Participants: Just me.
Where: Hill of Garvock, 277m/910', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 45, NO 726 692
The forecast was best for the east so I decided on a trip back to Angus, the county of my birth. The ulterior motive was Hill of Garvock, which stands to the south of Laurencekirk. This is prime farming country and the cows that graze on this hill have a fearsome reputation. I suspected that they would not yet have been put back out on the grass although that time could not be far off. So I needed to get my skates on if I wanted to bag this hill this year.
My parents stayed in Laurencekirk for a couple of years but to my knowledge I hadn't climbed the hill when I visited them. So it was a new sub-2k for me. It must be one of the easiest; there is a car park at the highest point of the road that runs from Laurencekirk over to St Cyrus and the summit is just a stroll from there across a few fields. And the cow were absent! This is looking back towards the car park from the summit......
Hill of Garvock is notable for the tower or folly on its summit- the Johnston tower. It was built in 1812 by James Farquhar of Johnston to commemorate victory over Napoleon in the Peninsula Wars with materials left over from the building of his mansion house. It appears to have been built on top of an earlier cairn or alternatively a large cairn has been built around it. Whatever, it is a striking building. It was open, but pitch dark inside. I didn't have a torch and wasn't willing to risk the climb as I knew that the top step was missing.....
The atmosphere was really clear so I got a great view from the ridge, This is looking north to Hill of Wirren......
and this is over Laurencekirk to the eastern Grampians.....
That walk only took an hour so I had lots of time to go and see something else. I decided to go over to Arbroath and have a walk along the cliff path. The sandstone has weathered into some amazing shapes and todays bright sunlight showed off the colours to best effect. Here are a few photos.....
1 comment:
It's a great hill that one, just a nice open feel to it. When we climbed it we didn't know the cows had a reputation to uphold and getting charged by them came as a surprise. The Arbroath cliffs are really special. Looks like you got the weather Neil. Nice photos. Hope you brought an Arbroath "Smokie" back to eat for your tea :o)
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