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Running with mrs shanksi and John Ritchie.
This run was all about exploring a small area we hadn't ventured far into before, the bit North of Tarfside, sort of between Mount Keen and Mount Battock. The planned route looked straightforward until John pointed out the multiple fords marked on the map, but we decided to give it a go anyway.
It was a fine but slightly chilly morning, and we set off in good spirits, out past the church, following the road round to the right, past a small wood where a red squirrel ran across in front of us, then left at the fork and on past Milton and Milton Cottage, then past some fairly new looking deer fences, and then West up towards Badalair.
As expected, this was a tough little climb, but with the reward of a nice view over to Loch Lee to the SW, Mt Keen to the NW and back over the valley we'd come from to the E. Quite windy at this point as we headed North over Hill of Kirny and Hill of Saughs. The dips between the hills felt steeper than expected but thankfully the fords were easily crossable with dry feet.
- Loch Lee
The track continues round the loop with some interesting views of the narrow valleys where the various burns flow down to the Water of Tarf with pleasant waterfalls and a decent wee bridge over the Burn of Adedazzle.
- Sunshine
- Bridge on Burn of Adedazzle
Once past the track leading off to Hill of Corn and Hill of Cat, there was a long, steady downhill taking us past the fenced enclosure at Glencat followed by another shallow ford and a bit more track before yet another ford to cross the Water of Tarf - this one was a bit more substantial and we looked upstream a short distance for an easier crossing before just accepting wet feet and heading across. Only ankle deep, but maybe not something I'd want to do if there had been a lot of rain or snow melt.
One more easily crossed ford before the track led us past some more new deer fences and past Baillies farm, then more open track with the Hill of Rowan in clear view, across a small bridge and then rejoining the road back into Tarfside Village.
Overall, a fine day out on a windy, but dry and sunny winter day.