical test, this climb. The road passes a farm before it descends down to the dam at Balcraigs Reservoir... and below the dam. After this descent, take the first road to the left. This road climbs up to the reservoir and onto it's western shore. The road here is undulated with some short and sharp descents and climbs. There is a viewpoint towards the end of this road as seen below...



At the next crossroads where another road comes up from Belltree Road (I will cover that in another walk), continue straight on. The road now bends to the right to the north end of Balcraigs Reservoir. There is a two-steps big staircase you can climb there at the wall to get a better view of the reservoir and take a picture. See picture below.


The road now descends past a lovely house to the left and then climbs up to the Howwood - Lugton main road. Take this road to the right for 150 yards/meters and then the next single track road up to the left again. This road is a wonderful walking road and perhaps the best part of this whole walk. This road ends up in another crossroad. Take the road to the right here, down into a small, lovely glen.
The walk out of the glen is pretty good with some short, sharp climbs. The road is now gently climbing up next to some farm fields and some inquisitive cows and sheep. The road makes it's way to a house at the end where the road makes a 90 degree right bend up to the trees at Hartfield Road. More like an avenue than road... but. Take the road to the left her between the old trees.



Please stop for a moment and one minute of silence at the memorial to an US airman who crashed here in a fighter airplane and never made it home alive again to USA. The road takes the walk past a farm and the Hartfield Boarding Kennel before it turns to the left and then right again down the hill towards a new crossroad. Take the road to the left here up a small climb before the hilltop, which is a good viewpoint.



The road are now dropping down a hill with some brilliant views over Kilbarchan and Johnstone. The road passes a farm here and takes a right turn after a crossroad. Follow this road to the right and down along the hillside to another farm. At the crossroad here, continue on this road straight ahead up a small climb on a right bend. The road passes a nature path before it descends down a zig zag bend towards the first houses at Elderslie. There are now some pavements on the right side of the road.
Continue down this road until the red Royal Mail postbox. Take the Kings Road to the right here down to the main Johnstone - Paisley road. The walk ends at the bus stops across the street.


McGill's Bus 38 to Paisley/Glasgow 6 - 8 times an hour.
(travellers to Glasgow may want to proceed to the Johnstone train station, which is on the road to the left and then the next right turn down the hill. Trains 4 times an hour).