Deuchar Law- Entry to the Marilyn Hall of Fame

2 July 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Deuchar Law, 543m/1,780', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 73, NT 285297

  I had counted up the number of Marilyns that I had climbed and was absolutely certain of 599. In addition, there were 3 that I was pretty sure that I had climbed but couldn't be 100% certain- Cnoc Coinnich which I seemed to recall doing along with the Brack one day, a hill in Islay which I think might have been Beinn Bheigier, and a hill in Snowdonia on a day of thick mist when I could have been anywhere (and probably was). So I discounted these which meant that Deuchar Law was going to be my official entry to the Marilyn Hall of Fame.

I drove south from Innerleithen and turned up a side road that went to the Glen estate. There was space for a few cars opposite the entrance to Glen House. From there, I followed the road to its end at some farm buildings and took a track that descended to the Quair Water. Here is the first view of Deuchar Law from the track.....

The track went through an avenue of trees alongside the burn.....

and not long after I took to the open hillside. It was a grassy hill and there were paths everywhere so the ascent was easy. This is a view of the hill from higher up.....

I like going back to the border hills from time to time, the scenery is rounded and gentle and a good contrast to the hills to the north. Deuchar Law was proving to be a good place to be for views; this is the view east to the hills around Galashiels.....

The summit when it came was a bit of a disappointment- what sort of cairn is this for a landmark hill for me......

Rather than go back the same way, I decided to drop down the north side of the hill and have a look at a gorge that was marked on the map. The sides were certainly steep.....

and there was a nice wee loch in its jaws, Loch Eddy, obviously kept stocked by the estate as there was a boat on it with a couple of guys fishing.....

The view to the north was dominated by Dun Rig, the highest hill in the area.....

I kept to the hillside above the gorge and found more tracks which took me back to the main track along the glen, the tarmac road and then my car. The walk took just over 3 hours; it was about 6 miles with about 350m of ascent.