Antonine Wall and Forth and Clyde Canal near Kilsyth
Date: 16 February 2025
Leader: David
Grade: C+
Number on walk: 25
Length 10.8 km. Ascent 216 m.
Hills climbed: Castle Hill (Bar Hill), Croy Hill
Click here for GPX track of the walk
Setting off along the Forth and Clyde Canal at Auchinstarry Marina
After leaving the canal we joined the course of the Antonine Wall and passed this modern sculpture of a Roman Helmet
The Romans built the Antonine Wall between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth about twenty years after Hadrian's Wall, intending it to supersede the latter. It was a turf fortification on stone foundations, reinforced by a deep ditch on the northern side and probably topped with a wooden palisade.
We followed the course of the wall past a Roman Fortlet on Croy Hill with this view of Kilsyth
Still following the course of the Antonine wall and with the associated ditch clearly visible we climbed Castle Hill
Not only was there a triangulation pillar on Castle Hill but it was also the site of an Iron Age fort
We had lunch in the preserved remains of Bar Hill Roman Fort
Bar Hill Fort was built around the year 142 AD (CE). The picture shows the foundations of the bath house.
Nearing the end of our walk we returned to the Forth and Clyde Canal