Mugdock Country Park is in the countryside on the northern edge of the Glasgow conurbation: on the edge of Milngavie, the last stop on the local rail line running north through the Glasgow conurbation.
It’s got the remains of a medieval castle, and a second set of romantic ruins called Craigend Castle, actually built in the nineteenth century and the home of series of Glasgow merchants and industrialists, later a zoo, now defunct.
It’s also got extensive woodland, with Mugdock Loch, an extensive network of footpaths, and good car parks. So it’s popular with walkers, joggers, cyclists, dog owners and more (orienteering groups by the coachload the day these pictures were taken).
The most interesting birds on the loch were a couple of goldeneye, but they were too far away even for a record shot. This heron wasn’t that much nearer – in the reed bed on the right in the second picture. But the combination of much bigger bird plus powerful zoom lens made all the difference.