Kilbon one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Kilbon here.

The route set off from Kilsyth up the very nice pedestrianised Main Street, past shops. It reached Low Craigends by cutting through an archway, then via a few steps and through a small car park. This was a bit tricky to spot, and it might have been easier to continue along the cobbled Market Street, which would also avoid the only steps on the whole route.
Mid Barrwood Road became a gravel lane for some of the time. I didn’t find it particularly steep, even downhill in the frost, but my circumstances were different from Wellchoughed’s.
Coach Road, and the unclassified road down to the canal, had no pavement, but the several cars using it were driven safely. The views across the valley here, particularly on a sunny, crisp, misty autumn morning were rather beautiful. I passed a riding centre and dog kennels – which was very apparent from the noise!
I wasn’t aware of the narrow feeder burn footpath that Wellchoughed mentioned, and had taken it that the inaccurate plotting at this point had intended the walker to remain on the road until reaching the easily accessed towpath.
The pleasant tarmac towpath went on for miles. It was quite exposed, with lots of wildlife and great views all around. There was the sound of traffic on one side and trains on the other but both were fairly far away. The trees had lost more leaves around here, I guess because of being more exposed. It was a Saturday morning and quite a few cyclists were out, but mostly they warned as their approached.
There were planes occasionally going overhead, yet despite this, and the cyclists and other walkers, and the distant sound of traffic and trains, it still felt peaceful and beautiful.
As I got nearer to the motorway there were a lot more light planes and helicopters which became a bit irritating, and in fact they drowned out the sound of the motorway until I was quite close. I discovered they were all out having fun from Cumbernauld Airport on a clear Saturday morning.
Two thirds of the way, there were shops at Banknock (short detour), but there had had been occasional picnic tables and benches by the canal. From here to Bonnybridge it was a bit busier, with roads and houses nearby, but it still felt peaceful along the towpath. At the end it was just a quick hop from the canal to Bonnybridge centre. (I recommend Café Retro, right at the end point.)
With a few adjustments to the Kilsyth end, the route could be made fully accessible. A very simple, direct and pleasant route.

Review of Slow Way Kilbon one (Kilsyth to Bonnybridge)
I walked this route (in reverse) on a mild summer’s evening in July 2023. The route out of Bonnybridge couldn’t be easier – a simple walk (or wheel) uphill via Bridge Street and onto the towpath along the south bank of the Forth and Clyde Canal. The next seven miles of the route follow this towpath so navigation is not an issue. The surface is excellent all the way and passing cyclists mean that even the middle section doesn’t feel too remote. There are interesting landmarks to look out for (most notably remnants of the Antonine Wall visible away to the south) but (sadly for such a well-restored structure) the canal itself appears to be poorly used. The section under the busy M80 provides a perfect opportunity to reflect on the benefits of “slow” travel over travelling by car. On reaching the outskirts of Kilsyth, the route leaves the towpath and initially takes a narrow path (easy to miss) alongside a feeder burn before dropping down to an unclassified road which passes a riding centre, crosses a bridge and turns left onto Coach Road. Again the navigation here is easy but some of the corners are sharp so care must be taken. The final section into the centre of Kilsyth is surprisingly steep (obviously not a problem if going in the other direction) and the beginning of Mid Barrwood Road is easy to miss (and initially very rough underfoot/wheel). However if the route is followed correctly the centre of the town is eventually reached. I had to run the last bit to catch my bus (hence the lack of photographs of this section) but it looked like there were plenty of facilities on Main Street particularly (at least during shop hours). Overall a really good route, well-mapped, easy to follow and presenting no major challenges. The path down to the unclassified road on the edge of Kilsyth is very narrow and steep, and would not be easy to negotiate for a bicycle or buggy (and certainly not a wheelchair). Instead, the unclassified road could be joined at the canal side (although this would increase the length of the on-road section which is probably the principal negative feature of the route).
I have deducted two stars because of the on-road section, the one narrow path and the uneven surface mentioned in my review).

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