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Mid Hill (Orkney)

Mid Hill (Orkney)


Postby KatTai » Tue May 24, 2022 9:19 pm

Sub 2000' hills included on this walk: Mid Hill (Mainland Orkney)

Date walked: 18/05/2022

Time taken: 2.1 hours

Distance: 8 km

Ascent: 362m

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Hill number three and of the five we did on Orkney this was the most challenging, though that was predominantly because I went on a day where they had been heavy rain earlier on in the morning making what would have been an already wet boggy route even more wet and boggy :lol:

Parked up at the viewpoint on Scorradale road and followed the track upwards. The initial part of the track was getting quite badly eroded but this improves after a short distance where it was just very wet. Through a gate which took a bit of work to get open and then through a set of double gates the track heads towards Ward Hill. At a small cairn we took a smaller path following it towards a fence. We crossed the fence into the firing range (no flags up) as that fence had partly fallen down, so not a very secure firing range if it is still in use! and the next fence was easy to cross on this side too. At a gate we went back onto the other side of the fence to head for Mid Hill first following a narrow path. In hindsight it would have been better to stay on the other side as part of the hill on this side is steep bare ground, not sure if there was maybe a bit of a landslide there or something but it was a pain to walk across especially as it was wet. Once across we continued to follow the path and which started to disappear, but at this point we could see the clear path going up Mid Hill and just headed towards that following it to the summit which was marked by a small stone slab. At least I figured that was what it was lying there for!

We followed the path down towards Ward Hill. On the way up I wasn't sure if we'd be able to get over the fence and there didn't appear to be a gate, but as it was the path led to a small section of fence where the wire had been bent inwards and the dogs were able to just jump over it for the short ascent to the summit of Ward Hill, which despite not being the highest of the two was by far the better viewpoint and worth adding on.

From there we followed a path down towards a track and that led round to the gate we used earlier, from here we just retraced our steps back to the layby.

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Panoramic from the summit of Mid Hill


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The girls looking for the summit marker to pose with...


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They don't mind a wet walk...


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Ward Hill summit
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KatTai
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1136
Munros:52   Corbetts:16
Fionas:12   Donalds:2
Sub 2000:53   
Islands:32
Joined: Feb 12, 2015
Location: Angus

Re: Mid Hill (Orkney)

Postby Harpmonk » Mon Sep 12, 2022 12:07 am

Excellent report, thanks, and super collies too :thumbup:

Alas, I found this only after doing Ward Hill and Mid Hill today. Pretty much the same ascent as you, through very boggy vague paths and with a bit of fence climbing, but I jarred my back after one slip too many on the muddy 'track' so opted for the main path back down Rams Dale, by the rifle range. I wish I hadn't: the non-stop gunshots and sheep on the track made it a nightmare descent as my collie pulled this way and that, making my bad back worse. And the final trudge along the road and up the hill to the Scorradale viewpoint layby was tedious!

Would be good to repeat the walk in Scuba gear and wellies :lol:
DSC_2506 (2).JPG
Border Collie Tia approaching Mid Hill
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Harpmonk
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Joined: Aug 25, 2016

Re: Mid Hill (Orkney)

Postby KatTai » Mon Sep 12, 2022 8:27 pm

Harpmonk wrote:Excellent report, thanks, and super collies too :thumbup:

Alas, I found this only after doing Ward Hill and Mid Hill today. Pretty much the same ascent as you, through very boggy vague paths and with a bit of fence climbing, but I jarred my back after one slip too many on the muddy 'track' so opted for the main path back down Rams Dale, by the rifle range. I wish I hadn't: the non-stop gunshots and sheep on the track made it a nightmare descent as my collie pulled this way and that, making my bad back worse. And the final trudge along the road and up the hill to the Scorradale viewpoint layby was tedious!

Would be good to repeat the walk in Scuba gear and wellies :lol:
DSC_2506 (2).JPG


Ouch hope your back is feeling better soon! Lovely dog too! There wasn't many sheep when we were there just a few, I think a lot of them were still lower down with lambs and not out on the open hill.
User avatar
KatTai
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1136
Munros:52   Corbetts:16
Fionas:12   Donalds:2
Sub 2000:53   
Islands:32
Joined: Feb 12, 2015
Location: Angus

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