2.2 miles 100m ascent
Barstobrick Hill and the Neilson Monument
A straightforward walk. I parked at the Barstobrick visitor centre where I had hoped to get some information on routes for walking. Various signs suggested that maps for walks would be available but I could not find any.
As you can see from the picture, we were not blessed with good weather. Barstobrick hill is usually visible from the A75, but not today. It was visible from where I parked though.
We followed a meandering path along some ponds that would I am sure be pretty in better weather and then struck off on a faint, but clear path heading up towards the obelisk. This proved to be an easy climb and looks to be well trodden. Unfortunately there were no panoramic views today.
The 10.6m monument atop Barstobrick Hill commemorates James Neilson (1792-1865) who invented the hot blast process for iron smelting, apparently improving efficiency significantly. It is set on the site of an ancient fort, the Giant’s Dike, but it was difficult to see anything of the fort.
The Neilson Monument is inscribed on one side
NEILSON
HOT BLAST
1828
and on the other side
MDCCCLXXXIII
W M N
FECIT
My schoolboy Latin had Fecit as “he did” which I presumed meant “built”, but for some reason part of my brain kept recalling Father Jack of Craggy Island.
There was a much fainter track, really just slightly flattened undergrowth, heading NNE from the monument and it seemed more interesting than simply retracing our steps. As you can guess it soon deteriorated and had us snagging clothes on brambles, wading through sodden undergrowth and slipping on grass and mud. Not for long though.
Once off the hill we made our way through ankle deep farm slurry before reaching terra firma. From the bottom of the hill I could see a path down its eastern side, which would be an easier route down if there is a next time.
I managed to coax Sweep into a pond in the hope that it would remove at least some of the mud/cows**t that he had been jumping through but both he and Leo still needed hosing down on arrival home.
In better weather I think it would be reasonable to extend this walk to include the Towers of Kirkconnell.
