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Parking was easy enough – along the golf course road, just before the entrance to the course, where several other cars had also parked.
We (Inmyowntime and I) headed along the tarmac towards the hill, which was pretty easy to spot from the outset – big lump popping out of nowhere.
- Mendick Hill - from the golf course road
As the road veers to the right, there is a signpost indicating the route to the hill is to the left of the house
- Signpost as the track starts the old roman road route
- Take the left, along the track, with the trees to the right
The path, which runs along the line of the old Roman road, is pretty straight (strange eh?)
- Path is pretty straight - trees between the course and the track were full of crows
There's a small kink that takes you across the old bridge over the West Water burn. That's good, because it offers a really good view of the hill.
- one of several gates along the route - this one over the old bridge at the kink
The path continues straight ahead through a crossroads
- Crossroads across the track to South Slipperfield
The last of the gates is a few hundred yards after Hardgatehead cottage, at a small cops of trees on the right of the track
- Last gate....after Hardgatehead
There is a sign just after the gate, so it's easy to follow its pointer alongside the treeline through some slightly boggy bits before coming to end of the trees.
- There it is....up there
There are some more marshy bits to navigate before starting upwards. The path isn't particularly clear, but you can just about make enough of it out to follow it diagonally across the hill, so that the final ascent is from the south.
- Unclear path
- Mrs IMOT gets there....in her own time
Views from the trig point are fantastic. We had a great day for it, so could see for miles in all directions. There is a nice memorial bench near to the trig – offering great views toward the rest of the Pentlands.....and to sit and have a nice cuppa, of course.
- Trig - with Black Mount and Tinto behind
- View across to the Borders
- View of the more recognisable Pentlands
- View of Broughton Heights????
We took a peek over the eastward track – it looked to be a more direct route back to the car, but looked a bit steeper and we weren't sure how boggy it would be at the bottom. We had loads of time, so decided to return the way we came.
It's not the highest marylin, it's not the most sexy to look at....but with sunny, cold weather, it was a great little hill to walk and had terrific views to take in. So please don't forget about it – it's a grand way to spend a few hours.
If you have more time to spend, then Black Mount, just a few miles further down the A702 to Dolphinton/Dunsyre, is likely to be worth adding