TAKE IN THE VIEW
A scenic route across the Central Belt celebrates its second anniversary
THE John Muir Way, a 134mile route for walkers and cyclists across Scotland’s Central Belt, is celebrating its second anniversary with a week of festivities taking place between April 16 – 24. Celebrations will also incorporate Muir’s birthday of April 21, and honour the legacy of this renowned Scottish-American environmentalist.
Muir was born in Dunbar, East Lothian in 1838, before emigrating to the United States in 1849. He helped save Yosemite Valley in California, and was a co-founder of the Sierra Club – one of the most influential grassroots environmental organisations in the States.
He successfully campaigned for national parks in America, and is widely regarded as the ‘founding father of the National Parks movement’.
The John Muir Way opened in 2014, connecting the Firth of Clyde at Helensburgh on the west coast with the North Sea at Dunbar on the east.
Since then, more than 60,000 visitors have enjoyed walking and cycling along the route, which boasts some of the most beautiful coastal scenery, sweeping landscapes, wildlife sites and historic visitor attractions across Scotland’s heartland.
Walkers, cyclists and horse riders can enjoy the rocky coasts of East Lothian, where Muir played as a child; the dramatic Blackness Castle on the Forth; historic Linlithgow Palace; Roman hill forts along the Antonine Wall; and the unique Falkirk Wheel boat lift, among other highlights.
The route is marked with John Muir Way signs, and a website (www.johnmuirway.org), book, leaflets and map will give people all the information they need to complete all or part of the trail.
John Muir Day festivities will include a bumblebee walk in a wildflower meadow at Balloch Castle and Country Park in Dumbarton, bug walks at Lauderdale Park in Dunbar, a wildflower meadow discovery day at Kinneil Foreshore at Bo’ness, as well as other events in Helensburgh (Duchess Wood), Strathblane, and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.
Also on the schedule and taking place on April 16 is a 12-mile walk along the John Muir Way, led by the Friends of Kinneil charity, from historic Kinneil House in Bo’ness to imposing Blackness Castle on the banks of the River Forth. One of the main attractions of the week is the first-ever John Muir Coast Festival from April 22-24 in East Lothian, which boasts the firstever night golf event, an ultramarathon, a free bike hire day and a wakeboarding competition, among other activities.
North Light arts are also holding a workshop with John Muir Artist in Residence, Kathy Beckett, on April 23 in Dunbar.
Following the week of festivities, Muir himself, as portrayed by actor and Muir scholar Lee Stetson, pictured, will be walking the entire 134-mile route from April 27 – May 15.
Along the way, he will perform at a variety of venues, relating stories of his earliest years in Dunbar, his boyhood in the wilderness of Wisconsin, his truly astonishing adventures in the American West, and his heroic battles to preserve wild lands.
Visit discoverjohnmuir.com for more information on John Muir.