IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Blanefield, GLASGOW, G63 9AR

The fence and the now redundant stile are shown from the other side in Image See Image for a view from the same place as the present photograph, but looking in the opposite direction. The sign ahead says "Public footpath to Mugdock Country Park"; the path leaving Squirrel Wood is here joining a track called the Boards Farm Road, which is now part of the John Muir Way. The path junction shown here is at Image

The picture is as Image (see that link for more information), but taken from beyond the sign. The sun was now very low, giving the woods a gloomy feel. The path leads to the B821 at Braehead (cottage).

The area ahead is known as the Squirrel Wood, though that name does not appear on OS maps. The path is signposted as a "Public Footpath to B821 at Braehead". It branches off at this point from the Boards Farm Road, or Gowk Stane Road – http://www.geograph.org.uk/tagged/Gowk+Stane+Road#photo=3997495 – now part of the John Muir Way. See Image for a view of the fence and stile from the other side. For some views from further along the public footpath, see Image, taken about halfway through the woods, and Image and Image, which show the point where it ends, at the B821. Large-scale OS mapping shows that the Squirrel Wood contains several named crags; one of them, the Image, was described by J G Smith as follows: "the south side of the strath has also its rocky cliffs and wooded terraces and fine basaltic columns, particularly at the Pillar Craig on the Craigallian estate" ["Parish of Strathblane" (1886), page 3]. Outcrops I had passed just a few minutes earlier on this walk had much the same appearance: Image and Image Other examples can be found in the Squirrel Wood itself: by far the most impressive is the already-mentioned Image, but it is located some way off the public footpath. Two more modest examples can be seen near the footpath: Image and Image See also Image, from a little further ahead. The writer J G Smith, quoted above, links place-names in this area with events in a battle that took place in 750 (the Battle of Mocetauc / Catohic, often called "the Battle Of Mugdock", though its actual location is uncertain); see Image for more on that topic.

The track is now part of the John Muir Way. This part of it is called the Boards Farm Road, or Gowk Stane Road. Here at Boards Farm, a short distance beyond the large building shown here, a path branches off to the left, leading to the B821 at Braehead (cottage; see the map): Image In the nineteenth century, the name of the farm was also popularly applied to the surrounding lands: "The lands of Craigallian and Ballochalary, which is the correct name of what is usually called 'The Boards', and about one fourth of the lands of Carbeth, make up the present estate of Craigallian" [J.G.Smith, "The Parish of Strathblane" (1886), page 47].

This crag, in the Squirrel Wood, is a basaltic formation, one of several in this area (the most impressive of them is the Image; see also Image and Image). Cat Craig is named on large-scale OS mapping, and is visible from the public footpath that leads through the woods, but it is rather overgrown, and obscured by trees. In his book "The Parish of Strathblane" (1886), J G Smith mentions this crag by name, linking it to a battle that occurred in 750 (and which is often called the Battle of Mugdock) between the Picts and the Britons. He explains "Cat Craig" as meaning "Battle Rock", and he links various other place-names nearby with events in the same battle (I quote that passage below). My own view is that it is highly unlikely that such a detailed account of the ancient battle has come down to us in tradition; mainly for that reason, I consider it much more likely that Cat Craig simply means "crag of the cat" (probably the wildcat, Gael. "cat fiadhaich"). On a similar theme, there is a Image nearby, whose name probably means "crag of the badger". [Readers interested in a modern assessment of the sources related to the Battle of Mugdock may wish to look at https://senchus.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/the-battle-of-mugdock-ad-750/ (Senchus site at Wordpress).] Other places Smith mentions in his account of the Battle of Mugdock include the Image; Image, which certainly pre-date the battle of 750 by very many centuries; "Blair's Hill", which is at Image; and "Alreoch", which is at Image Smith gives explanations for these place-names that seem to tie in well with the traditions, but which do not stand up to modern scrutiny (I point this out because they are still sometimes quoted: see Image). While his description of the battle and his place-name etymologies are unsound, they do at least serve as an interesting record of the prevailing beliefs of the time. The relevant passage, which I cite only for its curiosity value, is as follows: "The field of this battle can be traced with but little difficulty. The Cymric army was posted on the high ground on Craigallian – then part of Mugdock – above and to the east and west of the Pillar Craig, with outposts stationed on the lower plateau to the north, and there awaited the Picts, who came up Strathblane valley through Killearn from the north on their way to the interior of Cumbria. Near the top of the Cult Brae, in a line with the Pillar Craig, there is a rock still called Catcraig, i.e., Cadcraig, meaning the "Battle Rock," and in their efforts to dislodge the Cymric army, whom they could not leave in their rear to fall upon them when they had passed, the Picts doubtless had penetrated thus far and here the battle began. It was continued all over Blair or Blairs Hill, i.e., the "Hill of Battle" – the rising ground on Carbeth Guthrie which commands the valley of the Blane – and Allereoch or Alreoch, i.e., the "King's Rock," was certainly so named from being the place where King Talargan fell when the defeated Picts were being driven back to the north-west. The standing stones to the south-east of Dungoyach probably mark the burial place of Cymric or Pictish warriors who fell in the bloody battle of Mugdock." [J G Smith, "The Parish of Strathblane" (1886), page 8].

The crag on the right is called Craigbrock, which I take to mean "crag of the badger" (Gaelic "broc"; the English word "brock" is probably a borrowing from a Celtic word). This feature, which is named on large-scale OS mapping, is a basaltic formation, one of several to be seen here in the Squirrel Wood, and nearby; the best of them is Image See also Image, Image, and Image

This path, which is not marked on the map, is a continuation of the one shown on the left in Image See Image for a view in the opposite direction, from further along the path.

The ground falls away precipitously to the left (north) of the path, as also indicated by the contours on the map (best seen at 1:25000). For a view in the opposite direction along a nearby part of the same path, see Image

A signposted route leading from beside Boards Farm (see Image) to the B821 enters at the lower edge of the photograph, and then, as indicated by the small marker on the post, turns right, to follow a route that, in this picture, immediately dips out of sight; there, it passes the top of Image Image, which does not appear in the picture, is directly to the left of the photographer's position. The path that is visible on the left is not a part of the public footpath to the B821. It leads, instead, past the top of Image, before coming to a dead end.

For context, see Image, where large outcrops can be seen in the wooded area to the right of the track. Not much further along the same track, I took the opportunity to climb a little way up the slope and have a closer look. They are basaltic columns, though their columnar appearance is not so apparent as it is in other formations that I saw later in the day (see below). The track itself is marked on the 1:50000 map. The 1:25000 map likewise shows the track, but also depicts the outcrops in the woods alongside it. While following this track (part of the John Muir Way) to Strathblane, I noticed several such formations, not just here, alongside the forestry track, but elsewhere along the route, up to Strathblane itself (see Image). However, the ones in this forestry area are among the most impressive, and they are easy to examine, even without leaving the track. There are other outcrops of basalt columns in the nearby Squirrel Wood; the most impressive is the Image For others, see Image and Image (A nearby notice asks walkers to stick to the path; however, that notice was a little further along the track, and I had not yet seen it when taking this picture.) The map calls a nearby area of these woods Stony Belt, though earlier maps call them Boards Wood, after nearby Image