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It was a frost-free morning drive of one hour to park at the end of the public road beside the Manor Water. This is where the path to Megget Reservoir heads left to cross a footbridge over the river. There was plenty of parking space with no other cars there and still none when I returned four hours later.
- Car parking with signpost pointing the way to Meggat
It was to be a quiet day collecting the Donald Tops south of Black Law. I had learnt that to be considered a complete Donald compleatist I must visit all 140 summits, not just the main 89. Today was my third walk of the fourteen necessary to do so. My goal was to collect Deer Law and Conscleuch Head.
With the sun rising into a near cloudless sky I set off along the track to Megget with sheep quickly scattering from my path. Nearing the Thrashie Burn I headed directly uphill to contour below Black Law's SW top and hit the col between it and Conscleuch Head. I had thought about contouring past that top as well, but decided it was easier to follow the path and fence over its summit. Though both cols on the way to Deer Law had their marshy areas, only short diversions were needed to avoid them. On my return I walked along the other (east) side of the fence. Possibly that side is better than the west, but there wasn't much in it. It took one and a half hours to reach the summit of Deer Law which is marked by a monolith rather than a cairn.
- Deer Law summit looking towards Cramalt Craig and Dollar Law
Reversing my course to Conscleuch Head there was no summit marker at all. There isn't a clearly defined summit, but an undulating area with quite a few bumps competing for the title. I thought that the areas around NN 22038 26275 and NN 22037 26299 were both good candidates.
- On top of Conscleuch Head looking towards Black Law.
On my way to the SW top of Black Law I found a single small struggling conifer - the only one I saw all day at any height. If I return I must check to see if survives (NT 21814 27136).
- The struggling self-sown conifer
The SW top is not far from a bend in the fence near a fence junction and gate.
- On the SW top of Black Law looking towards the main summit.
- Cramalt Craig and Dollar Law from Black Law SW top
From there it is only a modest dip and slight rise to reach the small cairn marking Black Law's summit.
- Black Law summit looking towards Stob Law to Dun Rig
- Looking back at the SW top. This also shows the parallel grooves to the right of the fence.
I crossed the fence just after passing the cairn to find a puzzling set of parallel trenches about 3m apart had been 'ploughed' into the ground parallel to the fence. They cut through the peat/topsoil to the underlying harder subsoil. Aerial views in Google Earth and Bing show them following the fence down to Sting Burn in one direction and on past the summit of Black Cleuch Hill in the other to run beside the fence line down towards Langhaugh Burn. There are several short deviations from the fence, perhaps to bypass softer ground. The number of parallel scars varies from three to six, but for most of the six kilometres there are four or five.
- The col below Black Cleuch Hill with the parallel grooves plainly visible.
I've searched on-line for an explanation but found nothing. Nobody would carve grooves across the hills for amusement, so what is/was their purpose? I can't think of any reason for either forestry or wind farms to need them, and if cables or pipes had been ploughed into the ground the route doesn't make any sense. Does anyone know the answer?
From my last top of the day - Black Cleuch Hill - I got a better view of what appeared to be a new installation on top of the ridge between it and Dun Rig and about 0.5km beyond the col.
- Dun Rig from the summit of Black Cleuch Hill
- Maximum zoom on the new installation on Dun Rig - the white speck on the previous photo
It is next to the fence, a new east/west track leads past it, and a white van was parked beside the building and its radio(?) mast. It appears to be a permanent installation, and my best guess is that it is something to do with local communications as it appears too remote to be for general mobile phone use. I did wonder if a wind farm was about to appear thereabouts, but the Scottish Borders web site showing wind farm developments has nothing planned anywhere near the Manor Valley - Hurray!
From Black Cleuch Hill I headed west with the intention of descending Waddyside Rig down to Linghope Burn. As I did I found an ATV track and followed it instead, thinking it might give a better route. When I reached the line of grouse butts marked on the OS map I could see it continuing towards and over Langhaugh Hill, so I reverted to my original plan.
- The ATV track reaches the grouse butts and continues to Langhaugh HIll
- Heading down the line of grouse butts
A relatively easy descent past the line of butts took me down to and across the burn disturbing more sheep as I went. I headed for a bridge across the Manor Water marked on the 1:25,000 map (there are others that are not), found it did exist and was soon on the road.
- Crossing Manor Water
There I diverted to inspect a tall cairn I'd just spotted. Marked on the map it was erected in 1900 in memory of John Veitch by his friends.
- The cairn to John Veitch
Born near Peebles in 1929 he became a professor of Logic at Glasgow University, and was second President of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (1892-94). A well-constructed cairn with a memorial plaque, the sun came out to nicely highlight the lettering as I photographed it.
Though there was no snow ice or frost anywhere on my route and none visible on the surrounding hills, the wind chill made it feel colder than previous walks when there had been plenty, and I had been on the verge of putting on an extra layer. I even wore gloves for a time. A good day out, with added interest and an unanswered question.