A few more more Tumps near Huntly

[Gordon Ballantyne]

The weather looked iffy, but the BBC simulations seemed to show lots of rain around this area, however, a wee hole in the inclement bits gave us hope, so we decided to believe the met folks and risk it. With Harvey's dad still in UAE, we picked him up with the stuff Louise had laid out and headed up to Huntly.

Dunbennin Hill

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Parked up opposite the new water works and headed up the track. Looked like we'd stolen some dawgwalkers usual parking slot, as they had to park at the other side of the drive entrance when they arrived for their daily exercise.

The track up Dunbennan

Further up, we took the left track through a gate then trundled up through the trees to the top of Dunbennan.

The woody top of Dunbennan

Decided to return by the other track to the east, but by some injudicious naving,blundered down through the trees back to the track fork and thence to the car.



Cuternach NE and Cuternach

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Chanced our luck and drove up the tarmac road to Drumdelgie Farm. Asked a lady at one of the houses for permission to park and she agreed, as no-one was living in the next house. ( obvious by the junk cars abandoned around it )
We struck off round the corner by a log cabin and a dilapidated vintage Austin A30 - apparently up for sale for £6600.

The A30 and rusty Fergie in ther glebe at Drumdelgie

Toured along to the end of the glebe and into the trees. The FB ahead was a bit dubbie,but there was a path in the trees along to the next FB. Followed the next FB to the corner of the field then up through some young broadleafs and across a dyke under the power lines. Followed the path through the dyke, then plunged into the trees again and up to near the top where we emerged into the same broadleaf plantation running over the top.

The top of Cuternach NE in a young broadleaf plantation

Returned more or less the same way, to meet the lady living in the log cabin, who was out to feed the birds. Had a nice chat, then wandered round the empty farm buildings ( apart from some building materials) and passed a repair shop, that looked like a big car graveyard. GordonC eyed an old Rover 3.5 enviously, but I dragged him away from trying to buy it ! Seemed a shame that a famous fermtoun that a song ( bothy ballad ) had been written about was now apparently reduced to forestry, holiday let/rental and a cemetry for cars.
Set off for Cuternach through the farmyard, then followed a mown track through the upper grass glebe to the farm water supply cistern, then once more plunged into the trees until we intersected a FB running up to the top.

The firebreak running over the top of Cuternach

Top of Cuternach in a mini-glade in the trees

Wandered around a wee bit to ascertain the highest point in the trees, then descended the sensible way by the FB's back to the water supply cistern and then to the farm.




Hill of Milleath and Blackhill

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Along the road to park up at the bottom of the track up to the wind farm.

Parkup at the wind farm track to Milleath & Blackhill

Met a couple of tractors coming down the track with hay bales. Got a cheery wave from both drivers. Near the wind farm control station, a herd of kye skittered away from us into the field above. As we approached, we could see there was cows with calves, which made us nervous. We by-passed them in the field by taking a detour off the track, but the cows came and challenged us. We tried to ignore them and kept walking, which seemed to work. Eventually, we escaped onto the road to Turbine No5 in the E side of the glen, as we could see another herd of kye ahead of us further up the track to Turbine 3. At the top of the field above T5, we climbed the fence and dived into the forest to find a mini firebreak that had fairly recently been cut, going in our direction, albeit littered with brash.

The firebreak up Milleath

This FB intersected another which took us to the trig.

GordonB and Harvey at the trig of Milleath

Followed the overgrown dyke down the other side, then decided to follow another FB down to the field - a bit earlier than planned - then hopped over a fence into a field o sheep. Walked up past Blackhills' derelict buildings.

Blackhills ruin

Detoured round the sheep then over a gap in the dyke arriving at the mast at the top of Blackhill.
Nae bad views from the top......

Weather station on Blackhill

Top o Blackhill

To avoid the kye on the way back we plotted a route through some long grass and reeds on the W side of the glen, over a couple of fences, then down the grass field to the turbine control house by the track, while a couple o kye stared at us from where they sat by the track and the rest of the herd came galloping up from the bottom of the field to see us off the premises. We scuttled off down the track to the car whilst the industrious farmers ca'd bogey loads o dung from the cattle courts down by the road to make room for more during this coming winter.

Had lunch to generate some energy for the last two hills.




Both Hill and Norry Hill

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Parked up by a gate into a field on the road down to Church of Glass, then walked back and crossed the main road to go up the track towards Both Hill. At the first corner in the track, there was an open gate inviting us into a nicely grazed grass field.
Wandered up to the top of the field and through a gate into the heather and gorse beyond. Found a route up through the gorse, but still had to endure a couple of jabby bits until be got on to the mown tracks which landed us beside another weather station adorning the summit - surrounded by a wee E-fence.

GordonC at the top of Both Hill with its weather station

Paused for a wee while to take in the view then headed down to the track on the N side ( not marked on the map) heading towards our final hill - Norry.
But first we had to negotiate a BWF and thrutched through a new tree planting to get to the track. Mercifully it was a short distance! Once on the track, we mosey towards Norry until GordonC detected a vehicle approaching. The wee 4x4 stopped by GordonC to enquire where we were heading. It was a concerned stalker who was shepherding his Dutch client to shoot deer in the wood ahead of us. We agreed to accommodate their plans and offered to cut off the track away from the wood and head up a grass field to the top o Norry. He was happy with that and drove off. Further up the track, we were wrestling to open the gate into the aforementioned field when the keeper returned to announce that the stalk of the selected wood was off and that they would be stalking another wood below us. We confirmed that we'd go up and down by the same route, so he opened the gate for us, as he was leaving his vehicle in the field.

The keepers wee 4x4 parked in the field near Norry Hill

There were convenient animal tracks up the field which we followed to a fence at the top. We were considering whether it was worth crossing it to the highest point about 30m away, when Harvy louped the fence like an olympian - decision made !

GB & Harvey fencehopping at the top of Norry Hill

GordonB in full repose at the top of Norry Hill with Ben Rinnes behind

A couple of pics with the cloud clearing away to the west and still no sign of any rain.
Recrossed the fence and returned to the parked 4x4 - unoccupied now - then down the track back to the car.


Tremendous day and dodged the rain bullets again......apart from having to moose-step through a wheen o reeds and long grass whilst the kye occupied a perfectly good set of tracks to the wind turbines. Serves me right for slagging off these ubiquitus fans, which, incidentally were once more unable to produce enough electricity to boil a kettle today - never mind power all of Scotland !