OVERTOUN ESTATE, above Dumbarton
ACCESS : By road - From Milton Brae. Turn off the A82 in Milton next to Logspan. Park at Overtoun House. Or park in Campbell Avenue at the upper end of Garshake - look for the gates. There is a pleasant long walk up to Overtoun House on a tar path/road. From each of these there are also rougher tracks that provide great walks, but which need care.
///removal.corporate.became Gates off Milton Brae, up from Milton.
///bibs.dizzy.carriage Gates off Campbell Avenue. (Reached from Garshake Road).
The main attraction of the estate is naturally OVERTOUN HOUSE itself and this is described separately. index.asp?pageid=715673 But there are great walks within the extensive grounds and access from here to the Langcraigs.
Besides the main house and the Gate Lodge off Stirling Road, there are other interesting features. Foremost of these is the bridge, described separately and also the remains of a small hydro-electric plant. This plant looks today as little more than inconspicuous ruins and hard to find. But it is there. Canmore tells us : There was formerly a hydro-electric scheme based around the 'Lily Pond' which was formed by impounding the Overtoun Burn to the N of Overtoun Castle (NS47NW 30.00) and E of the Garshake Reservoir (NS47NW 38). The hydro-electric turbine was located in the small building situated in the deep glen formed by the Overtoun Burn and Gruggies Burn downstream from the house. This building has long since been vandalised and the turbine thrown further down into the glen. It was formerly white-tiled internally and 'packed with glass tubing' which may have formed part of a battery storage sustem or been connected with the use of the house as a maternity hospital.
The grounds that we can enjoy today are quite impressive. Large mature trees and a burn within a gorge. The original extent of the estate can be seen though by thetwo lodges way down on Stirling Street (A82). OVERTOUN ESTATE : WEST LODGE and OVERTOUN ESTATE : EAST LODGE That was one of the original entrances. Today a great deal is taken up by the police station and housing, but there is still much to enjoy.
This map of 1861 shows the house as being of a moderate size (at the star) in spite of revisions to the map into the next century. To the right you can make out the cliffs of the Langcraigs while to the left are other properties whose names are familiar such as Garshake and Crosslet. NLS © as ref below.
A view from Camel's Hump.
A view across lawn towards an outbuilding.
One of the smaller bridges lower down.
Overtoun Burn
Overtoun Burn
A view from the roof.
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND : MAPS : Sheet 30 - Glasgow
Publication date: Surveyed: 1855 to 1861, Revised: 1902, Published: 1905, Railways: 1914, Minor corrections: 1913. https://maps.nls.uk/view/189526735
VISIT SCOTLAND website : https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/overtoun-estate-p248781
WOODLAND TRUST website : https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/overtoun-estate/
