Three Donalds Circuit Around Coulter Reservoir

[jgregor]

Having already climbed Culter Fell last year, I planned to do the other three Donalds in the Coulter Hills without it, by starting along at Coulter Reservoir and doing a circuit from there. However, one can only drive as far as Culter Allers Farm, a couple of miles shy of the reservoir. So I decided to take the bike and use that along the private road the rest of the way to and from the reservoir.

Parking area at the end of the public road at Culter Allers Farm, by the Culter Water - a familiar spot

This worked out pretty well, and I'd reached the fork in the road just before the reservoir and parked the bike there by around 9am. The sun hadn't quite risen above the surrounding hills. I took the left-hand fork past a white gate and a house and up onto the north bank of the reservoir. I followed the track round to the western end of it.

Beginning the walk at Culter Waterhead

Track along the north edge of the reservoir

Sunrise over Gathersnow Hill

Breeks Burn joins the reservoir

From here the track continued alongside the Culter Water, heading up south-east towards Gathersnow Hill.

About a mile on the track turned towards the south and continued the steady climb up to the summit.

Climbing Gathersnow Hill - view of Dollar Law ridge in the distance

Looking back down to Coulter Reservoir

Once there I enjoyed the views on all sides, though the low sun meant I had to squint to see much to the south.

View from Gathersnow summit - Moss Law (centre)

Looking east

Big sun over Hart Fell

The path bent round to the south-west towards Hillshaw Head, the second Donald of the day. The going was pretty boggy, especially at the top of the (northern) Fingland Burn at the start of it's short journey down to the reservoir.

Hello boggy bit between Donalds, my old friend

I reached the summit of Hillshaw Head, which lies near the eastern edge of the huge Clyde Wind Farm.

Hillshaw Head summit, looking back at Gathersnow Hill

I made my way north-west a short distance until I met the big road around this side of the wind farm.

Road through Clyde Wind Farm

There were very boggy looking paths that I could have taken onwards. But, as with any hill in this part of Scotland, there's no point pretending you're in untamed wilderness, and the wind farm road made a much drier and more solid route most of the way to Hudderstone, the third Donald.

Oops!

Once the road ran out on Dod Hill it was back onto the very boggy path by the fence.

Camps Reservoir in the distance

It was a short distance up onto the drier ground at the summit of Hudderstone. I stopped for lunch at a spot marked on the map as "Pile of Stones" at the corner of the fence. It was a pretty small pile, but a good place to sit and enjoy the view north to Tinto, Biggar, the Pentlands and surrounding areas.

Tinto

View north from Hudderstone

I followed a rough ATV track west onto Snowgill Hill. The track petered out (or I just lost it) near the top, and from there it was down through the heather and bracken until I reached the track at the bottom.

Looking along Coulter Water valley

Coulter Reservoir

Culter Waterhead

From here it was back along to the fork in the road to collect the bike. Cycling back down the valley to the car was fun - a couple of miles in about 6 minutes