Rugged Run – Earl’s Seat (Iain) | Twin brothers swimming, cycling and running in Scotland

Earl’s Seat (578 m) has been described by The Scotsman newspaper as “…at times a tedious traverse, but the effort is well rewarded.”

I’ve done this route during the Summer and Winter. I don’t think its tedious although it can be a bit of a bog slog in wet weather. It is actually a great Winter route on a cold frosty day. The bogs are frozen and the heather has died back. It’s much easier to run than in summer.

The common route is to do Earls Seat from Dumgoyne as an out an back route https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=62636 I met some cyclists pushing their bikes along this route as they planned to cycle back down. They’d never done it before. They asked if they had far to go. I gave them the same answer my Dad gave me whenever I asked that question – “its round the next corner and over the next hill.” Which basically means, its miles away, stop your moaning and get on with it. I felt sorry for them as they looked knackered pushing their bikes and they’d barely reached half way.

My prefered route is to start at the car park in Clachan of Campsie and run to the war memorial in Strathblane via Earls Seat. Before starting out, I left a car in Strathblane so I’d be able to drive home. If you fancied a longer run you could run back to Clachan from Strathblane via the old railway track

Run up the road next to Schoenstatt until you reach a sign that says “walkers this way.” Follow the path until you are past the houses and then cut down off the track and follow the wall of the stone house. This will take you to a small bridge over Finglen river. Head over the bridge and aim for the top of the hill. Eventually you will find a fence. Follow the fence to Earl Seat. Easy 🙂

That’s the directions I was given when I first attempted it. It did work although If you are stuck I’ve included a map below.

The video below will show you what the route is like. It was a beautiful day but the video doesn’t show just how cold it was. It was difficult to start the camera as I’d lost feeling in my fingers!

VIDEO