Overtoun Trail

This is a short walk (about 1 hour for a complete circuit) through woodland in the grounds of Overtoun House, Dumbarton. Overtoun House was built in the 1860s, and was donated to the people of Dumbarton in 1938. It was subsequently a maternity hospital, and now houses a Christian centre and is used as a film set from time to time. Cloud Atlas is one of the most well known films to have used the house as a film set.

If you start the walk from Overtoun House, a notice board on the front lawn has a map of the various walking routes that can be taken. Some of these take you out onto the hillside beneath Lang Craigs where The Woodlands Trust has created paths that will eventually meander through the trees that they have planted. The Roundwood Hill path is the longest of these and is just over 2 miles of quite hilly but very interesting walking.

To get to Overtoun House by car you turn up Milton Brae at the village of Milton just East of Dumbarton on the A82. Follow Milton Brae for about a mile to get to the gates to the drive up to Overtoun House. You can also walk up the drive from the A82 at the police headquarters.

From time to time The Woodlands Trust host art installations created by Glasgow School of Art and this is a link to see some of these.

This is a woodland walk and in the springtime there is a carpet of snowdrops, bluebells and a variety of other wild flowers. You will also be able to enjoy the background sound of birdsong.The path winds along the Overtoun Burn and the sound of the burn gurgling down towards The Clyde is a constant companion on the walk. The path was originally created in the 1980's but has recently had work done to improve signage and to renovate bridges.

Overtoun House had its own electricity supply before that utility was generally available and this was supplied by generators driven by Overtoun Burn. As the trail rises above and beyond Overtoun House some remnants of the water chase and the generator buildings can be seen.

The trail winds its way upwards to the extremity of the estate grounds where you can carry on to the open hillside or follow the trail as it loops back down to Overtoun House on the other side of the burn.

The photograph below is of a reflective glass obelisk which was sited briefly in the estate around July and August 2016. It was a very interesting and attractive bit of sculpture which created confusing mirror images of the woodland around it. It was created by Thom Rees, a student at Glasgow School of Art. If you carry on to the hillside you can follow a track, newly created by the Woodland Trust, which loops under the Lang Craigs through the recently planted trees before coming back down to Overtoun House. If you click on the photo below it will show a bigger version.