walkhighlands

Share your personal walking route experiences in Scotland, and comment on other peoples' reports.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

Don't cross the Punks of Blackhope Scar

Don't cross the Punks of Blackhope Scar


Postby jgregor » Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:45 pm

Fionas included on this walk: Blackhope Scar

Donalds included on this walk: Blackhope Scar

Date walked: 09/01/2022

Time taken: 4 hours

Distance: 12 km

Ascent: 397m

3 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

Blackhope Scar. There's a name to conjure with. It sounds darkly romantic, a rugged, dark and troubled soul. All windswept and interesting, as Billy Connolly would say. I've been fascinated with it since I first saw it on the map, and have been trying to figure out how to reach it without doing the 11 mile trek from Gladhouse Reservoir as suggested by Walk Highlands. I know the Moorfoots are not exactly the mountains of Mordor, I'm not daft. Not that daft anyway. Still, the endless bogs could pass for the Dead Marshes. More on those to come.

So we parked by the B709, at the supposed grave of the Piper of Peebles. Legend has it that he was a piper out drinking, and bet some locals he could walk from Peebles to Edinburgh, playing the bagpipes all the way, and not repeat a single tune. They took him up on it, and off they all set. By the time they reached here the locals decided a midnight march to Edinburgh wasn't something they were prepared to do for the sake of a bet. So one of them surreptitiously poked a hole in the piper's bag, causing him to run out of puff, keel over and die on the spot. And there he was buried.

We had a look at the rather new looking gravestone by the side of the road, then set off on our hike. We headed north back up the road for a short distance, then cut across the field on our left to meet a track heading up.

IMG20220109090535.jpg
View north up past Dewar


IMG20220109090542.jpg
Looking up the track


We followed the track as it zig-zagged up and west, as marked on the OS map.

IMG20220109090746.jpg
Looking back down to the road and sheepfold beyond


IMG20220109090904.jpg
Further up the steep track


IMG20220109092033.jpg
Looking back at a junction in the track


As we reached a fence the track stops on the map, but in reality continued, albeit fainter, east-ish along by the fence.

IMG20220109092450.jpg
View south down the valley towards Blackhopebyre


IMG20220109093232.jpg
Track becoming fainter


IMG20220109094007.jpg
Gate triangle


IMG20220109094607.jpg
Following the fence


We continued along this track as it faded in and out, and had to pick our way through or around several frozen boggy bits.

IMG20220109094705.jpg
Alien landscape


IMG20220109095525.jpg
Bog valleys


After about 700m of this we passed a couple of gates marking a slight turn to the NW towards Rough Moss. With the ground now pretty much levelled off we continued for another km or so until we reached a T-junction of fences. Here we turned west and followed another fence to cross a flat expanse of heather (and yes, bogs) called Garvald Punks. I don't know who came up with the colourful names in these parts. I'd probably just have called it Boggy Bogs.

IMG20220109101856.jpg
This frozen bog has its own islands


IMG20220109102238.jpg
A tree! A welcome sight, and indication that an outpost of Glentress Forrest was close by to the south, though we couldn't see it for the fog


More than a km along the fence turns north to head up to Blackhope Scar summit. We decided to continue west along to Kings Road Nick first, with the intension of ascending Bowbeat Hill.

IMG20220109104146.jpg
Going off track


IMG20220109104349.jpg
Sheltering briefly in a cleuch of Long Grain


IMG20220109105705.jpg
A northern finger of Glentress Forest emerges out of the fog, along with the wind farm on Bowbeat Hill


Reaching the less imaginatively named Long Edge, we had planned to first head up through the wind farm to Bowbeat Hill to the south-west before coming back this way and up Blackhope Scar. However, flagging spirits and feet frozen with icy bog water led to the decision to give Bowbeat a hard pass and just do Blackhope Scar instead.

IMG20220109110533.jpg
At Long Edge, looking south west to Emly Bank, with Bowbeat Hill lost in the fog behind


However we were heartened to see from here up to the Pentlands, Edinburgh and the Forth. Pretty much the only genuine view of the day.

IMG20220109110339.jpg
An actual view!


We struggled on north-east up Long Edge before turning north for the final push to the top. Here we were welcomed by yet more frozen bog, fog and a forlorn looking trig point.

IMG20220109113647.jpg
Blackhope Scar summit. Let's go home.


We stayed long enough for a photo, then headed south again towards Garvald Punks to retrace our steps down. I was delighted and surprised though to see a mountain hare briefly, about 30 feet away, before it darted out of sight. Resplendent in its white fur coat it was well camouflaged, and I wouldn't have spotted it at all if it hadn't decided to run for it. I didn't know they were to be found this far south.

Beating a hasty retreat back down, we were relieved to reach the road again before anyone succumbed to hypothermia.
Attachments

Blackhope_Scar_2022-01-09_09-01-41_01.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

jgregor
 
Posts: 111
Munros:19   Corbetts:8
Fionas:17   Donalds:63+39
Sub 2000:52   Hewitts:1
Islands:9
Joined: Apr 22, 2015

Re: Don't cross the Punks of Blackhope Scar

Postby jmarkb » Thu Jan 13, 2022 1:12 pm

Enjoyed that - you haven't really sold it to me as a better option that the Gladhouse approach, though!
Not that I'm in much of a hurry to repeat Blackhope Scar. Dundreich, however, is a better and somewhat less boggy hill.
Bowbeat is an insignificant lump that has been ruined by the wind farm - it would be more fun to do by mountain bike from the south, I reckon.
User avatar
jmarkb
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 5857
Munros:246   Corbetts:105
Fionas:91   Donalds:32
Sub 2000:46   
Joined: Oct 28, 2011
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Don't cross the Punks of Blackhope Scar

Postby thedonalds » Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:13 pm

The Bogs of Blackhope Scar........I mind them well! Think yourself lucky that its winter and much of it was frozen. Its such a joy at other times of the year!
thedonalds
Walker
 
Posts: 88
Munros:22   Corbetts:7
Fionas:22   Donalds:87+48
Sub 2000:24   
Islands:26
Joined: Oct 13, 2017

Re: Don't cross the Punks of Blackhope Scar

Postby Graeme D » Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:30 pm

Looks fairly unappealing in those conditions I have to say! I always think Blackhope Scar sounds like a character from a Pirates of the Caribbean film! :lol:
User avatar
Graeme D
 
Posts: 3996
Munros:251   Corbetts:123
Fionas:75   Donalds:22
Sub 2000:59   Hewitts:36
Wainwrights:28   Islands:6
Joined: Oct 17, 2008
Location: Perth

Re: Don't cross the Punks of Blackhope Scar

Postby The English Alpinist » Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:00 am

Wow, how different (yet similar) to how I found it 3 weeks later! (my report called 'Wind!'). I breifly contemplated going at it from your direction and wondering what 'punks' meant (nothing good I reckoned), but ruled out the idea of slogging against a westerly gale across that. I love the photographs and can almost feel the otherwordly grimness of the experience. Well done. ps I saw a mountain hare too - maybe it was the same chap! Far too quick to get a photo.
User avatar
The English Alpinist
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 297
Munros:56   Corbetts:11
Fionas:22   Donalds:18+10
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:136
Wainwrights:214   
Joined: Oct 27, 2015
Location: Lancashire England.

3 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ashman, cambflatlander, dougiebroon, hollyhotspur, kvnbrcly and 78 guests