Winton Hill, Carfrae Hill, Redstone Rig and Arniston Colliery Bing

11 July 2020

Participants: Neil and Ben

Where: Winton Hill, 132m/433', P.36m, Tump, OS 66, NT 438709; Carfrae Hill, 226m/741', P.47m, Tump, OS 67, NT 572684; Redstone Rig, 441m/1,447', P.54m, Tump, OS 67, NT 608644; Arniston Colliery Bing, 182m/598', P.33m, Tump, OS 66, NT 339620

I always enjoy a trip to East Lothian, it is very pleasant countryside in a genteel sort of way. For this visit, I had planned a circular route taking in 4 Tumps roughly centered around Gifford. First up was Winton Hill, a wooded top just south of Tranent. It made a very pleasant start to the day with good paths apart from around the summit area which was a mix of scrub and brambles......

The strip of trees was narrow so only slight diversions were needed to get to the edge to take in the views. South to the Lammermuir Hills.....

North-west to the Pentland Hills.....

Over a field of corn to Fife.....

I then drove south through Gifford and turned off at Danskine on to a minor road which took me almost to the top of Carfrae Hill. There was a convenient field entrance in which to park, then a short walk up the road and through a gate at the edge of some trees and a few yards into a field saw me at the high point. Couldn't be easier! Another view towards the Lammermuir Hills and another field of wheat this time looking towards North Berwick Law and Traprain Law.....

Continuing south, I was soon in moorland. I find the Lammermuir Hills bleak and unwelcoming not helped by "Keep Out" notices and vast grouse shooting areas. And yet there is a sense of openness and beauty. Redstone Rig was the target, fortunately only a short walk from the road as the conditions underfoot were a mix of tussocks and heather, not nice. For some reason, there was a cairn on this insignificant bump......

The view north to the Pentland Hills.....

and south to the Cheviot......

 

Back to the car, I reversed the route as far as Pencaitland and then cut across country to Arniston to add another of the new Tumps, Arniston Colliery Bing. This one looks much more like a natural hill than some of the other bings on the Tump list. There was easy parking, a good path up, and a glimpse of the Pentland Hills from near the top.....