A walk at Whitelee

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Whitelee Windfarm
Whitelee Windfarm

Many people object to wind farms on principle. I’m not one of them. The biggest onshore windfarm in the UK is just 20 minutes from the centre of Glasgow on a hilltop site ideal for harnessing the wind (of which we get a lot!) I’ll leave you to look up the technical stuff if you wish, but I will say that the landscape has by no means been spoiled. It has been man-made for centuries, as grouse moors, as grazing for sheep and, in the 1960s, as a commercial forest. The turbines are just the latest chapter and the design of the windfarm preserves the most important habitats and historical sites. It has miles of trails for walking, cycling, horse-riding and other outdoor activities. It’s amazing!

Ok, having got that off my chest, on with the walk. Or, at least, lunch first – you didn’t think we’d miss that out, did you? The visitor centre at Whitelee has a small café with big windows and a viewing terrace.

Whitelee Visitor Centre
Whitelee Visitor Centre

We decided to follow the Lochgoin Circuit which, at 8 miles, occupies one small corner of the windfarm. It’s huge! As are the turbines – and they’re not white, they’re pale grey which blends into the sky better. However, as you can see, they would have had to be bright blue to blend in the day we visited!

Whitelee Windfarm
Whitelee Windfarm

After a short while, we took a detour up Blackwood Hill with views over Dunwan Dam.

Dunwan Dam
Blackwood Hill Viewpoint
Blackwood Hill Viewpoint

Then we carried on round the loop till we reached Lochgoin Reservoir. I loved the green boats!

Lochgoin Reservoir
Lochgoin Reservoir

Another detour took us to the Lochgoin Monument. This was erected in 1896 for John Howie. The base records the names of some of the 18000 Covenanters who died in the “Killing Time” of 1638-88. (Covenanters were Presbyterians who signed the ‘National Covenant’ in 1638, renouncing the Roman Catholic Church and opposing the interference of the Stuart Kings in the Church of Scotland.)

Lochgoin Monument
Lochgoin Monument
Lochgoin Monument

Once back onto the main path, we headed up the other side of Lochgoin back to the visitor centre (not forgetting to stop for a rest along the way).

Lochgoin Reservoir
Lochgoin Reservoir

Whitelee was a great afternoon out. I’m not sure I’d want to do the trail again any time soon – the terrain isn’t varied enough – but it would be great to see it in a different season (this was September), maybe in the snow.

Linked to Jo’s Monday Walks – check out her trip to Aira Force.

Scotland, UK ,

58 Comments »

  1. Beautiful pictures. I have never heard any opposition to wind turbines. In Minnesota, I think they are mostly in the southern Prarie along with fields and fields of corn. Beautiful pictures.

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  3. I bet plenty of power is being generated right now! There are loads of these in Cornwall, and I’ve always fancied getting up close to them so thanks for letting me walk with you.

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  6. I’m also (another!) fan of wind farms Anabel and was disappointed to read elsewhere of certain nature conservation organisations coming out against them. Nice blog post, as always.

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  7. I think that the wind farmkind of add to the landscape! I know, I am odd. I like photographing them but don’t like sailing past them because in my experience, they slow the boat down. Not sure why. And while you say that the terrain isn’t varied, I thought the images here offered plenty of variety.

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  9. Pingback: Jo’s Monday walk : Lumiere 2015 | restlessjo

  11. I love windmills! I think they’re beautiful, and elegant in their power. 🙂 It looks like you got a lovely day indeed! Fantastic!

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  12. Whitelee is definitely a place to visit in all the seasons.Then once you’ve done the seasons you then want to do am and pm walks/ cycles.. Lochgoin is what most folk end up doing. It’s nice but there plenty more to see when you go deeper into the forest trails. There’s also cairns, monuments and even a crashed (site of) hurricane from ww2.

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  13. Anabel, I don’t mind wind turbines at all. However, I don’t like having to pass them at night on small roads. They are huge! Your walk sounds relaxing, and I love the photo of you by the pond!

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  14. I am definitely in favor of wind farms. As you said, it’s not *the* solution, as there is not one single thing that could be the solution to any problem, but it certainly is part of the larger solution, and I hope we move in that direction more and more over the years. We have a few good wind farms here in California, in the Tehachapi area (the windiest part of CA). Beautiful pictures. Thank you, Anabel.

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  17. We have a power station on our doorstep and a wind farm out in the North Sea, Anabel, so we should be spoilt for electricity, shouldn’t we? Up here we need all the jobs we can get with the closure of the steel industry. Whereas I find the power station to be an extremely menacing presence I rather like the wind turbines. I can’t take you for a walk around our North Sea ones so I shall accept this with gratitude. 🙂 🙂
    You can get some lovely shots of the angles of the blades, can’t you, but I especially like the shot with the shadow. 🙂

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    • Yes, I find power stations, nuclear or coal-fired, looming and menacing, though we have a family connection in that my late father-in-law was Chief Engineer with Scottish Power in the 60s and commissioned some of them.

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  18. Great post Anabel, with some stunning photos 🙂 And I agree totally with you about the wind farms!!! I wish I could really ‘threaten’ people, who complain about them, with a nuclear power station in their back yards. Or a massive coal fired power station. Wind energy in Scotland is such an obvious source of power!

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  19. Not my first choice for a walk (though like you I am not against a wind farm) and to be honest your walk looks pretty good in that gorgeous September weather. Happy to join you for a spot of lunch though 😉

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  21. I just don’t think people can be pleased about anything. First they complain about what man does to damage things, then when wind turbines come in to help with being efficient and healthier actually, they complain about the looks. I think they look just fine and I( think they do more good than harm

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  22. Great pictures as always.
    I’m not agaist the wind turbines either. In fact I quite like them, they have a nice desing, and I ofen think that they are so obviously a human contruct that they don’t even interfere with their surrounding all that much.

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  24. Hi Anabel,
    Thanks for taking me on that walk.
    As to wind turbines: I’m not against them, eiter, but I don’t think they’ll be a solution to the world’s energy demands, for various reasons. They certainly help, though.
    Have a great time,
    Pit

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