Campsie Fells

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Campsie Fells, a portion of the Lennox Hills, or a range of heights, which, extending east-north-eastward from Dumbarton to Stirling, measure about 25 miles in extreme length, and 8 in mean breadth. They are interrupted, for a mile or more, by the valley of the Blane, whence to Dumbarton they bear the name of Kilpatrick Hills; and they are called, in their various portions east-north-eastward, the Killearn, the Campsie, the Kilsyth, the Fintry, the Dundaff, and the Gargunnock Hills. The Campsie Fells are the most prominent portion of the entire range. Beginning at the upper valley of the Blane, they extend about 8 miles eastward to Bin Burn, on the boundary between Campsie and Fintry parishes, and to the eastern skirt of Brown Hill at the boundary between Campsie and Kilsyth parishes; they include a section of Strathblane parish, sometimes called the Strathblane Hills; and sometimes they are likewise regarded as including the Killearn and the Fintry portions of the Lennox Hills. Their highest summit is Earls Seat (1894 feet); they offer great attractions to at once the lovers of romantic scenery, geologists, and botanists; and they overlook most of the great strath of the Forth and Clyde Canal, and command beyond extensive and magnificent views of the Lowlands. See Campsie.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

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