A festival of events celebrating the life of conservationist John Muir kicks off today (Thurs 17 April) and will include the official opening of the new long distance walking route the John Muir Way on Easter Monday.
The new trail which runs between Helensburgh and Dunbar and echoes John Muir’s own personal journey growing up in the east coast town of Dunbar before travelling to the west coast of Scotland where he set sail for life in America. Although John Muir left Scotland at the age of 11, it was here that his love of nature was developed. He was instrumental in the establishments of national parks in America and at the forefront of conservation thinking and early environmental campaigning.
The John Muir Way will be officially opened by Alex Salmond at 12:30pm on 21 April in Dunbar to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Muir’s death. Part of Dunbar’s High Street will be closed to allow for street theatre, art and musical performances. Walkers, runners and cyclists will lead a procession of John Muir flags at 1pm along the first section of the John Muir Way to rally at the Seabird Centre in North Berwick at 4pm.
The John Muir Way has been designed to take in some of the best scenery and industrial landscape of the central belt. It begins with a walk over the hills from Helensburgh to reach the fabulous landscapes of Loch Lomond. It then follows old minor roads and disused railway lines to traverse the rural, farming landscapes in the shadow of the Campsie Fells. Eventually it picks up the route of the Forth and Clyde canal, following the towpath through the mix of industrial and urban landscapes at heart of Scotland with occasional diversions from the water to visit significant sites along the Antonine Wall. After the ancient town of Linlithgow it strikes north to reach the Forth at Bo’ness, and then follows this along the coast beneath the Forth Bridge and on to Edinburgh. It passes through the fringes of Scotland’s capital before returning to the coastline as it heads into the more rural landscapes of East Lothian, before finally ending at Muir’s birthplace in Dunbar which is now a visitor centre dedicated to the pioneering conservationist.
The route is suitable for walking and cycling and being accessible to so many people living locally is likely to be heavily used for single day’s out as well as those tackling the entire 215km.
Today also sees the launch of The Kelpies with a sound and light show illuminating the massive heavy horse sculptures at Helix Park near Falkirk. There are over 50 planned events as part of the John Muir Festival including a walk to commemorate the start of the route on 21 April and the Loch Lomond Shores Festival finale of music, art, street theatre and fireworks on 26 April at Balloch. Most events are free, but some need to be booked, further details of the events can be found here.
John Muir
The development of the John Muir Way has been carried out by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN). The route follows existing paths, old railways and canal tow paths, but has been linked by signposting and footpath improvements in places, some of which is ongoing. Ron McCraw of SNH, said: “We hope the John Muir Way will inspire people to both explore and protect Scotland’s countryside. John Muir was inspired by the wildlife and beautiful scenery in Scotland as a young boy, and as an adult in the U.S., he inspired people around the world with his writing. We’re hoping plenty of other people from both inside and outside of Scotland will enjoy this new coast-to-coast route and learn more about Muir’s beliefs.”
A detailed route description for walkers wanting to tackle any of the 10 stages of the new trail can be found on the Walkhighlands website complete with free OS 1:25,000 mapping, route profiles, photos and links to accommodation. It should be noted that major footpath work is planned for the first section between Helensburgh and Balloch and in the meantime a short section of the walker’s route (there is an alternative road option for cyclists) remains very boggy and unwaymarked. The sea wall at Blackness is also currently being rebuilt which will shore up and improve the route, this section could cause difficulties at very high tide although it should be possible to bypass the work in most conditions. The waymarking is now complete for the rest of the trail and a number of people have already walked the whole trail.