Participants: Just me
Where: Auchineden Hill, 357m/1171', Hump, Map 64, NS 494 804
Another good late autumn day, although much colder than it has been lately. There was a light covering of snow on the higher hills way to the north- I think the Ben Lawers group. After an extended and very warm autumn, it looks as though winter is on its way. I hadn't been to Auchineden Hill for a while, it was only a short drive, so that was my choice. I started early, as it was a Saturday and this is a popular hill with a large car park at the start.
The path rises from the car park and then contours along the north side of the hill. It was a bit muddy in places but not too bad given the number of feet that must walk along it. It splits in places but I stuck to the lower path and in due course arrived at the curious rock formation known as the Whangie. This is really weird and, if you don't know that it's there, unexpected. In a land of grassy humps, a rock amphitheatre is the last thing that you would expect. It is a strange geological phenomenon, caused by extreme temperatures which froze slabs of rock to a glacier. As the glacier moved, it caused a split in the hillside leaving rock walls to rise on either side of the gap. Local folklore tells it differently; it was a swish of the Devil's tail that caused the rock to split. Whichever is correct, the result is a gash about 300' long and 50' deep.
It is where previous generations of Glasgow climbers- and maybe some of the present generation also- learnt to climb and it figures strongly in Scottish mountaineering lore. No climbing for me but I wandered about for a bit looking at the remarkable rock formations.....
Through the Whangie and back on grassy slopes, I continued to the trig on Auchineden Hill. This is a good viewpoint. The trig with the Campsies background.....
Looking to the Luss hills and Ben Lomond.....
The Kilpatrick hills with Burncrooks reservoir and Duncolm.....
It was cold and a bit windy even at this modest height so after taking the photos I headed along another path which dropped down to join the path of ascent. There were more good views of the Campsies on the way back to the car.....
Lots of folk were coming along- the early start had paid dividends.
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