Drow 'n' Smirr

Bainloch Hill

March 17, 2015

2.2 miles 1h 48m ascent 219m (Bainloch Hill 287m)

Bainloch Hill is said to take its name from bàin loch, white loch, but I don’t find that convincing. There is a White Loch a couple of miles away below Barcloy Hill, but I don’t think Bainloch hill would be visible from there, and the word order ought to have been loch bàin. There is a place named Back Bainloch below the hill, to the north, but it has no lochs near it. So the origin of Bainloch’s name is probably lost in the mists of time. But I wondered given that Kirkbean (Circ Beain, Bean’s Church) is just up the road, and a ridge of Bainloch Hill is named Laggan Hill, if the Bain is from Beain and the Loch from Lag (a hollow). Or more prosaically, since older maps have the spelling Boynloch for the places below the hill, perhaps this is boine-lag, the cow’s hollow? There are still cows kept in that hollow today.

But from etymology to practical matters. I decided to approach the hill from the ruins of Southwick Church. I took the dogs with me so needed to avoid the Deer Farm that takes up the southern slopes and the cow filled fields if approaching from Bow Hill. I imagine each route has its pros and cons and my own route wasn’t too bad.

Southwick church is a ruin but the graveyard surrounding it is well maintained and possibly still in use. It is well worth a visit but does not have any gates to allow easy access to the fields leading to the hill. We did find a way over the wall on the way out but on our return we came through the field to the north which has a gate onto the road.

Southwick Church

Between the churchyard and Back Burn the fields were marshy with tufts of grass standing in water like small islands in the sea. My heart sank as my feet did and after negotiating a way through with dry(ish) feet I found the Back Burn too wide to jump and deep enough to have submerged any stepping stones. So I made my way upstream, climbing through a gap in the wall to the next field. The burn did pass beneath a wall which offered a chance to climb across, but dogs wouldn’t have been able to follow that way.

I little further on we crossed the wall separating the fields from the trees and after crossing more boggy ground found the burn much reduced and easily jumped. There was a barbed wire fence blocking our way but it was dilapidated and I found a section where some of the posts had rotted and the fence had fallen enough that I could hold it down while the dogs jumped.

My plan had been to backtrack along the burn until I found the forest break with its wall and burn heading up the hill but the way was obstructed by trees so I turned uphill through the trees heading for the light of the break.

I had read a report warning against walking in the forest and strongly advising walkers to stick with the forest ride, so I made for the light. The forest break however was hard going, sometimes boggy, sometimes obstructed by branches of living trees or trunks of fallen trees and I found that I spent most of the time walking in the forest with the wall visible to my left. The dogs found this very easy since they ran below branches but I had to zig-zag about to find a way without obstructing branches. I advise wearing glasses to avoid twigs poking the eye.

A little before the treeline I came out into the forest break and walked by the wall. A goat stood on the crags above us watching us like a sentry but we didn’t see any deer. The deer fence surrounding the southern part of the hill was on the far side of the wall so at least we didn’t need to cross that.

My plan was to follow the wall until a left hand bend at which point I would continue along the original direction of the wall onto the higher ground then turn towards the summit.

Unfortunately I mistook an earlier bend in the wall for my cue and struck off about 150m too soon and climbed up the deep heather of steep slopes up to the promontory with a 269m spot height. Once here I could see the bend in the wall I should have been waiting for. So the summit was further away than I had thought.

Bainloch’s heather

I decided to head across the high ground to the summit which meant climbing over four small knolls each covered in deep heather with no easy route through. Despite this being a short walk it has been quite a workout for my legs. The dogs of course just jumped along like springboks, though poor Sweep is limping now.

Bainloch Hill summit, Maidenpap in the background

Eventually we reached the summit cairn and the dogs found some puddles to lap while I had a swig of water. I looked around for other cairns that might have given this hill its alternative name “three cairns” but couldn’t see any. I did wonder if some rocks a few metres away were the real summit but once there the cairn looked to mark the highest point.

Unfortunately it was a hazy day so the views were a little muted.

For the descent I decided I couldn’t face much more deep heather walking so I made for the wall and stayed close to that until I was back at the trees. This was marginally easier undergrowth but a bit more up and down. I had thought that the forest break on the far side of the wall looked easier, but the wall was too high to manhandle the dogs over and I suspected I was experiencing “grass is greener” syndrome anyway. So I went back down the same way, spending much of the time in the forest where the ground was firmer.

Once the trees thinned out

I wondered where I would come out in relation to the churchyard but found I was back to the same place with the fallen barbed wire fence and we got back over the wall into the boggy field, this time using the gate on to the road.

So, all in all, a short outing but no paths, no tracks, and tiring walking when in the deep heather of the summit, but I think it would be even more difficult once the bracken grows.
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Posted in Dumfries & Galloway | Tagged Ruins, Wee Hills | Comments Off

Barrs Hill Fort

March 16, 2015

3.7 miles 1h 38m ascent 165m (Barrs Hill 218m)

Barrs Hill is one of the many “twice named” hills. Barr generally means the summit of a hill, but in SW Scotland tends just to mean “hill”, so it is Hills hill.

This was a walk with DW to explore the Roman Fort on Barrs Hill. We took a straightforward route from near Lanegate along minor roads to Barshill Farm, then up on to the hill following the line of trees. Our route crossed what remains of the Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie railway line which would be easy to miss were it not for the bridge we crossed.

The fort when we reached it was quite a bit more imposing than I had expected from google satellite views. I had thought we would be wandering about looking for slight irregularities in the ground marking its position, but the ramparts are still much taller than a man on the southern side.

I hadn’t taken along a camera so all I have is a picture taken with my phone, looking towards Hightown Hill. i am stood at the top of the rampart but the image doesn’t do it justice.

A report from 1920 describes a hedge crossing the site, but this is now a line of tall mature trees. The report can be found here, with pages 198-199 being those related to this fort.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any information about the history of the fort.

Posted in Dumfries & Galloway | Tagged Ruins | Comments Off

“Always something there to remind me”

March 15, 2015

About 2.5 miles

“Galloway’s coral is at Borron Point, north of Southerness. You get to it (if the tide’s not too high) along a mile of rocky shore from the car park at Powillimount. On the way you pass the sea-arch of the Thirlstane, with its sandbank patterns of a river delta; also some shed-sized granite boulders dumped off by the glaciers. Then grey slabby limestone reaches down to the sea. Look around and you should spot several sorts of shells, little round bits like buttons that are fragments of crinoid or sea-lily, and two different kinds of coral.” Sea, sand and sequels, Ronald Turnbull.

Those growing long in the tooth might read the title and understand its relevance to the terrain, a sandy shore. Perhaps I should have walked bare-foot?

The Thirlstane

The Thirlstane is a natural arch in the rocks, and would originally have been called the Þyrel-stane, the pierced rock. The letter Þ (thorn) didn’t make it into our modern alphabet, though it has survived in Icelandic. Here it has been replaced with “Th” as it was in the original spelling of “the” (þe). This is why “the” is sometimes rendered as “ye” as in the anachronistic “ye olde tea shoppe”.

Powillimount

The last time I was here the Thirlstane was a sea arch but today with the tide out so we could walk through it. Unfortunately I didn’t find any coral this time but that’s an excuse to go back at low tide and explore a little further.

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Assembling on Pibble Hill

March 7, 2015

2.7 miles 1h 42m 230m ascent

Bad weather was forecast with very low cloud so I headed for Pibble Hill, a wee 383m Marilyn near the Clints of Dromore. Most descriptions of walks up this hill come from the Corse of Slakes to the south, but I decided to try it from the north, I’m not sure why.

The road that runs parallel to the old Wigtonshire railway has a parking place marked on the OS map about half a mile west of the old Gatehouse station, but keep your eyes peeled, I drove right past it and had to practice my multi-point turning on the single track road.

There is space for a couple of cars and a sign asking that care is taken not to obstruct the access to the Clints of Dromore Estate.

Forgotten logs

Across the road is a forestry track guarded by a closed gate. A rusting padlock and chain were affixed but not in such a way that the gate was locked and the fence by the gate has fallen down. The forest track beyond the gate looks as if it hasn’t been used in a while. Heather was growing across it and small conifers were sprouting at its edges here and there. A moss covered pile of logs stood by the track just to emphasise that we were on the track the forestry forgot.

The track crosses a small unnamed burn, at a bridge watched over by a raised viewing seat. I was tempted to climb up to find out what could be seen but even a cursory glance raised doubts about its structural integrity, and a small sign did advise that use was only appropriate for those with authorisation. I had no hard hat and no formal training in climbing rickety wooden structures so I doubted authorisation would have been granted. Beside the seat was a lichen covered tree. I smiled and breathed in deeply since this is a sign of good air quality/lack of pollution.

At the seat/bridge/lichenified tree I left the track and turned up the forest break made by the unnamed burn, making my way up through boggy tussocks. There did not appear to be any obvious track at first but close to the trees the tussocks were squashed by passing animals and though the ground was waterlogged the going was easier.

The dogs didn’t seem to care about the tussocks, running through them easily and unlike me never seeming to have their legs fall into holes.

The forest ends at a well constructed stone wall. And the burn ends as well. Getting the dogs over the wall was my next task. Eddie disappeared along the wall then reappeared on top of it and jumped back, but Sweep who can’t even jump into the car anymore wasn’t going to manage on his own.

Luckily there was a break in the wall not far away. Unluckily it was barred by a rusting gate which had been attached to the wall by several pieces of rope threaded into the wall and fastened by knots, which I can only presume, had been tied by Gordias himself. The knots were beyond me and I hadn’t brought a sword.

Anyway, while I marvelled at the intricacy of the knots, Eddie jumped the gate and Sweep squeezed between the bars. So I climbed over, the knots mocking me as I walked away.

Once out of the forest we were on a heather and tussock covered hillside. I had intended heading directly up the hill but there were sheep that way so we walked up along the edge of the forest to skirt around them. This involved a couple of short steep sections to ensure my knees were aware that they were in use.

Lochan on Pibble Hill

Unfortunately, the cloud base fell and we soon climbed into mist making it difficult to find the best route. Pibble Hill’s top is made of numerous wee prominences and it was difficult to know which would be the summit. So we wandered about climbing up to what seemed to be a higher ground but finding no cairn on any.

We then came upon the wee Lochan which I knew was about 300m from the summit, so realised we still had quite a way to go. As we went on each prominence would appear to have a small cairn but when we got there it was just vegetation. Eventually the ground started to fall away and I realised we must have passed the summit, so I headed north with the aim of finding the wall marked on the OS map and using the wall junction to guide me to the summit.

So on I walked and soon spotted the wall. But when I got to it, it was not a wall but more vegetation masquerading as man-made artefact. Then as I stood mentally recreating Edvard Munch’s Scream, I saw higher ground and headed up to it.

Pibble Hill summit

A small cairn marked the summit. I had hoped to get a picture of me at the summit using the timer on the camera but it was so windy that was out of the question so I made do with a standard frowning selfie.

Pibble apparently takes its name from an old word meaning meeting, congregation or place of assembly. I presume this is being used in the sense that animals were collected in shielings thereabouts. I suppose the dogs and I assembled there today, even if Sweep did keep barking until we got moving again. He doesn’t like to stop, except when he wants to.

At this point the walk could have really gone pear shaped. After a bit of faffing around with my bag, and standing looking into the mist imagining the extensive views I might otherwise have had, I shrugged on my rucksack, called the dogs and was about to set off, when for some reason I decided to use the compass to check I was heading in the right direction. I wasn’t.

We then headed back the way we had come. I did find some ATV tracks to follow to the lochan, but they disappeared after that. I must have missed them on the way along to the summit. The return journey was mostly uneventful except for stepping into a couple of hidden holes, one baptising my right foot. The gate sealed with the Gordian knots proved less troublesome from this direction since I was able to lift up the bottom to allow the dogs through.

A short walk, another D&G Marilyn, and further experience in the mist.

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Posted in Dumfries & Galloway | Tagged Wee Hills | Comments Off

The Glen of the Wildcat

February 28, 2015

3.3 miles 2h 24m ascent 241m

Back Hill of Orchars-Altiwhat-Fell of Fleet

A burn, labelled Altiwhat on older OS maps, empties into northern apex of Loch Fleet, the Loch itself becoming the source of Little Water of Fleet. The burn is protected by steep rocky sides which open up at about 430m where the land broadens into a small hanging valley. This flatter area, lying between the higher ground of Fell of Fleet and Back Hill of Orchars is an upland bog with exposed granite slabs in places and some islands of more prominent granite blocks.

Maxwell’s Studies in the Topography of Galloway gives the derivation of Altiwhat as Allt na Chat, Glen of the Wildcat. And he goes on to explain… Allt itself is a word which has travelled very far from its original root-meaning. Connected originally with Latin altus (high), it signified a height or cliff, but the meaning slid thence to the vale or glen between the heights, and finally into the stream within the vale.

The maps clearly label the burn Altiwhat, but Maxwell in the 1880s might have had other information. I found it more romantic to think of myself crossing the glen of the wildcat rather than crossing the bog above the stream of the wildcat. Having said that I didn’t see any cats.

Fell of Fleet is another D&G Marilyn to add to my list; it is not a big ascent but tiring terrain and low cloud made this simple walk a little more challenging. Heather, tussock, moss, bog and sometimes granite slabs, with no tracks to follow, and when the cloud was low, direction finding by compass.

I started from the forestry track above Loch Grannoch. I chose a forest break between mature trees and a planting of young conifers about 3m tall. This was a little waterlogged in places but easy enough. Unfortunately the forest break was blocked by a further plantation of conifer and, higher up, deciduous trees. A large mature tree had fallen across my route and required some clambering. Sweep, old dog that he is, with his bad leg, couldn’t jump onto it and had to be manhandled over.

Amongst the browns and greens of the slope a single flash of red caught my eye which was fruiting lichen.

The new plantings were not particularly dense and it was possible to pick a way through. Above this was a rough forestry track not marked on the OS map. It looks quite temporary but offered a brief respite from the difficult terrain of newly planted forest on a background of felled forest. I only stayed on it a short distance and then headed straight up the ridge of Back Hill of Orchars, arriving very close to the summit cairn.

Summit, Back Hill of Orchars. Loch Grannoch in the background

There were views of Lochs Grannoch and Clatteringshaws from the summit and Loch Fleet could be seen from just a little way beyond the cairn. The surrounding hills however were lost in mist. Loch Fleet, having collected water from the Fell of Fleet is the source of the Little Water of Fleet, whereas the Big Water of Fleet arises from the slopes of the much larger Cairnsmore of Fleet.

Loch Fleet

I had hoped that the way across to the Fell of Fleet would be obvious but the summit was hidden in cloud and I could not see any obvious route. Between Back Hill of Orchars and Fell of Fleet is the shallow valley, Altiwhat, the Glen of the Wildcat, a granite strewn bog with areas of standing water to avoid.

Altiwhat

I decided to skirt around to the north to avoid too much descent and re-ascent but still found myself in boggy ground. A castle of granite slabs looked like a good staging post but turned out to have a boggy moat. The standing water was sometimes deep enough that the dogs swam across pools, so I trod carefully.

Altiwhat, looking down to Loch Fleet

Once on the higher slopes there were granite slabs in places to make the going easier.

Fell of Fleet

Once on the Fell of Fleet I was in low cloud that would briefly clear allowing some views but quickly descend again. I came across a cairn, which it turns out is the summit, but while standing there the cloud thinned showing me what appeared to be higher ground to the NE. So off I went searching for the higher point.

Summit, Fell of Fleet

Having waked along Fell of Fleet’s summit ridge, to the possible higher ground, the mist lifted again and I could look back to see that the cairn was higher. This seems to be quite a common phenomenon, for me at least.

Lochan on Fell of Fleet

So, comfortable that I had visited the summit I turned to head home, crossing the boggy glen a second time and heading directly over the ridge of Back Hill of Orchars. This took me down through some felled and replanted forest and on to the rough track which I followed for about 100m to a forest break that I hoped would carry me back to the main forestry road.

Back Hill of Orchars

I was quite pleased with this forest break which had quite firm footing, but it wasn’t to last. The ground became more boggy and then the forest break was blocked by a densely planted forest. Luckily it was possible to find a way through with a bit of clambering over fallen trees and detours to get around water.

Back Hill of Orchars

I suspect the views from Fell of Fleet could be quite extensive, but I’ll have to wait for another day to find out.

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Temptations below the Clints of Dromore

February 21, 2015

4.1 miles 2h 10m 260m ascent

The Clints of Dromore are a section of steep south facing cliffs at the southern margin of the Cairnsmore of Fleet granite intrusion. The surrounding peat bogs are said to have 10m of peat in places, representing 7,000 years of accumulation. Where the peat has eroded and granite slabs are now exposed the effects of the long melted glaciers can be seen and the melting glaciers have left a drumlin field stretching out below the Clints.

The last time I came here I was picking my way through the heather of the clifftop in mist, looking in vain for the “Hush” sculpture. This time I set off from home under blue skies hoping for better luck. As I drove along the A75, however, the clouds rolled in from the south and settled on to the hilltops. Ho hum.

I passed the visitor centre, which looked to be closed up, and parked instead at the small parking spot below the viaduct, giving little thought to the “Beware Falling Masonry” sign. Both Sweep and Eddie were with me and there were sheep between us and the Big Water of Fleet so we didn’t go down to see the sculpture on the rocks down there.

Our first stop was the ruins of Little Cullendoch, described by RCAHMS as a township of seven buildings including a farmstead. Among the stones of the walls is “Heart” a sculpture, including heads, chained in place, one with a knife buried to its hilt in the neck.

From the ruins we walked up to the path on the disused railway track. Once on the track we had our first view of the drumlin field and Pibble Hill and Stey Hill in a dusting of snow beyond it. My enjoyment of the view was somewhat tempered by feeling the first drops of rain on my face. It was soon heavy enough to force jacket deployment. At my last visit I had gone directly up onto the Clints but this time I decided to take the easier route. This is now waymarked as the Mountain End Route.

This route leaves the railway track at a wooden bench. Where once there was just a ladder over the wall, a gate now allows access to the hill and the boggy section by the wall is crossed by a short walkway. The manmade stuff soon ends however and there is a short steep climb. It was slightly annoying and hot to climb wearing a jacket, and by the time I was past the steep section the sky had cleared and I could shed the outer layer. The dogs raced up the hill ahead of me then realised I was coming up in first gear and came back down to see what was keeping me.

Rosnes Bench, Clints of Dromore

I wasn’t thinking about the Rosnes Benches as I walked along so was please to notice them. These benches are placed to “slow us down, create stillness, change our viewpoint and help us to remain in the moment and be part off the immediate context that surrounds us“, and I think they achieved this. The benches are on a small shoulder a little way below the top of the cliffs and I suspect I would have just kept on to the top if they had not been there. As it was I spent some time there experiencing my surroundings.

The benches were wet so I didn’t lie down on them but experiencing the surroundings is the aim I think.

Once on the exposed top of the escarpment the wind was just a little on the cold side of cooling, but not strong enough to impede movement. Just right. There is no defined track across the heather. In places people or sheep have chosen the same route and left a defined way but in others you have to find your own path. The Mountain End path way markers are useful targets to head for, but don’t always define the easiest way.

Big Water of Fleet Viaduct (telephoto)

The Clints of Dromore do not have a flat top but are cut by several dips, the deepest being named on the OS as the Deep Nick of Dromore. What this means is that the Clints seem to be made of several fingers or promontories. By sticking to the waymarked route one would lose the views to the south, so it’s worth drifting across a little.

There were sheep on the steep slopes of the dips but the dogs just looked on from a distance. More temptation was to meet us later. The visibility was good and to the north, Loch Grannoch could be seen between Craigwhinnie (and Fell of Fleet) and Craigronald, with Meikle Millyea in the distance.

Loch Grannoch and Meikle Millyea from the Clints of Dromore

I mentioned earlier that on my last visit here I had been looking for the Hush sculpture but couldn’t find it. I hoped for better luck this time but my first foray towards the edge of the Clints wasn’t successful. Looking west from this promontory however I could see what looked like a small cairn on the two promontories away. I headed for it and was rewarded.

Though as you can see the dogs beat me to it. I set up the camera with a timer to commemorate my visit but had to set it up quite a way off, but close enough for a ten second dash. So I readied myself, pushed the button, ran back to the rocks, turned and struck a pose. But the camera wasn’t on the rocks anymore, one of the dogs having knocked it over. It had fallen a metre but onto snow covered heather. I wiped it clean and tried again. Unfortunately I did not realise, until home, that the lens was a little smeared so I am blurred out. So here is a close up of Hush instead.

Hush

I was tempted to put a dog treat into the mouths and photograph the dogs apparently kissing the mouths but I suspected I would not have the speed to step back, point and shoot before the treats were eaten.

The path takes quite a turn to the north to avoid the very steep sides of the Deep Nick. This took us as far as what was the treelike the last time I was here but has now been felled allowing better views, well of the hills anyway, the forest looking a mess. We had a little more light rain which gave us a rainbow looking north and there were great views of the Cairnsmore of Fleet hills from Knee of Cairnsmore to Craigronald all topped with cloud.

Cairnsmore of Fleet

After the Deep Nick of Dromore the ground was a little boggier and in places there was standing water so it was easier to climb back onto higher ground. The mountain end signposts led eventually to a promontory and pointed onwards. I couldn’t see a definite way down so backtracked a little and found another way down. Looking back from below however I think it would have been OK to continue along the promontory. Next time.

It was between the top of Mountain End and below the Deep Nick that we were thrice tempted. Now before you get too excited, this doesn’t involve me meeting three naked sirens. It was the dogs who were tempted.

Mountain End had a flock of sheep standing in our path. They moved off as we approached, and the dogs stayed with me until they were gone. Then on the way down the slope four deer crossed our path before heading up Craig Hill. The dogs froze in concentrated attention but stayed with me still. Wild goats were the last temptation. I saw them ahead of us so slowed down and kept the dogs with me until they had passed, but some stragglers from the group crossed our path only a few metres away. I was worried that they could do the dogs some damage with their horns but the dogs kept with me when called. I was very impressed.

Below the clints there is a narrow track, probably an animal track which offers better walking than a wider boggy track lower down. There are some well placed wooden bridges to help you across waterways though these all looked to be easily stepped across anyway.

We eventually rejoined the disused railway and followed that back to the start. This was an easy stroll. My only concern was when what can only be described as a massive bird of prey swooped along the track ahead of us, initially silhouetted against the sky. Its wingspan was greater than my arm span and given its size I worried it might be able to take the younger dog. Indeed I was too worried for the dogs to get the camera up, but happily it just wheeled away. From the size I think this was an eagle. I have read that white tailed eagles have been seen here but this did not have a white tail so presumably was a golden eagle.

When driving home I passed a buzzard on a post by the road, perhaps 3 miles away, and he bird I had seen on the railway was much larger.
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Posted in Dumfries & Galloway | Tagged Rosnes Benches, Ruins | Comments Off

Three Spaniels on Lotus Hill

February 14, 2015

4.8 miles 2h 40m 311m ascent

Forestry tracks, paths (stony, mossy, boggy), pine-needle covered forest walks, heathery moorland, fallen trees, felled trees, distant gunshots, rocky outcrops, erratics, collapsed dykes, burns, bridged and unbridged, forest (conifer, deciduous, felled and replanted), ad hoc wooden sculptures, with views of sea, lochs, hills, dales, and monument to 19th century victory.

Quite a collection for a short local walk.

Having been struck down by minor illnesses which rendered me unfit for Drow ‘n’ Smirr type walks (e.g. wandering through bogs in low cloud, facing burn crossings where the bridge is but a memory, the plunk of a foot entering an unseen pool….ahhh…the dopamine rush), this was my first outing for a wee while. I decided a short walk close to base camp would be the ticket, and being a short walk both dogs (one with unlimited energy and one who limps) could accompany me. Being slightly out of practice, I could only find one gaiter and Audrey forgot hers.

On a handful of occasions there has been a deer in the car park when I have arrived, but not on this day. The small car parking space at Kissock Forest was in fact empty when we arrived. A map here shows some waymarked walks and there were waymarker posts all the way around though their positioning seems aimed at reassuring you that you are on the route rather than directing you. I didn’t pay much attention to the colours on the posts but I think we went red, then yellow, then green, our route taking us up the northern slope of Lotus Hill, down the south slope choosing the longer route that crosses Drungan Burn, across the end of the forestry track, then down through the forest close to Drungan Farm and back along the forestry track.

The kissing gate at the car park clearly isn’t designed for a person with a rucksack on his back and a camera hanging in front of his protruding abdomen, but some wriggling got me past the obstacle. The track up the northern slopes of the hill is firm but degenerates higher up and has a couple of short boggy sections. There are pools of crystal clear water beside the track but the dogs ignored these and explored the steeper slope below the path. The scents must be more interesting there. The fields below us didn’t have any sheep so I wasn’t too worried.

The track ends at what once must have been a turning area but is now overgrown and boggy. I remember there being a bench here years ago and a bit of a view of Loch Arthur, one of the candidates for Excalibur’s resting place, but the bench is long gone and the trees so thick that I must be mistaken about views of the Loch. The waymarked route turns left along a narrow path up the hill, though a faint track does continue on.

The single file path winds up through the trees, the friable ground on steeper sections transmuted into mud requiring care by the humans, but of no concern to the dogs who happily ran up and down through it. Once out of the trees and on the heather covered hill top we had our first good views of Loch Arthur. The way here is through boggy ground, sometimes obviously muddy with tricky sections of bright green moss that might support a foot but could just as easily give way into water. This reminded me of stripping the willow, flinging yourself, or being flung, with gusto towards a waiting dancer to find her arm is just there for show and isn’t going to twist you back into the dance.

Criffel in cloud

Well, across the moorland and on to the summit, where stood another walker with a spaniel (volume set at 11). Eddie was hackles up, Sweep unperturbed. The walker and his spaniel, peace disturbed left the summit to us and we had nice views from the top, Criffel’s summit hidden in cloud, Waterloo Monument below it. Stopping was not to Sweep’s liking however and he barked and barked and barked until we got going again.

I wonder if one day I should come over Lotus Hill and head across to Cuil Hill. I bet that will be battle with tussock and bog. Best done during a drought perhaps.

We headed down the southern slope of the hill, along the obvious track and used the stones of the collapsed dyke as seats for our coffee break. For reasons that escape me, Sweep tried to climb onto the wall, which wasn’t a good idea with his arthritis. When denied that option he took to rooting in holes, but the rabbits must have been beyond his reach.

Post coffee, onward. Down to the forest again and along a wide forest break carpeted with the friable moss. The dogs running ahead gave us some warning as to how deep one might sink into this. The gap between the trees then lessened and we walked around several large erratics that would be good seats for lunch. We passed the well walked waymarked path leading back down to the forest track and continued on the other waymarked forest break, but now without any discernible path. A word of warning here. If you are expecting to take the shorter route beware that a path seems to go off about 50m before the real route. I’ve used that by mistake before and it goes nowhere.

We crossed the Drungans Burn which at this level is two small watercourses that are easily stepped across. I fact you could hop across them if you felt inclined. After more forest break and erratics we emerged at the turning circle at the end of the main forestry track. The trees below here have been felled so there is now a good view across to Mabie. A wooden bench sits here for the weary to rest. That wasn’t us. The bench used to be a little further up the slope amongst a mire but I presume it has been moved since the tree felling.

We could now look back up to Lotus Hill and see the wall where we had our coffee. We now had a choice of walking back along the forestry track or taking to the woods again and chose the latter. It isn’t particularly obvious where the path leaves the forestry track but that said, it isn’t particularly hidden. The dogs went along it unbidden. Initially this descends through felled forest but the path hasn’t been destroyed in the felling. We walked past several curious wooden things that I had previously thought were pulleys but they are in fact just stacked wood.

Once back in the trees we had a few sections of boggy ground but most was firm. We crossed the burn again but this time on a footbridge and soon emerged back onto a branch of the main forestry track and followed these back to the car.

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Posted in Dumfries & Galloway | Tagged Low Level, Wee Hills | Comments Off

A Lactation of Conifers

January 25, 2015

2.7 miles 1 hour 74m ascent

Easing myself back in to walks, I decided to visit Morton Castle and explore Morton Woods which proved a shorter walk than I had expected.

Morton Castle stands on high ground above Morton Loch. The original castle may have stood here since 1260 but the present buildings date from the mid 1400s. Presumably there would not have been much of a loch back then since the loch’s dam is only a couple of hundred years old.

Since we were visiting in drow ‘n’ smirr the views were a little limited and the castle isn’t shown in its best light.

After exploring the castle we headed back to the entrance gate to cross the road into the woods. The kissing gate, as seems usual, swung over a dirty puddle of uncertain depth. Since the dogs went before me I was forewarned to step around its edges.

Once in Morton Woods I found there were some waymarkers so I decided to forego my planned route and see where the waymarked path took us. As a backup, since Sweep has a bad leg I decided that if we weren’t obviously heading back by 45 minutes we would just re-trace our steps. I imagine in better weather there might have been some views, but we had to make do with trees.

The dogs enjoyed splashing through the puddles and running into the woods, while I picked my way around puddles. We spent the early part of the walk on forestry tracks through a piety of woodland: young conifer, some deciduous and felled wasteland.

The last way marker we passed, set on a short piece of wood on the ground, had I presume been repositioned, whether by accident or malice I cannot tell. But rather than following the forestry track off to the left we continued along a less well maintained track. I suppose in retrospect it was just the track left by vehicles involved in felling.

There was more mud, larger puddles, and more detours to keep going. We did though seem to be looping back to where we started so on we forged. The path, looking less and less like a track, turned up hill cut back on itself then gave up any pretence of being a path.

The forest break

A forest break headed up from my left so we headed up along that. There wasn’t any sign that it had been used as a path but at least there weren’t that many boggy sections. Any hope that this might still be the way marked path when the forest break ended. I am sure the dogs could have made it through the woods but the branches down to knee height would have stopped me.

The lactation of conifers

A little to the left was a plantation of young conifers (PS the laptop tried to autocorrect plantation to lactation). Between us and the lactation of conifers was a barbed wire fence, but luckily, amidst the fence posts at the fence corner, was a space large enough to get the dogs through. There was a 5m margin around the new trees, which was mostly grass, and not boggy, so we followed that which led us back to the minor road near Morton Mains.

Morton Loch

From there it was just a short way back to the car, but since it had ben just a short walk we went back to explore the castle again before leaving.

Heading back to the car and a treat

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