Fell Hill and Bogrie Hill

27 April 2013

Participants - Just me
Where - Fell Hill, 417m/1,368', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 77, NX 722 844 and Bogrie Hill, 432m/1,417', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 78, NX 789859

The weather folk were saying that there was more fresh snow on the highland hills so I headed south. Down the M74, through the Dalveen Pass to Thornhill, on through Moniaive and a couple of miles down a country road and I was pulling up at the end of the track that led to the ruins of Fell farm and my first hill of the day. And the weather was excellent, giving deep colours and great visibility. Although I hadn't been in this neck of the woods before, I knew that the hill that I had been seeing in the distance since leaving Moniaive had to be Fell Hill- the large cairn on top was clearly visible. This is the hill from the start of the walk.....

and a view from further up the track.....

Spring had sprung at last. I saw a wheatear and heard curlews and skylarks. And on the drive home I saw my first swallows of the year. The track entered some trees and emerged at the old ruined farm. It must have been a lonely place to live. After passing the buildings it was on to the grassy hillside with good views back the way I had come. This is looking over the buildings, the trees and the track towards Loch Urr with my second target, Bogrie Hill, beyond......

 

It was a steady pull up and it wasn't too long till I saw the cairn ahead. It was a magnificent structure, about 10' high and the builders had thoughtfully built it so that there were stones sticking out low down to sit on.....

This is the view looking east towards Queensberry.....

and west into Galloway; the hill on the left is Cairnsmore of Fleet.....

Further away I could see some of the main Galloway hills around the Kells.....

It really was an excellent viewpoint. However, there was one potential blot on the horizon- I could see at least three of these wind test indicator masts that usually signal that a wind farm is planned. It looks as though Fell Hill and its surrounds could shortly be ruined, which would be a great shame. I don't mind the array of turbines down the side of the M74 but when they start to destroy areas like Fell then it becomes a bit much. I had a look at the website when I got home and sure enough, a 50 turbine wind farm is being scoped for the Loch Urr area. So climb these sub-2k's quick before building starts!

After a wee rest back at the car, I drove a few miles down another country road past Loch Urr and parked at the entrance to the road to the farm at Shillingland. About a hundred yards up the farm road a 4WD track headed up the hillside so I followed that- it went almost to the summit. Bogrie Hill was not such a distinctive hill as Fell Hill although I was surprised when looking at the map later to see that it was the higher of the two. There was a good view over Loch Urr to Fell Hill (right) from the route up.....

The Lowther Hills were in the background as I approached the trig.....

Cairnsmore of Carsphairn is in the background to this picture.....

And again in this one.....

A view to Criffel outside Dumfries with the Lake District hills faintly in the background.....

and another view to Cairnsmore of Fleet over Loch Urr.....

I took 2 hours 30 for Fell Hill and 1 hour 30 for Bogrie Hill. It was another nice piece of countryside; I hope that it's not spoiled in the name of renewable energy.

Hare Cairn and the Reekie Linn

19 April 2013

Participants - Just Neil
Where - Hare Cairn, 516m/1,693', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 44, NO 242623

There are a number of Grahams and sub-2k's to the north of Alyth. I have climbed most of them over the past few years and it is an area that I never tire of. Hare Cairn still remained to be done, I had left it because it is another of these hills that is surrounded by trees and looked as though it might be quite difficult to access. However like a number of these type of hills that I have climbed recently, it turned out that there was no problem; in fact, I was only in amongst trees for about 10 minutes. This is the view of it that I took from the other side of the Backwater Reservoir, you can just make out the treeless top above the forest.....

I parked the car at the Backwater Dam. There was a big sign in the car park so I went over to have a look. It was from a power company giving notice that they planned to build a wind farm of 18 turbines on the slopes of Creigh Hill on the east side of the Reservoir. In my view, it will completely spoil the area. OK, the reservoir is man made- Scottish Water owned- and there is a lot of commercial forestry around it but the banks are well landscaped and it really looks like a natural part of the environment.  Looking at the map of the proposed wind farm site the turbines will crowd in around the surrounding hillside and the views will be destroyed.

For now though it was a lovely walk along the water board road on the west side of the reservoir with the snow capped Glendoll hills of Mayar and Driesh beyond.....

Also in view was the forest that surrounds Hare Hill, the summit is up there somewhere.....

About two miles along the reservoir the tarred road was replaced by a grassy track and not long after, I came to a sign indicating a path to Glen Damff. It pointed to a gate at the edge of the forest. I went through the gate to find this grassy break in the trees.....

and after about 10 minutes arrived at another gate leading out onto open hillside.....

I simply followed the edge of the forest uphill by the side of a deer fence. Unfortunately, that fence had to be crossed higher up which was the main reason why Ben was not with me today. From the fence it was only a short stroll to the trig and a view back down to the reservoir.....

Driesh was prominent to the north.....

and Cat Law to the east.....

It was the first day this year that I could really say was warm. There was a wee bit of a breeze on top so I retraced my steps to the fence and sat in the shelter of an old wall to drink my chocolate and eat a banana. I don't like big lunches when I'm out walking! This was the view that I looked at as I sat at the wall- Mount Blair and Crock.....

There was no alternative route back to the car. So it was back down to the forest.....

and I thought that I had better take a photo of Creigh Hill across the Reservoir before it is spoilt by turbines....
.

There has been a fair bit of rain recently and the warmer weather meant that a lot of the snow that was on the hills had melted. The rivers were bound to be full; a good time to visit the Reekie Linn waterfall.  This is formed by the River Isla where it flows through a gorge and it was on my route home. Normally the waterfall is formed by two leaps of 6 and 12 metres but when the river is in spate it turns into a single 18 metres fall. And it was certainly in spate today.....

 

Spectacular!

Beinn Ghlas (Glen Lonan)

4 April 2013

Participants - Just me
Where - Beinn Ghlas (Glen Lonan), 515m/1,690', Sub-2K Marilyn, Map 49, NM 957259

I didn't really have anything in mind for today when I set off from home apart from the fact that I wanted to do a Marilyn that was new for me and was more or less on my way home. Beinn Ghlas wasn't really on my radar until I had a good look at the map; however it seemed to have a track for a bit of the way so that was what I chose. It turned out to be another great wee hill!

The sun was again splitting the sky as I drove the short distance to Taynuilt and turned down Glen Lonan. This is a lovely and quiet little glen and a good alternative route to Oban if you're not in a hurry. The track that I was looking for started near Duntanachan at a wide flat area of grass. The track went much further than was marked on the map and ended around the 400m contour at this phone mast.....

You couldn't really miss the mast as it was perched on a prominent knoll and was visible from the glen point and again at various places on the track up. It sort of spoils the view of Ben Cruachan to the east though.....

It is definitely a better view without it!.....

The ground rose more steeply ahead.....

and when I got to the top of those slopes there were more ahead.....

However the cairn at the summit was now in view. This area might be a bit wet underfoot in summer but today the ground was still frozen so it was easy walking. More grassy slopes brought me to the cairn with a view of Mull to the west. Ben More is the hill with the snow on it.....

Although it felt like spring in the glen, it was still winter up here. I didn't fancy a dip in this lochan!.....

It was certainly a grand viewpoint (if you avoided the view of the wind farms to the south). I was looking straight up Loch Etive to the hills at its head- Bidean nam Bian, the two Buachaille's, Beinn Starav, and I guess Stob Coire an Albanaich to the right.....

Ben Cruachan dominated the view however (zoomed).....

and it was in my sight all of the way back down. Close to the car, I took this other pic of it.....

I also took this pic of Deadh Comraidh, another sub-2k on the other side of the glen; I've still to do this one so a good excuse to come back to this area.....

 I can certainly recommend Beinn Ghlas for a fine, short walk. It took me 3 hours and 45 minutes there and back.

Cruach nam Fearna

3 April 2013

Participants - Just Neil
Where - Cruach nam Fearna, 332m/1,089', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 55, NM 823151

According to the forecasters, a big high pressure area was situated over the country bringing fine but cold weather. The reports on the walking websites of Easter weekend activities were full of tales of great visibility so I decided that I had better get out again while it lasted. The west coast was supposed to fare best and the area around Oban had apparently missed the recent snowfalls so that's where I went. I had seen Cruach nam Fearna to the north of Loch Melfort described as "a wee gem" and on that basis it was on my list of hills to do. Although the map shows it as being covered by trees the top and most of the ascent route is in fact clear. This is the view of it that I got when I reached the loch side.....

A broad track started at a gate just past Ardanstur. There was just space to park the car. The track started off steeply towards some crags.....

It then contoured gently across the hillside below the crags. Looking back as I gained height I could see the Paps of Jura in the distance.....

After about a mile the track swung to the left and entered some forestry at another gate. From here I could see the trig on the top of the hill.....

After a few hundred yards walking in the trees, I reached a clearing where a steep grassy gully headed up the hill. This brought me out at the trig. It certainly was an impressive viewpoint. Ben Cruachan was prominent to the east; it was to be the dominant hill of the trip.....

This is the view to Mull; the forest was much thicker on this side- no way up through that.....

I could see Jura and to it's north, Scarba.....

 

The wind that had blown for seemingly weeks now was much less strong today and it actually felt warm. I took advantage and sat about at the top for a while. Then it was back down to the track and instead of going back the way I had come, I decided to carry on through the forest. Although there were no views, it was quite pleasant. I met a couple coming the other way who remarked at how unusual it was to meet someone else on these trails. Eventually the track left the forest at Loch An Coire.....

Not far beyond the loch, and just where the track started to descend steeply, I got another view of Jura and Scarba.....

Shortly after, the track joined up with my outward route and I was back at the car 2 hours and 20 minutes after starting out. It had been a most enjoyable walk- the sub-2k's had turned up trumps again!

I was staying at Connel for the night and on the way there I played tourist crossing the Bridge over the Atlantic to the Island of Seil, one of the "slate islands". The bridge spans the tidal waters at Clachan Sound and was built between 1792 and 1793 at a cost of £450 (!).....

There is quite an industrial history to the island and its neighbours, well worth the short detour. I must have a look at some of the other wee islands around here sometime. There wasn't time to do that today though so after looking at some of the industrial heritage stuff in the village of Ellenabeich, I just went down to the shore for this view of some of the Mull hills.....