Getting There
Northbound route only
Leave the M74 at Junction 12 and at the roundabout take the 1st exit signed Ayr A70. Enter Douglas. Turn right at a brown sign to the Cameronian monument.
Pass St Brides Church on the left, and park in a bay on the right opposite some cottages.
Return to M74 Northbound
Turn round and return along Main Street. Turn left at the T-junction and straight over a mini-roundabout. At the roundabout take the 1st exit, signed A70 Edinburgh. At the next roundabout take the 1st exit, signed Glasgow M74, (B7078) and follow the signed route back to the M74.
Castle Dangerous
Length of walk: 1.6km / 30-40 minutes
Leave the parking area and follow the direction of the black footpath sign to Castle Dangerous.
Pass a memorial garden on the right, created by Polish servicemen based in Douglas during the 2nd World War.
Continue on the metal track, over a cattle grid, walking with the lake on the left for 600m. At the end of the lake, continue straight on over grassland to the visible ruins of Castle Dangerous, perched in a strategic position overlooking the river course and plain below. Return to the car park the same way.
The castle, originally built as Douglas Castle, was rebranded as Castle Dangerous after Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel of that name. The remains we see today are of an 18th century fortified mansion, much of which was demolished in the 1940s after nearby coal mining caused calamitous subsidence. The earlier castles both enjoyed a brutal and gory past defending the route to the Clyde Valley, and the Heritage Centre in the village has the full details.
There is a longer return route on the other side of the lake, but on the day we visited there were a number of dog-fascinated cattle on that side so we didn’t try it. As always, keep dogs under close control near livestock.
Facilities
Free parking. Picnic tables on the walk route. Hard tarmac path by lakeside suitable for wheelchair users and buggies (if able to negotiate cattle grid). Children’s playground in park below the church. Co-op shop in the village for picnic supplies, also a petrol station. Alternate parking in village car park.
On the return route you will pass Happendon Services on the left before rejoining the M74.
This is MY favourite walk
Crystal