free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Not sure how to draw 2 maps so I have improvised - I did move the car along the road a wee bit to tackle Whitehope Law.
Been itching to get out, but 'man flu' and a few busy weeks have interfered with any outdoor plans and this weekends good forecast was too good to miss out on.
I had earmarked these two hills for a while and after doing my usual searching for routes that fitted in with my plans, I uploaded a couple of routes - thanks to malky c & wjshaw2.
As the start point was less than an hours drive I had a bit of a lie-in and left home at 7.45am, I opted to tackle Windlestraw Law. I knew there was a track and as there was a heavy dew on the ground, my feet may stay drier for longer
As it transpired although my boots were wet on the outside my feet were actually dry
Looking south
Looking back to the car
Looking SE
Going up following the ATV track, early morning dew making the grass rather damp
Grouse butt as I entered the low cloud
Not the most exciting summit
Some sort of wind monitoring contraption and Sky TV of course
Looking south and the sun is burning up the cloud
Heading down, the path can be seen in the distance looking rather wet
Easy descent
Short walk along the road before heading through a gate & then uphill
Looking NW
Looking back down towards the road
Any suggestions as to what this is used for, was in the middle of nowhere - literally
I am reliably informed this is a "crow trap"
There had to be at least one wind farm, I was in the Borders after all
The massive summit cairn for Whitehope Law, not sure how those stones even got there unless someone came up with a spade and dug some up
Looking west, same wind farm
Looking south
For the wind farm lovers, another one zoomed
Followed this ATV track down initially, then traversed north
Not much I can say about the hills, the views were typical Borders, the routes I opted for were obviously direct - well that was the theory. Windlestraw has a track that can take you two thirds of the way to the summit, Whitehope is the opposite, if you opt for the direct route (like I did) there is no path just lovely knee deep tufty grass - great for descending and far from ideal for ascending. Both hills were less than 2 hours up and down (each) which I was pleased with. Bottom line that is another 2 Donalds in the bag. I wasn't going to post the report, but thought someone may be interested in the direct routes
Next on the horizon is another visit nearby to tackle another 4 Donalds, hopefully this week. I need to keep my fitness up, as another visit to Mull is imminent for Chris's compleation
