Finnich Glen and The Devil’s Pulpit
Finnich Glen is a beautiful gorge carved in red sandstone, and bursting with greenery, and a unique natural landmark in Scotland. The place is hidden in plain sight, just off the main road, and yet being there almost feels like you’ve stepped into another world.
Finnich Glen or The Devil's Pulpit - this place goes by either name. Finnich Glen is the gorge itself, while the Devil's Pulpit refers to the mushroom-shaped rock that stands at the bottom of the gorge.
Finnich Glen
The word glen stands for valley in Scotland (think Glen Coe, Glen Nevis, Glen Etive, etc.). However, Finnich Glen is much more compact and feels more like a ravine, with a steep descent to get to its core. For a long time, this place had managed to remain under the radar despite being so easily accessible, however that changed in recent years. With the rise of social media, the secret glen of Scotland was suddenly not so secret anymore. Add in the Outlander element and you’ve got a full-blown attraction, only without the facilities.
Outlander
Every single blog post and news article that you may come across will tell you that this location featured in Outlander. That’s part of the reason it has become so famous. Back in S01E06, the waters of Finnich Glen were the Liar’s Spring - remember that scene when Dougal asks Claire to drink the water to ensure that she is telling the truth. Truth be told, it’s a fairly insignificant scene lasting no more than 5 minutes, but sometimes that is all it takes for a sudden boost in popularity.
No one will tell you that this location also featured in the movie Pokémon Detective Pikachu - it did!
Getting there
This former hidden glen is inconspicuously located just off the A809 road. It’s fairly easy to reach from either of Scotland’s two big cities - 40min drive from Glasgow, 1h30min drive from Edinburgh. Finnich Glen is also just a few miles away from Loch Lomond and situated just outside of the boundary of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. So, even though it’s not officially part of the national park, I’m including it in this category.
Parking
This is probably the most important thing to know before visiting Finnich Glen. At times, you might not be able to visit simply because you won’t have anywhere to park. It’s the only landmark in Scotland that I can think of where parking is such a serious issue. Clearly, the place was never meant to become this popular. Public transport isn’t really an option.
To get down to the Devil’s Pulpit, you need to be on the southern side of the river. Probably the best place to park is the tiny lay-by just before the bridge, as that is closest to the start of the path - but this can only fit a couple vehicles. The safest bet for parking would be the improvised parking lot at the junction between A809 and B834 - this can probably fit 10-15 vehicles, no more than that. There are a couple more lay-bys further out along these two roads, but these are also very limited and a little too far. During summer and weekends in particular, all parking spots fill up quickly and you’d be really struggling to find a spot mid-day. Parking along the main road is not an option - it would be very disruptive, as the road is narrow. There are double yellow lines pretty much everywhere else around the area.
If you can’t find a spot for parking, just drive around the area a few times until you see a spot freeing up in the main parking lot and snatch it! The first time we visited - at noon - we had to do this twice.
Find all the parking spots marked on our map of Scotland.
When to visit
My recommendation would be to visit Finnich Glen in the early morning or late evening, to avoid the parking issue altogether, as well as the crowds. The second time we went we were there around 08:30, there was only one other car parked, and we had the place to ourselves for most of the time.
The Path
From the main parking area, any person would be tempted to follow the more obvious path running past the Finnich Glen info board and through the field, which seems to lead to the gorge. While this path does take you to the edge of the gorge, it is on the wrong side of it, and you won’t be able to get down to the base. Nothing to see here. Instead, head back along the main road and cross the bridge over Carnock Burn, the river that runs through the gorge. Then, on your left, you should notice another info board and a small opening through the rock fence.
Follow that path and you should soon be able to catch a glimpse of Finnich Glen from above. Be mindful when coming close to the edge, as there is a sharp drop. From the bridge, it’s a short walk - 200m or so - to a staircase (or what’s left of it) which goes by the name of Jacob’s Ladder. This is the main access point down to the base of the glen and the Devil’s Pulpit. Sadly, a big pile of rubbish at this point is ever-present - if you see this, you have arrived.
Jacob’s Ladder
This staircase down to the base of the glen is more than 100 years old, and has suffered structurally throughout the years. Today, it is a complete wreck, and getting down there can be a messy endeavour. Many of the steps have shifted or got buried in the soil due to rainfall and land movements. The place is muddy and slippery, especially if the weather has not been great recently, and you will need to use your hands now and then. Expect to get a little dirty. It’s a short descent, but be careful and take your time. Bringing appropriate footwear will definitely help here.
Is it dangerous?
Finnich Glen has got some really bad publicity over the years, which gives the impression that it is a very dangerous place, It’s an unmaintained attraction that carries some obvious risks, and people can do stupid things, which required rescue services to be called on multiple occasions. But as long as you exercise some level of caution and common sense, there is nothing to worry about. Don’t come too close to the edge, and take care when descending the stairs or transversing the length of the gorge.
The Devil’s Pulpit
Once you reach the bottom, it becomes clear why Finnich Glen is so truly gorge-ous. The rock walls that line up the gorge are covered with rich green moss, a stark contrast to the seemingly red colour of the water. It’s not so much the water of Carnock Burn that is red, but the soil that it runs through which is red sandstone.
To your left, there is an opening where you can catch a glimpse of the actual Devil’s Pulpit rock formation. It owes its name to the various folk tales that went around. Some say this is where the Devil stood to address his followers, surrounded by blood-red waters. Others say this was a meeting place for druids or witches to perform rituals.
To reach that area of the gorge, you need to make your way across the water. While doing this, I would recommend removing your shoes and socks and wearing shorts or bottoms that you are able to roll up to above the knee. Even though it is a very short walk, the water can be really, really cold. Depending on how uncomfortable that is, you could go straight through the middle or walk across the fallen tree and then use the right hand side of the wall to guide your way across. Not as many people venture to this other part of the gorge, so it may be worth crossing to have the place all to yourself.
You could also explore the other side of the gorge (to the right as you come in), but it requires walking through the water for a bit longer. We have seen people go there, but we haven’t tried it ourselves.
Redevelopment
A redevelopment project has recently been given the green light, so Finnich Glen should get a makeover in the coming years - car park, visitor centre, viewing platforms, cafe, the full package. Hidden gem no more.
I personally have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, this would greatly improve safety, cleanliness and accessibility (especially parking) to a beautiful location that really deserves to be seen. On the other hand, the very limited parking and lack of any facilities have been useful in controlling visitor numbers, which even under those circumstances are often too high during peak season.
I’ll most likely need to revisit this post and probably scrap most of it when that happens, but, until then, I hope my guide to visiting Finnich Glen and the Devil’s Pulpit can be of use!
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