The route set off from Kilsyth up the very nice pedestrianised Main Street, past shops. Coach Road, and the unclassified road down to the canal, had no pavement, but the several cars using it were driven safely. There was the sound of traffic on one side and trains on the other but both were fairly far away. 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....

Mary Oz

However, this made all the autumn views and canal reflections extra beautiful, so I'm not complaining! Eventually I crossed to the towpath, which gave more open canal views with reflections of the lovely autumn trees....

Mary Oz

Largely flat route on good surfaces....

jennywalker19

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. 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). 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)...

wellchoughed

The route then heads along a series of roads, tracks and paths following the south side of the canal (whereas most walkers and cyclists would normally take the towpath on the north side). I did find the route narrow in places and quite muddy at times, and anyone looking for a smoother, less secluded route would be better advised to stick to the towpath. As the edge of Kirkintilloch is reached, the route does something quite unexpected and plunges downhill and through a small tunnel under the canal, to emerge on the north side. However as already mentioned, the path is narrow and muddy in places and on a rainy day (or if I didn’t enjoy secluded places), I would probably opt for the canal towpath all the way...

wellchoughed

There was a Steep hill going up into kirkintilloch, where you walked along the outskirts of a housing estate, this was one of the sections where you could have continues along on the main canal way....

Kelly Donald

I've only awarded the route 3 stars because of the lack of facilities and this difficult section - it may be possible to re-route around this gully to reach Burnfoot using alternative wind farm tracks, but that would make the route quite a bit longer....

WeegieWalker

Initially there is a footpath to walk walk alongside the road before the main path becomes the road....

JMiller

When I walked this route the path through the nature reserve at Kilsyth was blocked off for restoration work. I did a workaround by taking the B802 Howe Road south until it met the River Kelvin walkway, then walking west along the walkway to join with the main route. At Ellisland the route crosses under the canal to the north side - this is a tunnel underpass that may have a car coming through, so be visible....

Jane Taylor

This is a rather quirky route, which sticks to the quieter south side of the canal; having walked it I made Kirkil two, which I think is more pleasant overall. The route continues along the south side of the canal to Twechar (convenience store in a convenient place, saves carrying a picnic). Everyone I spoke to thought it was crazy to route through Hillhead, or to use the south side of the canal at all, rather than take the popular all-weather combined cycle/footpath along the north side of the canal all the way from Kirkintilloch to Twechar...

Jane Taylor

Today it is a popular route for cyclists but has little other traffic. It climbs to a summit at 322m and has good distant views....

David Giles