Mugdock Country Park — Attraction in Scotland

We looked for a place for a nice walk with our dog. Some place nice, green and quiet. Found this park here online and thought it looked promising.

Came by car. Only a 40 minute drive from our BnB. Plenty of parking at the visitors centre at the main entrance. Free of charge.

And no charge to enter the park as well. There are some shops, a coffee shop, a garden center, arts & crafts, toilets, a playground. Lots to do.

There are several paths leading you through the big grounds of this park. Some very easy and flat. Some more narrow and a bit wet after rainy days. Bring some good shoes to be sure.

We loved walking around the park with our English Bulldog. Lots of other furry friends to meet here. And a lot less visitors than one might expect.

A first highlight is the Craigend Castle. Or more like what remains of it. Now nature is taking it back and it's fenced off. Some part of me would love to see it restored. Bought I also understand that they like to keep it this way. Let nature take it back for a living place for various animals.

Then Mugdock Loch is another highlight. Walk around this beautiful quiet little Loch. Plenty of photo ops and benches for a picnic. The Loch is also the place where you will find the Mugdock Castle. Some really nice remains. Very fun to explore. With tables to make a picnic. A really nice little castle.

We very much enjoyed our day here. Follow the map and the paths. Or just start walking and let yourself get lost a little.

Surprisingly it's free...something that wouldn't be possible in my country. Not an impressive park of this size with so much to see. A...

Beautiful park, lots of trails and sights to see. Very well maintained. Parked at the south carpark which is small, I arrived early so there was a space, but lots of cars on side of the road when I returned to the car so obviously a busy spot.

Went to give my collie a good lengthy walk away from our usual spots for a change of scenery and for the most part other dog walkers are respectful of each other. Sadly you do encounter a few who seem to feel they don't need to control their dog and use common courtesy of using a lead when passing other dogs on a lead. Returned home sore and fed up after one aggressively lunged at my dog unprovoked (on lead sat at my side as we were chatting to another dog walker), fortunately the dog was unwounded but I'm sporting some injuries and would be reluctant to return.

This aside, it genuinely is a beautiful big space and having taken our kids over the years when they were younger, there is plenty to do and an easily reached park for a...

Lovely country park for free. Lots of paths to explore on. There are lots of dogs off lead, so it's best to be mindful of that if your children or dogs are anxious around dogs off lead.

The history is great and there is lots of beautiful woodland and wildlife.

The stable area is good with 2 cafes. We personally prefer the stables cafe, which is slightly cheaper and offer a great selection on their sit-in or takeaway menu.

The 2 shops are nice and you're able to pick up some lovely items to take away.

It does get very muddy during the winter or when it rains, so it's worth keeping that in mind. But nothing a spare pair of shoes can fix.

Parking is usually good but is a little tight, so it is best to be mindful of that as it may risk causing small knocks or bumps to your car.

The park often runs kids' events and such, which are worth looking out for.

The play park is a little muddy and dated. It would do with a clean and update, but it does what it...