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Sub 2k Marilyns: Scald Law, Black Hill.
Date: 11/02/2017.
Distance: 11km.
Ascent: 580m.
Time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.
Weather: Grey, sleety, very windy.
Headed down to Edinburgh this weekend to see my sister, her partner and their new baby girl, so walking was never going to be that high on the agenda. However I decided that if I left Inverness early on Saturday I'd have time to squeeze in a quick couple of hills in the Pentlands before going over to their place.
I had a good 90 minutes to kill between getting off the train and finding the next bus to Biggar (which happened to pass by Silverburn and my starting point), so there was time to wander up Lothian Road in the miserable sleaty wind and find a café for a second breakfast. Sitting there and flicking through Facebook, it was a little frustrating to discover that the weather in the western highlands was bright and sunny!
Best thing about getting off the bus at the start of the walk was that there was no backing out. If I'd been in the car, there's a high chance that I might have sat around for 20 minutes or so before driving off again - it wasn't that pleasant, with strong gusts of wind even down in the village.
Start of the walk at Silverburn. Grain Hill and Scald Law ahead:
Walking towards the Sivlerburn Quarry, I was still in two minds as to which spur to go up. South Black Hill offered an obvious path so I opted for that. It became harder and harder to walk in the right direction as I got higher, and trying to stand still on the summit for a couple of photos was almost impossible. Still, there were some views, which is more than I had expected. My original plan had been to go out to Nine Mile Burn and wander over the Kips as well, but today was not really a day for staying on the skyline any more than necessary.
East and West Kip from South Black Hill:
There was a bit of a respite on the way up Scald Law, and in fact the wind wasn't quite as bad at the summit either. Bouncing down the ridge towards Carnethy Hill was enjoyable, but I decided to drop off the ridgeline at this point and head for Black Hill.
Scald Law summit - Carnethy Hill lurking behind:
Carnethy and Allermuir Hills:
Black Hill:
Carnethy Hill:
Across Black Hill to the western side of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth:
On the far side of the glen, I climbed steeply onto the flanks of Black Hill, but due to another blast of wind carrying icy sleet, I contoured around westwards to avoid walking into it. By the time the shower had passed, I was approaching Black Hill from a slightly unnecessary angle through deep heather.
Loganlee Reservoir:
Before long I had climbed a fence and picked up the last bit of the vehicle track to the summit. Rather like the more sprawling hills to the south, it isn't especially obvious which bit of peaty heather is the highest here.
Occasional spot of sunshine near the summit of Black Hill:
I followed a path down towards Den's Cleugh, cutting a corner at the end. I had stayed up high due to a slight improvement in the weather but I probably should've retraced my steps to the larger track as it was a bit squelchy underfoot. Another shower hit as I met the tarmac road at Glencorse Reservoir, and the wind-driven sleat didn't let up for the first half mile along the road, making the going down here even less pleasant than the breeziest section of ridge.
Glencorse Reservoir:
Finally the shower relented again and it was an easy walk down to the Flotterstone Inn. I had intended to walk all the way back to Roslin, but Laura's partner Kris drove up to meet me just outside the Flotterstone, saving another hour or so of walking - I was grateful for that!
The Pentlands are great as they are easily accessible without a car and there are so many different route possibilities in a short space. Looking forward to some more walks here in better weather
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