The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Into the valleys of the eagles and bees
Glen Eagles and Glen Bee, Blackford, Perth and Kinross
Rights of way chart a history of passage through the hills of Scotland, from the wanderings of pilgrims and cattle drovers through to the recreational footsteps of present-day walkers.
Preserved in part through signage installed by the Scottish Rights of Way & Access Society (Scotways), the network of tracks and trails helps safeguard access to the great outdoors.
In common with many upland areas, the Ochil Hills are criss-crossed by rights of way offering adventurous linear treks through the glens or longer, more demanding circuits.
After studying my maps, I settled on an outing that would take me north through Glen Eagles on a former drove road before returning south on an equally historic byway linking Blackford with Tillicoultry.
In Glen Devon, close to the reservoir access track road-end, there is a small gravel car park where I donned my boots and headed back towards the main road, crossing a cattle grid to join the drove road.
Past a gate, the way rises steadily to its summit where it flirts with the A823 before descending between grassy pasture and the heathery slopes of Wether Hill.
Beyond St Mungo’s Farm, where a sign pinned above a gate confirms the presence of the drove road, a more robust track sheltered by woodland where game birds are reared continues north.
Staying loyal to the old way, I branched on to a slightly overgrown trail that led me along the periphery of the policies of 17th Century Gleneagles House to a whitewashed estate cottage.
At this point, a short detour can be made east to the 16th Century St Mungo’s Chapel.
The right of way continues north to Gleneagles Castle, of which little now remains, but I turned west at the cottage, a track and then field-edge path delivering me on to a quiet country lane leading to Blackford.
Buffeted by the busier carriageways of the converging A9, I was happy to strike south just before the two roads met, a green Scotways sign (facing away from my direction of travel), pointing to Tillicoultry.
A wooden stile adjacent to the locked metal gates affords access to a track that climbs steadily over grassy slopes, curving up into Glen of Kinpauch where the terrain swiftly adopts a more upland character.
The ascent endures all the way to the col below Craigentaggert Hill and a slender yet distinct path, descending through Glen Bee, with Upper Glendevon Reservoir to the right
The raising of the loch in the 1950s resulted in the right of way being rerouted to parallel the northern shoreline, passing above a band of woodland, before dipping to the dam holding back the water.
Crossing the top of this grassy embankment, I paused to read plaques commemorating the opening of the dam and the addition of its spillway, before joining a surfaced track that descends through the glen, passing Lower Glendevon Reservoir and Frandy Fishery.
ROUTE
1. Walking towards A823, cross cattle grid and turn left, ascending track north through Glen Eagles.
2. Pass to left of St Mungo’s Farm, go through gate with “Drove Road” sign and continue north on track.
3. Go through two consecutive gates then fork right on grassy path, descending to wooden gate/stile. Continue ahead for 200m, passing grounds of Gleneagles House on right, to junction by cottage.
4. Turn left and walk 200m west along track. Go through gate and walk 700m west along field edge path.
5. Pass through band of trees and turn right to meet road beyond gate/stile. Turn left and walk 2.5km west along road.
6. Turn left (signed Tillicoultry) and ascend track, passing shed on left. Approaching woodland, curve right below powerline.
7. Take second track on left and ascend Glen of Kinpauch.
8. Branch right through wooden gate and, where track ends, follow path over col and down Glen Bee.
9. Cross dam to join surfaced track down glen.