This
walk provides striking changes of scenery from woodland to pasture to
moorland and can be varied to suit differing levels of fitness and the
time available.
Heading eastwards from Ranoldcoup Road Bridge, walk up the "Bankers"
- wooded on one side and pasture on the other- to a farm track leading
to Slacks Bridge near Priestland.
Enjoy a tranquil stroll weaving through a narrow strip of woodland bounded
by the remains of a dry-stane dyke on one side and the Gower Burn on the
other. Along the way, can you recognise oak, birch, alder, thorn, cherry
and ash? A mature beech of some 75ft is a prominent feature on this path.
Wood anemones, celandines and primroses carpet the walk in April followed
by the bluebells in May.
When you leave this path by the meadow gate at Bransfield Bridge, head
out on a long walk skirting past moorland where you may be able to spot
skylarks and buzzards. Near Loanhead, take a break at the site of the
Long Cairn, the longest in Scotland at 335 ft, with a history of some
5,000 years.
This chambered cairn, although robbed and disturbed long ago, held the
burial chambers for 5 long dead chieftains. Cross the stepping stones
at the Ford over the Tulloch Burn and continue along this road - part
of which was the old Edinburgh Road - to link with Loudoun Hill.
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