Escape to Brimmond Hill & part of the WOT

[Gordon Ballantyne]

GordonC had decided to wander up our local hill to celebrate the Covid restrictions easing from " House" to "Local", so he invited me to accompany him.
It should be noted that GC had been cheating during the lockdown by continuing regular local walks, while I had vegetated in a blubberous torpor, eating everthing in sight !
However this was a good chance to see if my legs still worked, so I accepted and we headed off to the north up the street. Normally, I'd have taken my phone to record our track, but since Viewranger had merged with OutdoorActive, the phone app had become useless for tracking. How a perfectly good app could be screwed up so badly by incorporating it into another platform is beyond me!
However GordonC had his trusty Garmin, so - nae bother. ( GC actually knew the route by heart, so really no need for any nav-ing devices.)
Outbound, we took the southerly route to the"Blackburn" road , L to the West car park at the bottom of Brimmond Hill then by the direct path to the top of the hill.
A glorious day, with lots of people getting out for a breath of fresh air !

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The loopy route round the S side of the hill was taken off the hill and then the northerly leg across the fields, first up the Northside road before cutting across the grass fields through a couple of gates to intersect the South Craigston road at the bend in front of Northside. ( on a previous walk in the last century, one could follow the track past Northside - at that time derelict.
It's now someones' house with the property fenced off, including braw gates at the end of the drive - so no way through there now. )

GordonC at the top o Brimmond

The top o Brimmond

GordonB at the top o Brimmond

GB on the loopy descent from Brimmond

The Westhill Orbital Trail

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I'd promised to go with M to explore part of the new Westhill Orbital Trail. So after a cup of tea and a rest we set off towards the Westhill "Monument" near the entrance roundabout to the village. The signpost directed us down the N side of the burn, but I could see a path that had been hewn through the wood on the opposte bank. I decided to go through the wood but M persevered down the grassy bank on the other side of the burn. Luckily there's a grassy "bridge" over the burn where it flows through a section of concrete sewer pipe allowing us to join forces again.. The path continues around the Lawsondale playing fields through the woods at first, to the Brodiach road. We walked up past Taylors Farm and the side of Kinmundy House, then turned left to see if there was an exit to the park at the top of Kinmundy Hill.
Nope - nothing yet without jumping the gates into the field.

M took some pics on the way home........

Grazing sheep at the high part of WOT

A view to the south from the high part of WOT

Wild flowers beside Kinmundy House

Retreated to the house and some Tea