186 MY LIFE AS A NATURALIST 



purchased by the Corporation of Paisley and Provost Robertson, 

 for the purpose of extending the public benefits of a large health- 

 giving open space, and partly for the protection from pollution 

 of the line of water supply a wonderful scene presented itself. 

 Below us the large town of Paisley was spread out as on a map. 

 The famous Cotton Mills ; the Cornflower Works ; the very 

 handsome Coats Memorial Church ; the stately homes of Paisley's 

 rich folk fringing the outside of the town, and, away beyond, 

 the City of Glasgow, and the valley of the Clyde, flanked by the 

 Kilpatrick Hills, were all plainly to be seen, indeed the details 

 visible are past description, or even enumeration, here, for, away 

 to the north, some 26 miles as the crow flies, I could plainly discern 

 the summit of Ben Lomond, and right away to the west I could 

 even observe in the warm evening glow the Paps of Jura ! At 

 a convenient place on the hillside, Provost Robertson has had 

 erected on a marble pedestal a distance and direction plate of 

 immense interest to the resident, or visitor. This takes the 

 form of a flat engraved bronze plate, and in the centre of it are 

 these words : " This spot is 600 feet above sea level, and is in 

 Lat. 55'49 N. and Lon. 4 '28 W. The figures represent the 

 distance in miles from here as the Crow flies." 



From the central circle bearing the above inscription various 

 lines radiate to North, South, East, and West, pointing to 

 different places. Thus, looking due north, I discovered Loch 

 Katrine was 29 miles away. Then looking due south I found 

 Kilmarnock was 14 miles distant. On my left-hand side (west) 

 the handsome bronze plate informed me that the popular seaside 

 resort of Rothesay was 23 miles distant ; that the name of the 

 mountain I could so easily see was Misty Law (1663 feet high), 

 10 miles away ; that Millport, on the Great Cumbrae (about 

 which I have already written), was 18| miles distant, and that 

 Lochwinnoch, where I fished and caught nothing on my first 

 visit to Scotland sixteen years ago, was only 6J miles away. 

 To the south-west was Ireland, 76J miles ; Ardrossan, 18J miles ; 

 and Ailsa Craig, 49 miles. Looking north-west, I learned that the 

 Gareloch was about 16 miles distant, and that it was 22 J miles 

 to the head of the Holy Loch. Loch Lomond, the guide- 

 plate told me, was 14| miles away ; that the Kilpatrick Hills 

 on the other side of the Clyde were 10 miles away ; that Stirling, 

 . with its famous Castle, was 29 miles away ; that Glasgow Cross 

 was 9 miles distant ; Edinburgh, 49 ; and Carlisle, 88 miles away, 

 almost due south-east. 



