Conic Hill and Inchcailloch Island

29 July 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Conic Hill, 361m/1,185', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 56, NS 432923

 Conic Hill is a favourite short walk close to home; although only about 20 miles from Glasgow, the views are highland rather than lowland. Rising above Loch Lomond, and with the route of the West Highland Way crossing it, it is also very popular! This is a view from the car park at Balmaha.....

On every previous occasion, I had followed the "tourist path" that leaves from the north side of the car park. Today I tried something different- I followed the WHW for a short distance, crossed a field,then the Balmaha- Rowerdennan road, and picked up a rather overgrown path at the foot of the west ridge. This soon got better and the views opened out. This is looking up the ridge from near its start. It shows the knobbly nature of the hill.....

And this is from a bit higher up near to where today's route joins the "tourist path" which is also part of the WHW.....

Conic Hill sits on the Highland Boundary Fault which separates the highlands and the lowlands. Apparently, around 400 million years ago, two continents collided pushing landmasses together to form Scotland; the Highland Boundary Fault is where the two continents met. The Loch Lomond islands seen here from half way up Conic Hill are also part of the Fault Line. Inchcailloch, which I visited later in the day, is the large island closest to the shore....

The Luss hills on the other side of Loch Lomond were seen well from here.....

While the westerly top is the best viewpoint and appears to be the one most visited, the most easterly "bump" is the true summit- by about 2m by the look of it- and a cairn is gradually taking shape on it. Here it is with Ben Lomond in the background.....

Conic Hill was only a short walk and the day was still young. What to do next? I love islands but had never been to Inchcailloch Island and a leaflet in the Visitor Centre said that a boat to there ran regularly from Balmaha boatyard.....

There were a couple of walking routes on the island, which was heavily wooded- oak and alder mainly.....

but there were a couple of viewpoints including one at the summit (85m). This is the view from the summit south over Endrick Bay to the Fintry hills.....

and north up Loch Lomond to Ben Lomond.....

I had picked up a guide book in the Visitor Centre. It said that, according to legend, St Kentigerna, an Irish princess, settled on the island about 1,300 years ago and set up a nunnery. She is apparently remembered in the name of the island which means island of the old women. 500 years later a church was built and dedicated to her memory; only the foundations remain plus some grave stones in the cemetery which continued in use well into the 20th century. It is all a bit run down today though.....

I spent a leisurely couple of hours wandering about the island; an interesting addition to a visit to Conic Hill.

Corwharn

27 July 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Corwharn, 611m/2,005', Graham, Map 44, NO 288651

 The hills of Angus were where I was first introduced to hill walking and it is always good to go back. All of the forecasts for today were in agreement- cloud and showers in the west, bright with some sun in the east- so I headed east for a Graham that I had not yet climbed, Corwharn. I parked in a car park and picnic area about a mile from the head of the Backwater Reservoir. This is a relatively new Reservoir- it was opened in 1969 to supply drinking water to folk in Dundee, Angus and parts of east Perthshire. It was quite scenic with the hills of Glen Shee in the background.....

Unfortunately, my map for this area was quite old and everything wasn't marked on it. I therefore took a punt and followed the road towards its end for about 1/3 mile to take a track that I had noticed going into a forest on the side of the hill that I wanted to be on. After about 15 minutes walking it was clear that the track was heading deep into the forest rather than up through it. I was just about to turn back when I spotted a break heading steeply uphill, took another chance and followed it and 10 minutes later I emerged on the ridge of Milldewan Hill, exactly where I wanted to be. I could see Corwharn in the distance (left hand one of the two tops).....

As I had hoped, there was a track along the ridge. This is from it getting closer to another top called Cairn Corse.....

The area was clearly prime grouse rearing and shooting territory, I came across a few scrapes in the ground containing a mix of food and grit.....

There weren't many grouse about however.....funny how they seem to know when August 12 is approaching!

It was great wandering along the ridge especially as the weather was getting better and better. This is the view west to Mount Blair.....

and north to the Munros of Mayar and Driesh.....

I had noticed a prominent cairn on Corwharn from the moment that I reached the ridge. It turned out to be a stone man and was almost, but not quite, at the highest point on the hill. I reckoned that it was about 7 feet high. This is it with Cat Law in the background.....

I was at the top two hours after leaving the car. It was about 3 miles with only about 1.000' of ascent. For the return, I had thought of dropping down to Glen Quharity but the weather was now so good it would have been a shame to leave the ridge so I just went back the same way. However, rather than fight the forest again, I followed the ridge to its end and dropped down almost directly to the car park. I was glad that I came this way as I came across these two Fallow Deer at the edge of the forest.....

Most of the reports that I have read about this hill recommend an approach from the Glen Prosen side. Although perhaps slightly shorter, looking at the map and from the top of the hill, that route looks a bit shut in for most of the way whereas getting straight up on to Milldewan Hill from the reservoir as I did provides a grand ridge walk with excellent views all the way.

Cairnpapple Hill

20 July 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Cairnpapple Hill, 312m/1,023', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 65, NS 987711

 I was heading to Edinburgh to meet Roddy and then to pick Steven up from the airport and as it was a nice day I left a bit early so that I could visit the prehistoric site at Cairnpapple in the Bathgate hills and also wander up to the summit which is a Marilyn.

Is this the easiest Marilyn in Scotland? From a minor road that goes past the archaeological site it is a walk of only about 200 yards to the trig with an ascent of about 20m. I found a place to park the car close to the gate into the field that contains the highest point. For such a low hill in the midst of industrial central Scotland there was a good all round view. This is looking to Edinburgh and the Pentlands.....

Only the most dedicated of Marilyn collectors would come here just to climb the hill; the main attraction is the monument that was the focus of communal activity here from the 4th millennium BC up to the Christian era. Originally used as a ceremonial site, it changed to a place of burial in the Bronze Age. The main grave that was discovered is now covered by a concrete dome in order to preserve it.....

This is the grave inside its protective dome.....

The monument is on what I suppose is the north top of Cairnpapple Hill. This is a view from the site looking to the higher top in the distance.....

Rather than walk to it from the monument, I simply drove the car further along the road to the field entrance; Marilyn bagging the easy way!

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.

Largo Law, Mount Hill and Norman's Law

12 July 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Largo Law, 290m/952', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 59, NO 427049; Mount Hill, 221m/726', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 59, NO 331165; Norman's Law, 285m/936'. Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 59, NO 305202

July has arrived and right on cue, so has the rain. Conditions have not been good for hill walking and today's forecast, although better, was mixed, to say the least. So I looked for somewhere that had low hills, had a reasonable chance of staying dry and decided that the east of Fife, where there are a number of Marilyns, was my best hope.

Another factor was that I had not climbed Largo Law, although I had done the other two hills before. I had been put off tackling Largo Law, seen here from the west, because it had a poor reputation for access but recent reports that I had read suggested that these had mainly been resolved.

I parked in the church car park in Upper Largo. It seems to be available for general use. The hill path started at the cemetery and passed through Chesterstone farm, where today there was no sign of man nor beast. There were however plenty of signs to make sure that visitors do not stray off the one recommended access route; presumably if you try to climb the hill using any other path or route you risk incurring the wrath of an angry farmer or worse a pack of angry farm dogs! So much for the responsible access laws. Anyway, I complied. The only downside to the recommended route is that it takes the steepest way up the south slopes and is making a bit of a scar on the hillside. 

It is a twin topped hill; this is a view of the main top from the south top.....

Around the summit is the remains of an Iron Age settlement, not surprising as the hill commands the countryside for miles around. This is the view looking up the Forth over Lundin Links and Leven.....

From Largo, I drove up through Cupar to the foot of Mount Hill and found a parking space on the verge of a minor road near to Mount Farm. Mount Hill is easily recognised by the large chimney like structure on top of it; here is a view from south of Cupar.....

Close up, I thought that it was quite an ugly structure......

 It is called the Hopetoun Monument and a plaque above the door advises that it was built by the people of Cupar in 1824 in memory of Sir John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun. Hope was a succesful commander in the British army in the Peninsular War against the French (1808-14). There is another similar Hopetoun Monument across the Forth on Byers Hill above Haddington. Unfortunately, the door was firmly bolted so I could not get to see what it was like inside It doesn't look as if it gets many visitors.....

From there, it was a short drive via the village of Brunton to the start of the climb up Norman's Law. Of the three hills, this is the one that most looks like a proper hill. This is a view taken from near Luthrie on a previous visit.....

I decided to climb it from the north. There was parking for a few cars at the start of a track that skirted the east side of the hill to reach the east ridge. There were cows in one of the fields but they didn't show any interest. The ridge was grassy with a few rock outcrops. The summit was crowned by a stone cairn cum shelter and a trig and there was also a view indicator that points out the various hills that can be seen. Again, it was a good viewpoint, this is looking across the Tay to Dundee.....

and this is looking up the Tay towards Perth.....

One hour was adequate for each of the three hills. I had made a good choice, the rain stayed off and the sun even came out at times. When I arrived back home in the west, it was raining!

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.