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Hill of Rowan

Hill of Rowan


Postby IainG » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:20 pm

Route description: Hill of Rowan, Tarfside, Glen Esk

Date walked: 22/11/2009

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I had two reasons to go for a walk up this hill. Firstly, it features very much in the book 'Balnamoon - The Rebel Laird' , and secondly, I've developed a bit of a taste for Malts and this hill was the location of the fabled Whisky Bothy. The Whisky Bothy features in the book as the location where Balnamoon almost gets caught by the redcoats whilst searching for the Bothy, in fact, the very chapter I was reading last night.

It is a fine walk. Short and only 380m. It has a fine monument on top which I've often looked at as I've driven up Glenesk.

The walk starts at the public Carpark in Tarfside, about 8 miles up the glen. Leave the carpark, turn left and instead of following the road to Invermark, go straight on past the church. The church is a cracking piece of architecture well worth a visit.

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The path is obvious, we followed a good landrover track then left the to follow a fence line up to the top. The views north as we went up.

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Not sure why the hill is known as 'Hill of Rowan', as this was the only tree I spotted. A birch as we clambered on.

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Our first view of the monument on top.

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Which on closer inspection is a massive structure. A lot bigger than I'd imagined.

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The Geocache brigade had been here before.

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A right dark, damp chamber within.

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Interesting the way it had been built. The top was ringed and topped with quartzite.

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The views back down Glenesk.

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And quite appropriate, a picture of my dog Molly. She should be at home here as this is where she's from. She was from a litter of Springers from Millden, the Glenesk estate, only 2 miles away.

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A great afternoon on the hills in Angus.
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IainG
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Re: Hill of Rowan

Postby Paul Webster » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:33 pm

That monument looks fascinating; we're hoping to go down to Angus in the autumn to begin a new section and will seek this out if we get a chance - the views of Glen Esk look good too. But the best pic is your dog 8)
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Re: Hill of Rowan

Postby Michelle » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:40 pm

That looks a very nice afternoon out. The size of that monument was deceptive, it looked maybe waist-high in the first pic you posted and huge in the next!

Neat to tie in the walk with the book you're reading. I'm an avid reader (and writer) and I think it lends something to the story to visit a place I'm reading or writing about- I've done that a few times. And no, I'm not talking about Harry Potter here :lol:

I've never been much east of the A9, so it's nice to see some reports from that side.
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Re: Hill of Rowan

Postby IainG » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:56 pm

Thanks for the comments.

I live in Angus, and the Angus Glens are well worth a visit. The walking is excellent and the scenery stunning. I'm privileged to live in such a fantastic area.

It was nice to have a link to a book, but it's a pain reading a page then checking the map, then reading a page and ..... :D :D
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Re: Hill of Rowan

Postby Paul Webster » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:59 pm

Yes, I like the Angus Glens; I'm a fan of more rolling hills, especially in the winter. I stayed at a place called The Burn, I think at the foot of Glen Esk, years back in University days - it was quite a little ritual to go there, I think you had to give a presentation but can't remember as everyone also got very drunk.
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Re: Hill of Rowan

Postby mountain coward » Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:36 pm

Wow those pictures must be huge - they even took forever to load up on work's broadband! Looks an interesting walk...
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Re: Hill of Rowan

Postby Paul Webster » Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:39 pm

MC - they are big pics (actually 1024px wide) but they are hosted on Flickr rather than on Walkhighlands, so loading speed is out of our control :( . Flickr can sometimes be a bit slow but has lots of useful features and lets you share the photo elsehwere.
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