TuMPS::Gubber Hill (Alloa); Craigend Hill (Erskine), Teac a'Mhinisteir (Loch Lomond), Philipstoun Bings North and South (Linlithgow), David Stirling Hill (Doune), Jamse's Hill, Mearns Law (Newton Mearns)

25 February 2018
NOW DELETED AS A TUMP FOLLOWING RESURVEY
Participants: Just me
Where: Gubber Hill, 71m/233', P30, OS 58, NS 878944

I did this one by train, it was only a short walk from Alloa railway station. The hill was better than I expected, a nice bit of woodland with views to the Ochil Hills.....

9 March 2018

Participants: Neil and Ben

Where: Craigend Hill (Erskine), 56m/184', P30, OS 64, NS 459 705

The Beast from the East, one of the worst snow storms in recent years, had put a temporary end to hillwalking. There were still large drifts about but the blanket cover had gone. Bigger hills were out of the question for me but this one, not far from home, at least got me started bagging again. It was another hill of rough scrub with masts at the top but at least there were laid paths. Quite good views, especially over the Erskine Bridge to the Kilpatrick Hills, but I would not like to venture up here at night.

13 March 2018

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Teac a'Mhinisteir (Loch Lomond), 93m/960', P72, OS 56, NS 373 960

This is a wooded hill just off the West Highland Way best approached from Sallochy.....

The highest point is only a few metres above the Way and close to some old posts; must have been some sort of building here at one time.....

The view was restricted and will be even more in summer. Ben Lomond was still snow covered and looks as though it might be for some time yet.....

It was a pleasant, mild day, and we went for a wander after bagging the hill. There was a good view down the loch.....

19 March 2018.

Participants: Just me

Where: Philipstoun Bing North, 115m/370', P40, OS 65, NT 058 769 and Philipstoun Bing South, 113m/370', P31, OS 65, NT 056 767

A number of former Bings were added to the Tump list fairly recently. Not sure that I approve but I suppose that in time when the vegetation fully grows they might be indistinguishable from other small hills. Anyway, while waiting for the latest snow to clear from the proper hills, I decided to have a look at those two.

I was pleasantly surprised by the North Bing. The view to the Ochils with the almost totally snow capped Perthshire hills to their left.....

The highest point with the Pentland hills beyond.....

The South Bing was more like a quarry.....

There were a number of candidates for the highest point but I reckoned that it was in these trees.....

The Ochils were visible again.....

This one was much more crumbly and there were some interesting "natural" sculptures.....

Interesting and different but bring on the real hills!

 

26 March 2018

 

Participants: Just me

Where: David Stirling Hill, 114'/374 P46, OS 57, NN 755 003

 

I had passed the statue on the Dunblane to Doune road a number of times without stopping and that would probably have continued if the parking area for the monument hadn't also been the parking area for a TuMP. Thus I was introduced to Colonel Sir David Stirling, an absolutely fascinating figure- check him out on Google. By birth he was an aristocratic Scottish landowner, he was a keen mountaineer who had planned to attempt Everest before WWII intervened but his greatest claim to fame was that he founded the Special Air Service. He personally led many excursions into enemy territory, he was captured and escaped and eventually ended up in Colditz. His post-war exploits were also notable! A memorial to him was erected in 2002 and his statue looks out to the hills of Perthshire. Somehow, I think that David Stirling Hill must be a recent name for this hill, pity it is almost flat and the highest point is in the middle of a field! But a great story.....

 

1 April 2018

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: James's Hill, 283m/928', P62, OS 64, NS 486 527 and Mearns Law, 239m/784', P35, NS 507 534

I hadn't realised before I started climbing TuMPS just what good walking there was to be had on the high ground of Renfrewshire. Today was another example, a walk amongst the lochans just to the west of the A77. James's Hill is now part of the Middleton wind farm so there was a good track almost all the way to the summit (the high ground to the right of the left hand turbine).....

The turbines here are not the biggest but they certainly dwarfed the trig and Ben.....

Nice view over the lochs to the Clyde and the highland hills......

and to the Whitelee wind farm turbines to the south.....

Ben had to be kept on the lead; as I left the car a small deer ran in front of me, a fox ran across the hillside further up and when we got to the brow of the hill, there was a flock of sheep. Then it was back down the road for about a mile for Mearns Law, a flat topped hill with a good view of Greater Glasgow......

 

Glen Lednock- Sgorr Racaineach, Crappich Hill and Am Binnein

25 March 2018

Participants: Just me
Where: Sgorr Racaineach, 404m/1325', P34, TuMP, OS 51, NN 755 244, Crappich Hill, 468m/1534', P38, TuMP, NN 748 248 and Am Binnein, 480m/1575', P41, TuMP, NN 744 252

Glen Lednock, north of Comrie, is one of the closest "Highland" areas to where I stay. There are lots of smaller hills to explore and this ridge, in the south-west corner of the glen, looked really attractive when I saw it from Sir David Baird's monument hill walk last year. There was a fine view of it from the car window on the drive north.....

 

 A good track, only part of which was marked on my old map, ran from the parking spot at a farm entrance across the ridge then partly along the lower western slopes of the hills. It really helped, as these hills are rough with many rock outcrops and the more outflanking I could do the better. My first objective, Sgorr Racaineach- the right hand one of the two pictured- certainly looked a tempting hill when viewed from the starting point.....

 

 Across the glen, a snow covered Ben Chonzie was in view most of the walk. At points I could see down to the car park for it; it was full with other cars lining the verge on either side. A rough guess- 30 cars. I had my ridge to myself and probably got better views as the top of Chonzie was in cloud a lot of the time (feeling smug!).....

 

Sgorr Racaineach must get visitors however as it had a substantial cairn. The view south was to Ben Halton and Mor Bheinn with a snow covered Ben Vorlich beyond and Loch Earn in the distance.....

 

Crappich Hill was next......

 

I descended to the track again to avoid crags and then picked up a faint path which avoided the worst of the heather and which took me all the way to the metal pole that marked the highest point.....

There was a much better view of Ben Vorlich from here, the hills at the head of Loch Earn are the two Balquhidder Corbetts, Creag MacRanaich and Meall an t-Seallaidh......

The helpful path disappeared so it was a case of a bit of heather bashing to Am Binnein (the rounded top in the centre of the photo).....

 

The approach.....

Another view of Ben Vorlich.....

The lowest point in the ridge allowed a view down to Glen Lednock with the Corbett Creag Uchdag to the left and part of Ben Chonzie to the right.....

Ben Vorlich again.....

And a view back from Am Binnein over Crappich Hill to the lowlands. The atmosphere was clear, the Lomond Hills in central Fife are on the left with most of the Ochil Hills to the right.....
 

 

I dropped down the hillside to the south where I followed sheep tracks across the hillside to avoid having to reclimb some of the humps and bumps and picked up the track where it ended/started. A fine ridge and I guess that few people do it. 

Rosneath Peninsula: Airlig and Clach MacKenny

20 March 2018

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Airlig, 198m/650', P31, TuMP, OS 56, NS 229 854 and Clach MacKenny, 202m/663', P70, OS 56, NS 240 836

The first day of spring and the weather was glorious. The Rosneath peninsula was new to me and if the forestry allowed, I reckoned that it should provide good views. I aimed to walk part of the spine, starting at the Peaton Hill community nature reserve car park and take in the TuMPs of Airlig and possibly Clach MacKenny. In fact, a lot of the forest had been cut down and where it hadn't been the ground was steep enough to allow views of the loch below. A good forestry track ran all the way so the walking was easy.

It was a steady climb of about a mile to Airlig, a really fine viewpoint above Loch Long with the Cowal hills beyond. No surprise that there were a couple of picnic tables beside the cairn......

It really was an all-round viewpoint, to the north, the easily recognised Arrochar Alps.....

The Luss hills, shame that Faslane gets in the picture.....

Across the Gare Loch to Helensburgh.....

Down the Clyde to Arran, Bute and Cumbrae and right in the centre of the picture in the far distance, Holy Island.....

I hadn't set out with the intention of climbing Clach MacKenny but it didn't look too far away- the summit is next to the phone mast in the distance and there was a good track all the way so it was really a no-brainer.....

The track dropped down into the forest but there were still clear areas and from one I spotted this......

Heading out on another mission no doubt, there was certainly a lot of activity including a helicopter buzzing overhead. It (the helicopter not the sub) came straight towards me at one point so I guess that there's a photo of me and Ben now somewhere in the MoD.

Ben at the summit of Clach MacKenny with Loch Long beyond.....

From here, you could see all the way up the Gare Loch; some size Faslane......

It was also a fabulous viewpoint for the Clyde looking at Rosneath and across the water Rhu and Helensburgh with Stronend and its neighbours north of the Campsie Fells distant left.....

Then it was about turn and follow the same route back. It really is an excellent area, off the beaten track but you need a good day, which this certainly was.

Dundaff Hill

21 February 2018

 

Participants: Just me

Where: Dundaff Hill, 352m/1155', P103, HuMP, OS 57, NS 735 845

 

One of our favourite walks in the Campsie Fells is along the shores of the Carron Valley Reservoir. I had often looked up at Dundaff Hill and wondered what the view from it was like. Today I decided to find out.....

 

 

I parked at a phone box pretty close to the start of the climb. Looking at the hill.....

 

 

There was a big flock of sheep in the initial field so I avoided them by going into a wooded area and crossing the field higher up.....

 

 

There was a lot of barbed wire about but fortunately gates at all the crossing points. The view back to the reservoir with Meikle Bin at its head soon opened up.....

 

I reached a wall which I followed to the summit area, which was ridden with tussocks. I reckoned that this was the highest point.....

 

 

There were a number of circular depressions in the ground. I had read that there were Bronze Age enclosures further down the hillside but these looked more likely to be the remains of some industrial activity.....

 

 

It was a bit hazy so the view to the east was restricted; this was the best I could do- a very faint outline of the Ochil hills on the horizon