UKC

Planning a wee wander up Dumyat tomorrow, not having been up it in the last 5 years (and even then that was by MTB) and had a read through the kettle thread https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/hill_talk/shackleton_copper_kettle_on_dum...

it appears that there is a "new" path - assume this is a "improvement" to stop erosion and now feels like you are walking through a country park type path?

The new(ish) Dumyat path is a slightly strange thing as it has quite lengthy gaps in it - I'm never sure if they ran out of money - so it alternates between very easy sections (with a few steps and cross-path gullies) and old eroded stuff. There's more new than old however and it is certainly a very easy way up. Bear in mind however that the "improvement" has increased both the busyness of the route - the various parking areas at/near the start can get a bit mad, especially at weekends - and also the amount of litter to be seen/uplifted.

I can see why they've done it - the old version was getting very eroded - but personally I don't really like it.  I occasionally come down the full length of the main path but I've not been all the way up it in a decade or so. There are half a dozen other paths up Dumyat, all of them preferable and more pleasant in my opinion. Plus Myreton just to the east is a similar height, just as nice and 100x quieter!

Cheers.

Aye, guess there are a few ways up, and plenty of other hills of similar height etc  - just the young laddie had asked to go up it as he saw a picture of the view over to the Wallace monument and wants to go see it for himself - fair enough, any excuse to get him out on a hill.

May leave it until later in the day, see if we can get sunset whilst up there so it may be quieter - I had assumed that as the shops/pubs all open again places would be quieter, maybe somewhere as accessible as Dumyat will always be busy though - will see what happens. 

I most often take the route up from Menstrie (the SE shoulder) - it's very much quieter until you get to the top, and doesn't go on the new path at all.

The nicest way up is probably the Witches' Crag (Yellow Craig on the OS map) path from Logie Kirk, a bit quieter and some good woodland, with a great viewpoint from the top of the crag - but it does join the main motorway half way up. Parking for the main path can be very very busy these days.

It's still a lovely wee hill, though, if you can tune out the hordes.

Sunset is a good option, should be a bit quieter by then, and the big Pendreich car park ought to have space. A good option avoiding most of the madness is (as skog has just said) to start from Logie Kirk (loads of space apart from Sunday morning when it's used for services) and follow the race route through the wood - this joins the main route quite high up. The "parallel path" just north of the main one is good too - grassy all the way and much quieter - drive past the main path round a couple of bends and park by a gate. A mile beyond that the Lossburn route is good too - up by Lossburn, down the parallel path is a nice circuit. I'm fond of the Menstrie and Blairlogie approaches but they're further along. Other people on here - notably Russell - have far more Dumyat knowledge than I do however, and might well be able to help more.

Cheers guys, will see how he feels on the day, will take one of the paths, hopefully avoid most of the crowds - if its too busy we may well decide to head elsewhere  - perhaps to that other "quiet" hill Ben Ledi.

Weather forecast is decent so should be a grand wee walk anyway, wherever we all end up.

Depending on how steep/ adventurous you fancy, there is cracking path that goes up through a craggy glen. 

Park at Blairlogie and start along the path as if you are heading to the Menstrie side (towards Dumyat Farm). Just less than 1km in you come to a burn with a bridge (Burnwarroch). There are a few wee sheep tracks which roughly follow the line of the burn and it gets more defined towards the top. You do finish up on the motorway path, but not for long. I would then go down the Menstrie side to Dumyat Farm and back along to where you left the path. 

Just looking at some old photos and I realise the last time I walked up Dumyat was Jan 23rd 1982. The path was pretty worn then. 

This is my fav way up. I vary the descent options depending on the day. A sporting variation is 'Siart' gully which is the second gully on the right quite near the top of Warrloch glen. It's a good scramble up the gully....nothing too difficult. 

You could make a 40th anniversary ascent this Sunday! My first time up was in July 1985 - can't remember much about it apart from having gone through the wood (a bit furtive and GOMLish in those days) from the uni, but certainly for a long time through the 1990s and 2000s the main path was a mess and getting ever wider, so the new version at least helps with that. The Sheriffmuir road can be a mad thing these days, though - if heading further along to Blairdenon I often as not go round by the Dunblane branch, even though it's a bit longer, to avoid all the chaos.

Re nonstandard ways to Dumyat, I'm fond of heading up the Menstrie path, then at about half-height cutting hard left out to the Kips edge and sitting for a while on the little pinnacle that is obvious from places on the carse eg the Gogar road - it juts out beyond the edge of the slope and is a fine perch.

Agree this is a fine route, as is the route from Blairlogie Kirk. You can avoid joining the "motorway path" if you head up right at various points in Warlock Glen and then approach the top from the south. You can also head uphill about halfway between Blairlogie car park and the bridge if you fancy a circuitous route through the gorse.

I've been up 4 times this week from Menstrie [all in the morning] and not seen many people, even at the top. On Monday didn't meet anyone. Met a guy this morning carrying a spade and a laptop. He is doing soil surveys to see if Menstrie side of hill is suitable for planting broadleaf trees. He thought soil was  suitable. It would be nice to see some natural woodland but I doubt if I'll be around to see it.

As to Dave's point about the Sheriffmuir path being intermittent, there was a rumour going around when the path was being repaired that mountain bikers had asked for bits to be left unimproved. [Certainly a better rumour than the one apparently going around on Facebook that all people administering vaccines are going to be arrested for grievous bodily harm.]

That would be a busy day down at the crown court.

A personal favourite, though it's one I save for good conditions, is starting up the Blairlogie burn then picking a way east between the crags on the south side of Castle Law, eventually joining the Warroch near the top. It is not crowded.

Yes, that's very good - as you'll know there's an amazing path that goes round the corner into the gully via some rather unlikely looking terrain.

PS - Four times up Dumyat this week is good going, Russell. Interesting about the tree chap.

So, overall I would say there are about as many ways up and down Dumyat as there are people on this forum!! Just pick a starting point and go for an explore

The views are stunning but Dumyat is the Snowdon of Stirling except shorter so it's used as a dog walk for the locals. I'd leave it until you can go at sunrise on a Tuesday or something like that. 

That reminds me: a Cumbrian friend reported last week having been somewhere near Glenridding and two blokes asked him for directions to "Mount Helvellyn".

So, took a wander up yesterday - yes, the weather was indeed pish - went in from the main new car park along past the Pendreich Forest car park and walked along the new improved path - or, rather, the sections of the path they had done.

The new sections were well maintained, a pleasure to walk on, once off these it was, unsurprisingly, a bog yesterday, could see why the need for the path improvements. Its a shame when things get so popular, lead to that much erosion, that path "improvement" works are required - takes away from feeling of going for a walk in the hills rather - but the improvements were needed, are they going to join the bits up at all?

Also, whilst I've biked it in the past, I did see quite a few tyre tracks due to the boggy conditions, and also saw two bikers on it yesterday - perhaps when its that wet/been so wet then trail center's may be a better choice to try and cut down on the erosion - rich coming from me I know.

Anyway, not a bad choice of a walk yesterday, nice and short in keich conditions - also good to see so many others making the same decision to get out and do something.