Walks by Public Transport

Duncolm and the Slacks, Old Kilpatrick

Distance: 15km / 9.25 miles • Time: (summer conditions) 4 - 4.5 hours • Ascent: 490m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NS469728

You can get trains from Glasgow Queen Street to Kilpatrick Station, which is very convenient for the start of the walk. To join the route, turn right when you come out of the station along Station Road, pass under the railway, then take the steps up on your right to reach the parking area where the walk begins. There is tarmac lane and good track to Loch Humphrey. The rest of the walk is on grassy paths with many boggy patches. The steep grassy dome of Duncolm rises above the moors as the highest point of the Kilpatrick Hills. Due to close to Glasgow it is a popular and busy walk specially up to Loch Humphrey. The return given is via the Slacks which has superb views over the city.

Birnam Hill (Dunkeld / Birnam)

Distance: 6.25km / 4 miles • Time2 - 3 hours • Ascent374m (Profile)

This superb circular walk climbs up over the beautifully wooded Birnam Hill. It offers superb views over the surrounding countryside on the ascent and then over Dunkeld from a crag on the way down. The ascent up is reasonably well graded, but the descent is steep in parts. Clear waymarked paths, steep descent with short rocky sections. Dunkeld and Birnam Station is perfectly placed for this route. Trains to here are very convenient for those living in Perth, but there are also direct trains from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Inverness. To join the route after leaving the train, turn left out of the station, follow the path down the steps, then go left along the tarmac lane to pass under the railway. You then take the next left again onto a track – joining the circular route at the final stage.

Coire Làir & Easan Dorcha circuit (Achnashellach)

Distance: 15km / 9.25 miles • Time: 5 - 7 hours • Ascent: 560m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NH004483

A circular walk on excellent stalker's paths and forestry track. The route crosses two passes but the ascent is steady rather than steep with good mountain views. Beautiful scots pine wood and waterfalls along Easan Dorcha make this a perfect break spot. The final section of the walk has fine views down Lochcarron and across the sea. The walk begins right at Achnashellach station on the stunning Kyle of Lochalsh line, so it couldn’t be more convenient. The station is easily reached by services from Inverness. This beautiful circuit path follows through unsurpassed Highland landscapes – passing a tiny bothy visited by Robert de Niro and others during the filming of Stardust

North Berwick to Dunbar - John Muir Way

Distance: 23km / 14.25 miles • Time5 - 6 hours • Ascent: 174m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NT551852

The John Muir Way is a long distance path named in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir. This final official section of the walk begins at the fashionable holiday resort of North Berwick before heading across farmland to skirt the vast saltmarshes of the River Tyne estuary before entering Dunbar via a dramatic clifftop footpath to finish at John Muir's birthplace - now an excellent museum in the Centre of Dunbar. Well-made surfaced footpaths and pavements, other sections on narrow and potentially muddy footpaths and tracks. North Berwick and Dunbar can be accessed by both bus and trains. The John Muir Way – from Helensburgh on the west coast, right to Dunbar on the North Sea – is one of Scotland’s official long distance routes, and is especially convenient for rail travelers, with many stations all along the way enabling linear walks. We’ve picked out this final stage, from the charming holiday town of North Berwick to the finish at Dunbar. It crosses farmland in the shadow of North Berwick Law, visits a fairytale mill featured in Outlander, and then skirts the vast saltmarshes of the River Tyne estuary before entering Dunbar via a dramatic clifftop footpath to finish at John Muir’s birthplace – now an excellent museum in the Centre of Dunbar. North Berwick is the terminus of a branch line from Edinburgh; the return to Scotland’s capital can then be made from Dunbar station on the main east coast line. Using the train enables you to conveniently do the walk as a linear route without any need to return to a car.

Seaton Cliffs and Auchmithie (Arbroath)

Distance: 13km / 8 miles • Time: 3 - 4 hours • Ascent320m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NO658411

This classic coastal walk explores the Seaton Cliffs which extend north from Arbroath and have a wealth of red sandstone formations. The walk continues as far as Auchmithie - where there is a popular restaurant; the return is by the same outward coastal route or you could shorten the walk by taking a bus back to Arbroath. This one has good coastal path, mostly surfaced but with a rougher section down to a rocky foreshore with steps. Arbroath is well served by buses and trains; 1.5km from start. The walk is easily reached from Arbroath Station, which has regular direct trains from Dundee and Aberdeen. To reach the start of the description of the walk, on leaving the station head for the High Street, then follow Hill Street and Hill Road and finally King’s Drive along the bottom of Victoria Park. The walk itself begins from the far end.

Forth Bridges (Dalmeny / North Queensferry Stations)

Distance: 5.5km / 3.5 miles • Time: 1.5 hours • Ascent: 80m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NT129778

The spectacular original Forth Bridge has long been an icon of Scotland, carrying the mainline railway across the Firth of Forth. It was joined by the road bridge in 1964 - now only used by buses, taxis, cyclists and walkers - and then the striking Queensferry Crossing completed in 2017. This walk - which crosses the footway on the road bridge - offers great views of the Forth as well as the bridges. The route is linear but starts and finishes at the rail stations on either side of the Firth; there are regular services so you can return to the start by taking a train over the Rail Bridge. Note that the bridge is closed to walkers at times of high wind. This walk has Pavements and cycle paths; some flights of steps. Train to Dalmeny station; return train from North Queensferry. Dalmeny Rail station. Open start point in Google Maps for directions. Scotland’s railways don’t get any more iconic than the spectacular Forth Bridge, carrying the mainline railway across the Firth of Forth. It was joined by the road bridge in 1964 – now only used by buses, taxis, cyclists and walkers – and then the striking Queensferry Crossing completed in 2017. This walk – which crosses the footway on the road bridge – offers great views of the Forth as well as the bridges.

Glen Tilt (Blair Atholl)

Distance: 14.75km / 9.25 miles • Time: 4 - 5 hours • Ascent: 326m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NN874662

This classic circular walk has good paths and tracks, waymarked and explores both sides of Glen Tilt, deservedly regarded as one of Scotland's most beautiful glens. There are good views throughout. The route is waymarked and follows clear paths, tracks and minor roads. It is not affected by any stalking restrictions. Blair Atholl buses and trains only a kilometre away. To start your walk you need to take the train to Blair Atholl station (direct from Perth and Inverness, also Glasgow and Edinburgh). From the station, head to the main road and turn right along it. The walk starts from the Old Bridge of Tilt, which is signed down the minor road just after the bridge over the river; you can avoid the tarmac by taking a riverside path on the left before reaching the bridge.

Loch Ossian circuit from Corrour Station

Distance: 14.5km / 9 miles • Time4.5 - 5.5 hours • Ascent:85m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NN356664

This circuit of remote Loch Ossian can be done in a day from the railway station at Corrour or by staying at the hostels - it is a long walk, in forestry in places, but with good mountain views and a chance to view modern Corrour Lodge at the far end of the loch. This walk has good track, almost level, fairly long walk in a very remote location. Remote Loch Ossian has no access by public road – so a journey on the celebrated West Highland Line becomes a necessity. There are three Munros and a Corbett accessible from here, but it’s not just for hill-baggers as the circuit of the loch makes for a fine walk in itself. The walk begins from Corrour Station – made famous by the “It’s shite being Scottish” speech delivered by Euan MacGregor in a scene in the film Trainspotting. You can’t drive here even if you wanted to – but why would you, given it’s part of the famously scenic West Highland Line between Glasgow and Fort William / Mallaig.

There are quite a few Munros in the Highlands that can be accessed by train, whether the remote hills of Corrour and Ben Alder, or dramatic peaks like Ben Cruachan. This pair of Munros is ideally accessed from Bridge of Orchy station; it includes Beinn Dòrain, a dramatic conical mountain that was celebrated in one of the best known Gaelic poems. Its neighbour Beinn an Dòthaidh offers unforgettable views over Rannoch Moor. The walk begins very conveniently right from Bridge of Orchy station on the West Highland line; trains begin from Glasgow Queen Street.

Ben Cruachan and Stob Daimh

Distance: 13.75km / 8.5 miles • Time (summer conditions) 8 - 9 hours • Ascent: 1376m (Profile) • Start Grid Ref: NN080267

Ben Cruachan is one of the finest Munros in the southern Highlands, with jagged peaks and fine rocky ridges as well as stunning views. The ridge walk to Stob Dàimh (misspelt Diamh on some OS maps) makes for a classic circuit around the Cruachan reservoir. Has steep and rocky paths with a little very easy scrambling. The descent can be boggy in the final sections. This walk can be accessed by train to Falls of Cruachan station (summer only), or bus service to Ben Cruachan power station visitor centre.