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Parked up near Pond Cottage at Lord's Throat.
Should have squeezed in near to the cottages - but all 4 spaces were already occupied.
We went up the farm track but eventually this leads into a private garden with no clear sign of the footpath onwards. Some of the locals seem a bit miffed about this, but with no signage, what do they expect? If you can't find the quarry track we returned on (see below), go along the track, but just before you enter the yard of the final croft (Unnamed, NJ626211) you'll see a little cut away quarry beside the road, likely with a car parked in it ; follow trails to the NE that bring you to the croft's boundary fence then continue past the windmill tower to the edge of the woods, where you can cut uphill to join better-trodden paths.
We came up the edge of the woodlands towards Lickleyhead Castle and Towmill and rejoined reasonably clear tracks.
![2015-02- 12-03-24 Black Hill Bennachie forest track to Towmill DSC_1355-sm..JPG]()
- Firebreak
A brief detour onto forest tracks (tracks and forest added since my map was drawn) and we reversed the detour. Nice views towards Monymusk and Mither Tap though.
![2015-02- 12-15-56 Black Hill Bennachie DSC_1365-sm..JPG]()
- Monymusk-Mither
10cm of snow and a bit of ice over the heather wasn't too bad for walking on, but it made it hard to find the better footing of the paths. Lovely views to Deeside and the Cairngorms.
Black Hill sports a Triangulation Station, for removal of doubt, then we returned to flogging around losing and regaining the path until we gave up and just took a beeline towards Hermits Seat. A bit blowy on the top, so we ditherd to the leeward for a bite to eat, then headed off for the last of the tops on Bennachie at Watch Crag.
![2015-02- 14-02-00 Looking back to Watch Crag DSC_1380-sm..JPG]()
- Watch Crag
Returning we managed to find the paths a bit better, though they were up to a metre deep in melting snow so we stuck to the bulldozer scars.
![2015-02- 14-04-16 Watch Crag path sign DSC_1382-sm..JPG]()
- Gordon Way, not an Electric Monk in sight.
Encountered a signpost for the "Gordon Way" which added a new meaning to a Douglas Adams character, then returned over Black Hill to the edge of the woods.
Where a large firebreak (with a watch tower, pictured above) meets the edge of the woods is a hand-made sign indicating a path striking across the hillside from the fire break towards Pond Cottage, bypassing the crofts on the track we passed earlier.
![2015-02- 15-01-48 Lords-Throat Pond Cottage path end on Black Hill DSC_1383-sm..JPG]()
- Bodged sign
Though not well maintained, and with a tendency towards bog-trotting in parts, this does lead pretty directly to the quarry behind Pond Cottage on the road. However it's not easily found from the other end - you have to walk up into the quarry, then strike around the west side to pick up irregular tracks through the gorse. As always in gorse, you're never quite sure if you're on route.
