Nick Drainey's Extra Mile

Glenochar Bastle House and Fermtown Trail, South Lanarkshire

An easy moorland stroll steeped in history.

When you are on a long journey many pleasant spots are passed by without a brown sign indicating their presence, but with just a little knowledge these places are a great way to avoid noisy service stations or lay-bys. In their own right they also make a great place to enjoy a picnic and stroll, even if you are only an hour or so from home.

Slightly more than two miles from the M74 in Upper Clydesdale is the Fermtoun Trail, which takes you to the ruins of Glenochar Bastle-House. Many bastle-houses were built in this part of Scotland at the end of the 16th and start of the 17th centuries. They were basically fortified farmhouses with cottages around them for the workers.

The need for this super security was the infamous border Reivers who would attack the farms for their animals and any valuable possessions. At Glenochar there is a fine example, now in ruins, of these type of buildings. What makes it worth the visit, as well as providing a good break from the six lanes of high speed traffic, is the wonderful moorland which surrounds the easy-to-follow trail.

In the shadow of the Lowther Hills at the end of the glen lapwings are currently swooping and calling around the ruins and birds of prey are often spotted. To get there, stop in a small car park (I've never seen it full) on the right hand side of the A702, about 2.5 miles south of Elvanfoot, near Junction 14 of the M74.

The route, which takes no more than an hour, is straightforward, even if the path is a little indistinct in patches of long grass. You basically follow white waymarker posts with black arrows on them above the Glenochar Burn to the fermtoun and bastle-house. After looking round and reading the information boards it is a really good place for a picnic before continuing up a hill on the other side for a few yards and then going right to an information board about Bronze Age dwellings that once stood there. From the board you have to retrace your steps to a collapsed gate on the left, which you go through and then turn immediately right.

Walk next to a wall and then a fence to a gate and then a bridge over the burn. On the other side bear left and follow more waymarkers up some wooden steps where you go left and follow the start of the trail back to the car park.
Prams will not make it round but anyone who can walk should manage it, even young children - you might need to take a little more time though. It is a bit boggy and muddy in places so wellies or boots are a good idea.

So, if you are heading along the M74 this summer and want to break the journey pack a picnic and enjoy a stroll amid beautiful countryside.