Renfrewshire, Garnock Valley

10 miles / 16 km

The flat, old railway line between Paisley and Lochwinnoch

Easy

This 10-mile / 16 km long old disused railway line is very popular with walkers and, in particular, cyclists.

The various parts of this 10 miles/16 km long disused railway line, closed around 1965, are the most popular walk in Renfrewshire. It is my aim to change that with this website as this walk is the least interesting walk in the whole of the Clyde area.
The path is well signposted all the way from Paisley Canal, through Elderslie and all the way to Lochwinnoch and Glengarnock/Kilbirnie.
This tarmac path is mostly used for shorter walks in and around Paisley, Elderslie, Johnstone and Kilbarchan. The part between Howwood and Lochwinnoch is also popular, that being the most scenic, rural part of the walk.

I used this path as an easy way to get from Paisley to the Ayrshire coast a lot when I was able to use a bike. Most of the users of this path use it for cycling. And with good reason. I have never walked this path in one walk as the walk is mind-numbingly boring for a walker.

Unfortunately, the standard of the path has deteriorated over the last couple of years and that is a shame. The path is suffering from a general lack of maintenance. The path has not been cleared of encroaching plants, in particular nettles. That is a shame as this path is an important recreational area.




I sincerely hope that the owner of the path now starts to maintain the path again so it can be restored to it's former glory. The walk from Howwood/Kilbarchan to Lochwinnoch is still a good walk. Lochwinnoch is a lovely village and should be a village everyone visits at least once a year.



Bus from Lochwinnoch village square to Johnstone train station 1 - 2 times an hour.
Train from Lochwinnoch train station to Glasgow/Paisley/Kilwinning 2 times an hour.