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Huntly N Tumps

Huntly N Tumps


Postby Gordon Ballantyne » Fri Jan 28, 2022 11:21 am

Date walked: 27/01/2022

Time taken: 5 hours

Distance: 12.5 km

Ascent: 393m

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The forecast changed from nice to showery during the week, but we decided to break our "good weather " rule and just go.
Fairly rained on the drive up to Huntly, but by the time we'd phaffed around getting tooled up, the rain had passed.


BODDUM HILL


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Parked up in the forestry car park among the dogwalkers.

Parkup for Boddum Hill in the forestry car park.JPG
Parkup for Boddum Hill in the forestry car park



Strolled up the path to the bealach, then through a carpet of beech leaves to the crest of the ridge which we followed to the top.

GC and H on Top of Baddum.jpg
GordonC and Harvey at the top of Boddum Hill



Top of Baddum.jpg
Top of Boddum Hill



Path up Baddum.jpg
Looking down the path up Boddum Hill



By the time we'd descended to the car park, a couple of horse boxes had arrived for the occupants to have a hack around the area's tracks. The closest one had a substantial poopa scoopa and was cleaning up from her horse's morning functional sacrifice. She must have braw roses !



ORDIQUHILL - CUMRIE and WHITE Hills


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Decided to do these three together, rather than driving round the other side.
Set off up Ordiquhill and along the track round the side of the hill, having to negotiate a few birches that had fallen victim to Arwen.


Parkup fo O C and W.jpg
Parkup for Ordiquhill, White Hill and Cumrie Hill



Arwen Birchfest on Ordiquhill.jpg
Birchfest present from Arwen on Ordiquhill


At the selected point on the track, we delved into the forest and dodged from one wee clearing to another until we arrived at the summit area in a larch plantation. Thrashed through this until we emerged at the trig in a clear area. Paused for a few pics while another shower edged past us.


GC and H at Ordiquhill trig.jpg
GordonC and Harvey at the trig of Ordiquhill



Set off down to the track below, trying to follow the FB's that I'd spotted on GE.
One of the FB's leading to the track ended as a ditch, but we finally made it to the track after a wee toil.

Exit from Ordiquhill FB.jpg
Exit from the firebreak onto the track below Ordiquhill



The next bit turned out to be a nav procus. All we had to do was choose the track along to Cumrie, but we were too busy gassing and picked the one along to Roadburn. Fortunately we were able to return to the proper track via the holiday let of Cumrie Cottage, although we had to mount a locked deer gate and push Harvey through the gate spars to get up the road to the house. Walked round the house at the other end where we found a "badger hatch" in the deer fence behind the cottage to get Harvey to the other side fairly easily. Fortunately a tree had fallen on the deer fence further along and had knocked some of the staples out of the wire, so we were able to ease the fence down to step across and make it on to the track below Cumrie Hill.
Decided to continue along to White Hill first and do Cumrie Hill on the way back.
The track continued along to where it dipped down out of the forest, through a wooden gate and across the fields up to White Hill Farm.

Whitehill farm and Hill.JPG
The track across to Whitehill farm and Hill




Just as we arrived in the farm yard, a lady on a quad appeared with her corgi dog. The dog immediately made a beeline for Harvey - who was invading his territory - and a wee skirmish ensued until we managed to grab our respective dogs. Stooshie over. We chatted to the lady who informed us that the square artifact I'd seen on GE at the top of White Hill was in fact a water reservoir for the village.
A gate gave us access to the road up to the water tank, which we skirted to get to the top.
A chilly breeze met us at the top, so we cowered behind one of the summit rocks for a piece. Blue sky above and a nice view to the north.

Cowring behind a summit stone on White Hill.JPG
GordonB and Harvey cowrin' behind a summit stane on the top of White Hill


Returned the same way to Cumrie Hill and plotted a way up through the substantial windfall.

GordonB and Harvey at the top of Cumrie among the windfall.JPG
GordonB and Harvey among the windfall at the top of Cumrie Hill



Found the top among the fallen trees then followed the ridge down through the remaining mature trees to the track.
Managed - somehow, to make the right choice of tracks to get us back to the car without any further dramas.
Felt we'd earned ourselves a coffee at Morgan McVeigh's on the way home........
By this time the showers had faded away and the sun shone in our eyes all the way home.
Although rain fell all around us, we only seemed to catch the edge of showers, so our wet jackets that we'd pulled from the depths of our sacks got an airing today - just in case........
Gordon Ballantyne
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 396
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Joined: Jan 30, 2011
Location: Westhill, Aberdeenshire

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