Dungavel Hill- first taste of winter

15 November.

Participants - Me and Ben
Where - Dungavel Hill, 510m/1,673'. Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 71/72, NS 942305

The weather was great when I got up and looked like staying that way for a few hours before the next rain came in from the west. So there was just time to do a Marilyn! I got a surprise though as I drove south- everything south of Lanark was covered in snow and it had obviously snowed down to road level before mostly melting low down. I wondered how Ben would take to the snow but I needn't have worried, he loved it. This is Dungavel Hill from Newton; we went up by the long west ridge having found a parking spot beside a cattle grid on a narrow road that goes to Roberton.....

Although grass and heather poked up through the snow,  in places it was surprisingly deep, more than 6 inches. Not thinking ahead as usual, I hadn't bothered to bring my gaiters so my feet were soon wet. Ben sort of bounced uphill through the snow and we made good progress.  The trig had seen better days.....

Fortunately there was a fence at the top so I was able to tie Ben's lead to it so that I could get some photographs. This is Ben at the top with the Culter hills in the background.....

another view of the Culter hills from slightly down the east ridge.....

and looking up the Clyde valley towards Biggar with the Pentlands in the distance.....

Tinto is very close to the north but there was a cap of cloud on it all day....

The journey down had been a bit slow as there were roadworks in Lanark so I went back by the motorway. This is a last view of the hill from the A73.....