Some north-east Fife hills: Down Law, Darklaw Hill, Lucklaw Hill

29 November 2019

Participants: Just me

Where: Down Law, 241m/791', P 34m, Tump, OS 59, NO 343 072; Darklaw Hill, 150m/492', P 47m, Tump, OS 59, NO 369 207; and Lucklaw Hill, 190m/623', P 117m, Hump, OS 59, NO 419 216

It was Dundee Mountain Film Festival weekend again and as has so often happened on that particular weekend, the weather had changed from poor to excellent! On this occasion, I decided to make the journey through Fife and therefore headed over the Kincardine Bridge to my first stop just past the village of Kennoway and the Tump, Down Law. All three targets today were crowned by masts of one sort or another! I parked at the foot of the track to the mast and wandered up it, there was a fence to cross near the top to get to the actual hill high point.....

It turned out to be a tremendous viewpoint for such a small hill with an unusual view of the two Lomond Hills to the west.....

The Marilyn, Largo Law was the distant hill to the east....

Although the visibility was superb, it was very cold so I didn't linger too long before heading back to the car. I next headed for Cupar and then took another side road to reach the A92 and the village of Rathillet. Darklaw Hill rose above the village and there was a good parking space next to the war memorial. A short walk down a country road took me to the somewhat overgrown track to the mast on this hill. The high point was in an adjacent field guarded by a barbed wire fence; fortunately there was a removable top strand. Dundee was getting closer, with Craigowl beyond the city and the snow covered Grampians beyond that.....

This time it was the Marilyn Norman's Law that was in the view to the west.....

The day was still relatively young and as I was in the vicinity anyway, I decided to head to the village of Balmullo and do the Hump, Lucklaw Hill..... I managed to find a small parking area just off Quarry Road next to yet another mast, a good find as heavy lorries were trundling up and down the narrow road from the quarry which has taken out part of the hill. A short walk up the road, through an old gate and steeply up a field to another gate which joined a track along the top of the quarry and I was at the top. There were fine views back from the ascent over the village to St Andrew's Bay with the town visible in the distance.....

Approaching the summit mast.....

There was a trig and a cairn so I guess that this is a popular local viewpoint. St Andrew's Bay.....

Dundee and the Sidlaws and down the estuary to Buddon Ness.....

The Lomond Hills again, this time in the far distance.....

And that was the hill walking part of my journey. I stopped off at the Tay Bridge car park for a coffee; it is also a great viewpoint for the city.....