Drow 'n' Smirr

2.8 miles 1h 4m ascent 75m

Another Wee Monica. A forestry track from the Trostan Road, a footpath with a residual red way marker post to the Shambellie forestry track and then the remnants of a footpath up Barlay Hill. All easy going.

1.83 miles 53m ascent 100m

2.54 miles 1h 46m ascent 126m

4.52 miles 1h 50m ascent 183m – failure 24/11/2022

4.24 miles 2h 2m ascent 145m -success 25/11/2022

A Monica is a hill named on the OS 1:50k map. A Mabie Monica is such a hill in Mabie. Some hills don’t have a marked summit and their upper contour lies only partly in Mabie. These have an asterix in my list. Locharthur’s highest point actually sits just outside the boundary wall. It is marked on the 1:25k map.

I set out on the 24th to go up Craigbill Hill, intending to use the old MTB track from the west side but found it completely overgrown so had a go at Locharthur Hill instead. It is mature forest and should have been an easy walk but a great many of the trees have fallen. Having gone up and down three times trying to find a way in, I eventually found my way completely blocked about 30m from the summit. All efforts to get by the trees failed and when it started to rain, heavily, I gave up.

1.67 miles 1h 22m ascent only about 80m

Second failure, in two days, to reach its summit. The first, yesterday: I had intended going from the summit of Lochbank Hill across the Craigend Hill, which is really just a second top of the same hill off to the SW. But Lochbank’s top has been felled and the the way across looked as though it would be a bit of a bind.

So, I was back to have another go at Craigend Hill.

2.37 miles 1h 14m ascent 137m

I had intended walking up Lochbank Hill then across to Craigend Hill but Lochbank had been recently felled and was a bit of a trudge, finding a way though the debris. I didn’t fancy flogging through more of that to get over to Craigend Hill.