© Crown copyright and database rights 2013. Ordnance Survey 100023382 2013. Two hills hike


ON ‘ThE BIg WAlk – TWo hIllS hIkE’ IN September we went up Neilston Pad and the Cragie. Two easily achieved hills with wonderfully rewarding views.


Neilston Pad is just to the south of the village of Neilston. The short walk up the pad allows amazing views over the local area and as far as Tinto Hill and Arran! At 260m (854 feet) it is one of the highest points in Neilston. If you are feeling particularly energetic there is an annual run up the pad around May. The route is off road and covers 4.5 miles with cups for the fastest male and female entrants. Duncarnock, locally known as the Cragie, is just over 200m (669 feet). At its peak are the remains


Spotlight


of an Iron Age fort. This fort mainly consisted of earthworks so there is little remaining today. Archaeological studies revealed that the fort had walls that were 10 foot thick with an additional inner defence. In 1958 a piece of pre-roman native pottery and a fragment of worked shale were found near the fort.


If you are looking for further details of walking the pad and the Cragie from Neilston, as well as ideas for other local routes, then download the following booklet featuring ten walks in East Renfrewshire http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1w4k0/ EastRenfrewshireWalk/resources/index.htm or contact the countryside ranger service.


Spotlight on winter thrushes Thrush facts


• There are over 300 species of thrush worldwide.


• They can be split into two broad groups, the larger true thrushes and the smaller chats.


• The chats include familiar birds like robins, stonechats and wheatears. fieldfare © Stevekane.jpg


WE hAvE ThREE RESIdENT ‘TRuE’ ThRuShES IN ThE country park; blackbirds, song thrushes and mistle thrushes. As autumn arrives however two more members of the thrush family can be seen. Fieldfares and redwings are winter visitors from Scandinavia and other northern countries. Both species start to arrive towards the end of September and will stay until March.


Fieldfares are bigger and can often be seen in large flocks in the fields around the Barrhead dams or feeding


on the hedges that line Corselet Road. Redwings can also be seen around the dams but can also be spotted in the Darnley Mill area. Redwings often join the large flocks of fieldfares. Both birds are typically thrush coloured, with brown backs and upper wings with a mottled chest, but the fieldfare has a distinctive slate grey head and lower back and also a black tail. The redwing does exactly what it says on the tin, it is bright orange or red on the underside of its wing.


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