This post is about the Garrel Glen which is to be found just north of Kilsyth, In this glen there are beautiful waterfalls, caves and carvings.
The New Statistical Account: “On the East side of the romantic glen (Garrel) there is the Covenanters Cave, bearing the date 1669 . . . it is generally denominated by the common people “The Chapel” as the Covenanters are supposed to have used it as a place of worship as well as of concealment.”
The Deil’s Seat: small ledge of rock at the West end of the above cave and overlooking it, where, it is reported traditionally, the Devil sat observing the motions of the Covenanters in the Cave.
The Garrel Glen has long been a favourite spot for ramblers and picnicers and has even been the location for open-air concerts:
In the higher reaches of the Garrel Glen, a local man, Jimmy Beattie, has carved a number of faces into the rock outcrops:
The Garrel Glen is a natural home to superstitions:
In the early part of last century a local Kilsyth ‘worthy’ made the Covenanters’ cave his home:
On Christmas Eve, 1916, from the battlefront, Donald Stewart, a Kilsyth lad, wrote this poem:
