Castle Hill, Abington

[Robertgee]

2021-02-22 @ 08-23-57.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

As the weather was to be good, I decided to get out to try to get a bit of exercise during this never ending lockdown. I headed to some hills that are very local to me, but I've never ventured to before...the hills of southern Lanarkshire.

I'd come up with a nice five mile circuit near Abington going over Castle Hill at about 1580 feet high, so not on many lists. But this meant it would be a good quiet walk seeing few, if any, other walkers...just what I was looking for, as I actively try to avoid all human contact during these difficult times.

From the small parking area I headed up the valley of the Raggengill Burn, soon joining an old road (now just a grass path), which follows the course of an old Roman Road (Watling Street) from Carlisle to Edinburgh.

Raggengill Hill and Castle Hill from the car park

Old Roman Road

Left the old road near it’s high point to climb the pathless slopes of Raggengill Hill. It was quite dull and cloudy to start with, but this cleared quickly from the west to give blue skies and sunshine. The views really opened up as height was gained. The actual summit of Raggengill Hill was horrendous to walk on, as the thick grassy vegetation didn’t look deep, but with each step it went half way up to my knee, my foot just kept sinking in deeper and deeper with each step, making for slow progress. Great all round views from here along the Clyde Valley.

Tewsgill Hill

River Clyde

Along Clyde Valley towards Crawford

Lowther Hills and Castle Hill

Castle Hill and Ravengill Dod

Camps Reservoir and the Culter Hills

The walking soon improved and I found a few quad tracks to make for easy going to reach the summit of Castle Hill. More great all round views in some beautiful weather.

Tewsgill Hill, Rome Hill and the Culter Hills

Tinto and Raggengill Hill

Tewsgill Hill, Rome Hill and the Culter Hills

Clyde Valley

Abington and the Clyde Valley

Next it was the start of the return journey, heading down to Castle Hill’s west top to begin with, good views over Abington and the Clyde Valley.

Clyde Valley and Tinto

View back to Raggengill Hill and Castle Hill

Craighead Hill, Abington and Tinto

From here a grass track took me to a minor road, and the walk back to the car. If you want a shorter walk, it's okay to just head straight down to the road from Castle Hill's west top, there's a few quad tracks to help you find your way down.

Over the Clyde Valley to Ravengill Dod

Crawford Hills

Road back to Abington

I never saw another person on the hills, but passed by three others out for a walk when following the road. Back at the car park, there were another 2 cars that had joined mine, so I wasn’t the only one out here to enjoy a walk. A great little walk in lovely weather, only downside was the constant drone of traffic on the M74 motorway down in the valley...I never got away from it during the entire walk. So lets hope we can all soon get out and about to enjoy the Scottish countryside...I've been missing it so very much, and as a result, getting more unfit every day. Time to start doing this more often now and reverse the trend.

[gld73]

If I ever get round to visiting my parents in Cumbria again (it's been a long time since I could travel over the border!), I pass by Abington - so this could be a handy route for me to bear in mind when I want to break up the long drive with a walk, thanks