"Road Trip: The Devil's Pulpit"
By Samantha Walker
Last weekend after months of saying I wanted to visit the Devils Pulpit I finally managed to go, you might have heard it also being called Finnich Glen. Its a stunning 100ft gorge surrounded by rocks, moss and red running waterfalls.
It was used as a filming location for the TV show Outlander but other than that it's not been seen in anything else. I heard someone mention it at the beginning of the year and up until about a month ago anyone I asked about it hadn’t heard of it, however when I went it was mobbed, so its obviously becoming a very popular place. We went on a Sunday afternoon so maybe going during the week would be a better idea as it would be less manic.
The drive from Glasgow was around forty minutes, you will be able to use a sat nav to find it and its a straightforward road. Parking is limited but due to its growing popularity, the police have had to cordon off areas of the road as people have been parking on the country roads, however, you can park to the right on a lane next to the entrance. You would have to have a car to visit as there is no direct bus or train link as it is in the middle of nowhere.
The walk is challenging and not for people who don't like heights or aren’t steady on their feet, I also wouldn’t recommend taking dogs, some people I passed had their dog but I don't think it's a good idea. The walk to the gorge isn’t signposted so be prepared to walk around for a while, in hindsight I think there will be a better way to go than we initially did but me managed to find steps named Jacob’s Ladder, that took us down, but again it was VERY muddy and very loose ground so you do have to be careful and dress appropriately.
I wasn’t sure what to expect and it was different from what I thought. I would say when we reached the bottom there was at least fifty people, because we didn’t know what it was we didn’t bring spare clothes, shoes or a towel, so we couldn’t take full advantage as basically everyone was walking the waterfalls: so be prepared to get wet and you can walk through the various rocks and free-flowing red coloured water. We went as far as we could but will for sure be going back with a towel and shorts and be walking the entire walk as it was stunning.
Top tips if you visit:
- You will need a couple of hours to fully appreciate its beauty. I would say if possible go when it's not a school holiday and a weekday because then you will fully see the area and your pictures won't have lots of people in the background. I felt it was very much just moving quickly and out of the way of people because of the sheer amount of people which made it difficult to fully see it.
- Make sure you take a towel and wear shorts to make sure you can walk through the water without having to drive home soaking.
- Don’t stay too late as it could be potentially dangerous and they do have signs up saying that it could be life-threatening, so just be careful.
- It is recommended if the weather turns and it starts raining to vacate as often rocks start falling down and the water rises so again dangerous if you’re in the waterfall.
- I wouldn’t take animals- it's hard enough yourself trying to get down never mind holding a dogs lead.
Enjoy!!