Bowbeat Hill - return to the land of fog

[jgregor]

This was to be our second attempt at Bowbeat, having planned to do it alongside Blackhope Scar back in the winter. On that occasion the weather and frozen bogs got the better of us and Bowbeat was cut out. This time we were approaching from the other side, so avoiding the bogs and retracing some of the route we used for Dundreich last year.

We parked just off minor road heading east from Cottage Bank, just north of Eddleston. The day looked overcast, with the clouds lingering on the tops of the hills. On the two previous trips to the area (for Dundreich and Blackhope Scar) we had been beset by fog, and it looked like it would be no different this time.

We started walking east along the woodland track past The Grove and Skiprig.

We turned off the main track which turned south to Borland farm and took a fainter path alongside the Harcus Burn through Skiprig Bank.

We emerged from the wood in a sheep field, and joined the route we'd taken previously on the way to Dundreich from Portmore Reservoir. This led us around the north side of Milky Law on an ATV track, which then joined a broader track traversing the south flank of Brown Dod.

Brown Dod in the fog - déjà vu!

Well up into the fog now, we followed this track for half a mile or so until it turned north towards Dundreich. Here we struck east across the pathless heather. Unable to see more than a few meters, I relied on the GPS to keep us straight - with the good old compass on standby. We could already hear the eerie sound of the wind turbines, though we were a long way off being able to see any due to the fog. And we got soaked up to the knees in the wet grass and heather - at least it wasn't bog water this time!

Heading off track and into the fog

This took us down into the fairly steep valley carved by the young Leithen Water (I assume - it's not named on the map but appears to be the longest tributary of the Leithen) in sight of the northernmost tip of Glentress Forest.

Crossing the Leithen Water as it flows down from Dundreich

We walked along the forest's edge east round to the northern end of Bowbeat wind farm. The turbines were much louder now, though we still couldn't see any.

Crossing over the top of the northernmost finger of Glentress forest

We followed the fence until it turned south and found a gate into the farm. Here we finally caught a glimpse of the whirling monster through the fog.

Turbine T1 looming out of the fog

We took the windfarm road south over Bowbeat Rig and on up towards the top of Bowbeat Hill. We passed close to several turbines on the way. We'd seen them often of course - you can hardly go hill walking and not see them - but never close up like this. They were impressive and somewhat unnerving in equal measure, with the think fog lending them a ghostly appearance.

Passing under the blades of T10 - a rather unnerving experience

The road passes close to the summit of Bowbeat Hill. A rough path close by Turbine T15 took us the rest of the way.

Bowbeat summit - marked rather oddly with a jumble of broken planks and metal rods

With no view (except T15) we didn't stay long. We took the road back down to the gate, then back along the fence and the edge of the forest and back down to the burn.

You see some strange sights in the hills. This looks like some strange slime monster from 70's Doctor Who, probably just before being blown up by the Brigadier

Instead of going back across the pathless stretch of grass and heather, we continued west along the edge of the forest for a few hundred meters until we intersected with an ATV track heading north back up to the main track around Brown Dod.

Heading further west along the same finger of forest as before

We stayed on the main path right over Milky Law and south down to God Knowes Wood. Um, that should be Dog Knowes Wood

Something approaching a view - looking west from Milky Law

We turned west along the edge of the wood for a short distance, then turned onto a track going north to Boreland farm.

Milky Law Strip from the west, near Boreland

Walking through Boreland farmyard

The track rejoined our outward route at Skiprig, and from there it was a short walk back to the car.

The road up to Portmore House

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