Dirrington Great Law, Spartleton

17 July 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Dirrington Great Law, 398m/1,307', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 67/74, NT 698549; Spartleton, 468m/1535', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 67, NT 653655

 With the weather still crap, it was a case of seizing the opportunity when a weather window came along or not getting out hillwalking at all- I've given up walking in bad weather!. Todays forecast was not too bad for the south of Scotland- showers dying out later and wind dropping. So I made a late start and went to East Lothian. Although I had lived in Edinburgh for a number of years, I had never walked in the Lammermuir hills, probably because I was always chasing Munros and Corbetts and their didn't seem to be much of interest in that big moorland. Now that I have discovered Marilyns however, I am visiting a lot of areas that I have never been to before and thoroughly enjoying all the different types of hills.

I decided to climb Dirrington Great Law first and then do Spartleton on my way back. This is a view of Dirrington Great Law and its wee brother, Dirrington Little Law, from above Longformacus.....

I found a place to park the car off the road a few hundred yards before the house at Dronshiel. A track started at the other side of the road from the parking place and although it petered out before I got on to the hill proper there were other paths that aided progress upwards. This is from near the start.....

This is obviously grouse rearing country- I came across some feeders with grit in them and raised a few birds. There were also a line of shooting butts on the hill. So I guess that access might be a problem in the shooting season. There are two cairns at the top with an old trig between them. It looks as though someone has leaned on the trig after eating too much lunch.....

I was between showers at this stage. Spartleton to the north had clearly caught a heavy one- this is a pic looking to it as the shower clouds cleared.....

and this is a view looking east towards the Berwickshire coast.....

I went back the same way and drove the few miles north to park above the Whiteadder Reservoir at the foot of Spartleton's south slopes. This is the view that I got of Spartleton from the road going north.....

There was a small car park marked for fishermen but it was fully occupied so I just parked on the verge at Millknowe farm. A track from there went through a couple of fields and on to the hill and in fact continued all the way to the summit. The view is rather dominated by the Crystal Rig wind farm.....

Rather than simply return by the same route, I dropped straight down the south slopes and had a look at the building that is named as Gamelshiel castle on the map. Apparently it is a 16th century Towerhouse. Not much remains.....

That took me on to a track that ended at the fishermen's car park and from there it was only a short distance back to the car. I enjoyed the day- a couple of new Marilyns for my list in different and nice country.