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A Borders trio from Fruid

A Borders trio from Fruid


Postby Robertgee » Tue May 29, 2018 7:34 pm

Donalds included on this walk: Cape Law, Erie Hill , Garelet Dod

Date walked: 23/05/2018

Time taken: 6 hours

Distance: 13.5 km

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2018-05-23 @ 08-48-32.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



Another beautiful day was forecast, so this time I set out to do the last of my Donalds in the Borders. I opted to start from Fruid, rather than Talla...didn't really fancy the tough climb up Garelet Hill. :lol:

04-Fruid Reservoir looking to Hart Fell.jpg
Fruid Reservoir and Hart Fell from starting point near Fruid Farm


I set off from the parking place near Fruid Farm, walking back along the road for a bit. I soon came to a gate, beyond which was a good atv track leading all the way to Capilus Hill.

14-Erie Hill from Capilus Hill.jpg
Erie Hill...living up to it's name today


16-Garelet Dod from Capilus Hill.jpg
Garelet Dod from Capilus Hill


Then soon after the steep climb of Erie Hill. Erie Hill lived up to it's name, as lots of mist was coming & going all around it's summit. The more easterly hills from here were unseen from Erie Hill, due to them being covered in thick low cloud.

29-Fruid Reservoir and Capilus Hill.jpg
Fruid Reservoir and Capilus Hill from climb up Erie Hill


30-Culter Hills.jpg
View to the distant Culter Hills


33-Over Speir Gairs to Great Hill from Erie Hill.jpg
Over Speir Gairs to Great Hill from Erie Hill


This mist & cloud soon cleared away as I made my way to Common Law, then Garelet Dod. All brilliant nice easy walking on dry ground, following atv tracks & paths. A great change to some of the bogs & peat hags that I've been putting up with lately while climbing the Donalds. :D

51-Mist spilling over Molls Cleuch Dod.jpg
Mist spilling over Molls Cleuch Dod into the Gameshope Valley


61-Over Common Law to Erie Hill from Speir Gairs.jpg
View back over Common Law to Erie Hill from Speir Gairs


65-Fruid Reservoir and Tinto from Garelet Dod.jpg
Fruid Reservoir from Garelet Dod


68-Over Din Law to Hart Fell from Garelet Dod.jpg
Over Din Law looking toward Hart Fell, with a few remaining snow patches in May!


From Garelet Dod it was past Ellers Cleuch, over the minor top of Din Law & onward to Cape Law, my final summit of the day.

81-Ellers Cleuch.jpg
Ellers Cleuch


91-Fruid Reservoir and the Culter Hills from Din Law.jpg
Fruid and the Culter Hills from Din Law


98-Cape Law from Din Law.jpg
Next (& last hill of the day), Cape Law from Din Law


Despite Cape Law being a large flat summit, there were brilliant views all around, especially of the surrounding Moffat Hills & out toward the Clyde Valley. :clap:

105-Fruid Reservoir and Culter Hills from Cape Law.jpg
Fruid and the Culter Hills from Cape Law


107-View back over Garelet Dod to Erie Hill from Cape Law.jpg
Garelet Dod from Cape Law


114-Under Saddle Yoke from Cape Law.jpg
Under Saddle Yoke


115-Nether Coomb Craig from Cape Law.jpg
Nether Coomb Craig's sheer cliffs


I decided to return to Fruid Farm by descending down Strawberry Hill...sounded like a nice place to go. :D This meant retracing my route back to Garelet Dod. To make things slightly easier I contoured around Din Law, & only climbed a little way up Garelet Dod, before contouring around this also to pick up another good atv track down to Strawberry Hill.

142-Fruid Reservoir from Strawberry Hill.jpg
Great views of Fruid Reservoir from here


The atv track then took me straight back down to Fruid Farm & the car. A wonderful day in the Border Hills. 8)

151-Fruid Reservoir.jpg
Back at Fruid
Robertgee
Walker
 
Posts: 81
Munros:104   Corbetts:39
Fionas:32   Donalds:89
Sub 2000:147   Hewitts:36
Wainwrights:38   Islands:60
Joined: Dec 5, 2015

Re: A Borders trio from Fruid

Postby thedonalds » Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:41 pm

Some information for you about Strawberry Hill. The local castle-owning family in Fruid and Tweedsmuir were the Frasers of Oliver and I read some time ago that the naming of Strawberry Hill may have come from their family crest. The website http://www.ajbhope.net/frasers-of-oliver/ offers the following;

"The Frasers came from France and the name, like most others, had various spellings including Fresel, Fressell, Frisel, Frizel, etc. It is said that the name Fraser is in fact a corruption of the French fraise the word for strawberries. It is this that has led to the notion that the cinquefoils (in the family crest) represent the strawberry, in particular the wild strawberry flower"
thedonalds
Walker
 
Posts: 88
Munros:22   Corbetts:7
Fionas:22   Donalds:87+48
Sub 2000:24   
Islands:26
Joined: Oct 13, 2017

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