Located within the peaceful forest landscapes of Middlesex in the Southern Forests & Valleys region, Muir Camp is a fully equipped equine-friendly campsite along the Warren Blackwood Stock Route. Surrounded by towering forest and natural bushland, the campsite provides riders and horses with a tranquil overnight stop while travelling through one of the most scenic sections of the trail.

Positioned between Manjimup and Quinninup, Muir Camp offers riders the opportunity to immerse themselves in the remote beauty and heritage character of the historic stock route while enjoying purpose-built equestrian camping facilities designed for long-distance trail users.

Facilities

Muir Camp includes:

  • Sleeping shelter
  • 4 horse yards
  • Toilet facilities
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Rainwater tank
  • Designated camping and rest areas
  • Trail signage and route information

Trail users are asked to respect the campsite facilities, clean up after themselves and their horses, and help preserve the natural environment for future visitors.

Trail Distances

  • Distance from Mottram Camp (Manjimup): approximately 28km
  • Distance to Egerton-Warburton Camp (Quinninup): approximately 32km

Muir Camp provides a peaceful overnight stop for riders travelling between the Manjimup and Quinninup sections of the Warren Blackwood Stock Route and offers a true forest trail experience within the Southern Forests & Valleys.

Phone Signal & Safety

Mobile phone coverage may be limited or unreliable within this section of the trail depending on location and service provider. Riders should not rely solely on mobile reception while travelling the route.

Before travelling, riders are encouraged to:

  • Carry maps and navigation tools
  • Inform someone of their travel plans and expected arrival times
  • Carry emergency and first aid equipment
  • Carry sufficient food and water supplies
  • Carry a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) where possible
  • Ensure horses are adequately prepared for long-distance trail conditions

Water, Fire & Emergency Information

A rainwater tank is available at the campsite; however, riders are encouraged to carry additional water supplies for both themselves and their horses, particularly during warmer months and dry conditions.

Campfires are only permitted in designated fire pits where provided and must comply with all current fire restrictions and Total Fire Ban requirements. Riders should check local fire conditions before travelling and never leave fires unattended.

In an emergency:

  • Dial 000 if mobile coverage is available
  • Activate your PLB if required
  • Follow emergency services instructions and evacuation advice where applicable

Trail conditions may change due to weather, maintenance works, bushfire risk, or environmental conditions. Riders should always check current trail alerts and closures before commencing their journey.

Bookings

Muir Camp is an open-access campsite and bookings are not required. Trail users are encouraged to notify someone of their travel itinerary before commencing their journey along the Warren Blackwood Stock Route.

An insight from the family:

Droving cattle to the coast for summer grazing sounds like a great adventure, but for
many farming families, it was their way of life.
 
Form the beginning of European settlement, colonists raised their farm animals on
brush pastures. Lightly grazed, the natural grasses and creepers were able to
sustain livestock. The use of bushland areas was regulated by the granting of
grazing leases by the state Government.
 
Many dairy farming families from the south-west took up freehold and leasehold
properties on the coast and made the annual journey southwards with up to 300
cattle.
 
‘Because having the coast, we were able to rest our paddocks in the summer time.
We didn’t have the worm problems…. We could probably carry thirty percent more
stock because we relieved our pasture in the summer time, and it was just a great
situation’.
Tom Muir


The trips to the coast happened long before mobile communication and, once at the
coast, the drovers were completely isolated. They had to be tough, self-sufficient and
capable of dealing with any situation that arose.
 
Snakes, dingoes, falls from horses and quicksand were just a few of the dangers that
they had to contend with. Some families had arrangements with nearby landholders
that, if a bonfire was lit in a particular place, it meant that they needed help.
 
Sometimes there was no choice but to get back in the saddle and keep going.

Not only did the drovers have to look after themselves, they had to ensure that their
precious cattle and horses returned safely to their home farms. They had to be ever
vigilant of what the animals grazed on as plants like heartleaf poison and zamia
could make the animals very sick.
 
One of the biggest problems for the drovers in the early years was coastie, a wasting
disease that affected the cattle when they spent extended periods on the coast. The
cattle would lose weight and condition, their hair would fall out and many died. In the
late 1930s, it was discovered that coastie was caused by a lack of cobalt in their diet.
Coastie could then be treated with a cobalt pellet that was put down the animal’s
throat. It lodged in their gut and slowly released the cobalt into their digestive
system.
 
‘the advent of using copper and cobalt was a wonderful situation. In fact, I ran the
coast here with me cattle for five years and never lost a beast. Prior to that, we’d
always lost two or three from coastie disease.’

‘…Generally, it was the men who journeyed to the coast with the cattle and the
women remained on the home properties. Their workload increased greatly with the
men away. They were saddled with the responsibility of looking after the farm in
addition to their everyday tasks. In the early days, there was no electricity and there
was a lot of manual work to be done.
 
The woman had an important role in preparing the food and supplies for the men to
take with them. Due to the lack of communication, it must have been an anxious wait
for them to return home safety.
 
For the women that did make the trip to the coast, it was a memorable experience.
Bev Mottram was about 12 years old the first time she went and recalls being
amazed by the hills and vegetation on the coast and how different they were to the
farm. On the way to the coast, she followed the cattle on her horse through the wind
and pouring rain.
 
‘My daughters also did droving to the coast and also came mustering as well. So
they knew what the story was. They loved it really…I remember on day out there in
Parson’s paddock the rain was so heavy you could hardly see the horses head and
yet my daughter was riding along in those conditions.’
‘

…We always said that the coast was a great place to break in boys, dogs and
horses. Because if a horse is a bit too flighty, put him to climbing some of these
sand-hills and some of the wastelands of sand. Climbing those taught them a lot of
things. And they become very quiet.’

Jim Muir