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A stormy weekend forecast, especially for Saturday night. Where, oh where would we go? The west looked like it was going to be particularly wet, but the Borders looked fairly good until Saturday afternoon, so I got down to some plotting. It's a while since we've ventured down the way for hills, but I remembered there was a cluster of five hills around Ettrick that I had once drawn up a - fairly crazy - continuous route for - if I remember correctly it was about 33km and involved lots of journeying through forestry. So maybe we'd just do them as single hills
Drove down on Thursday afternoon as usual - decided to camp along by the Meggat Water, a spot we've used a number of times now. The mercury was dropping swiftly, from a balmy 9 degrees when we lest Greenock to hover around zero as we got to Capercleuch. Ice on the road. But a clear, calm night. After putting the tent up, amused myself by taking a few long exposures under an almost full moon. A cold night followed - another case of frozen tent syndrome in the morning, with the car registering -3.5, had undoubtedly been lower than that during the night. Hot sausage sandwiches were welcome for breakfast, then we set off along the road for our first challenges.
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The Wiss and Turner Cleuch Law sit across the road from each other. I'd drawn a gentle route that headed up the long shoulders of each, but on second thoughts I'd also drawn a quick one, half the length, that went up and down more steeply. It was turning into a beautiful morning, bright sun, no clouds in the sky and a crispness in the air. We parked beside a cattle grid, just below Turner Cleuch Law. It seemed reasonable to head up there first - we could see an ATV track running up the grassy flanks and were able to follow this almost to the summit. A bracing morning leg stretcher. Good views from the top, some licks of snow on the taller Manor Hills.
The Wiss
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Turner Cleuch
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Back down the same way then across the road, following a fence line, across a wee burn, past the circular sheepfold and up Carson's Cleuch, following a sheep track. This made for steady going, nothing too taxing. We crossed the fence where the fences join and followed a faint path to the trig column. Not a bad hill, especially on a day like this. As Allison spent almost all of her "Donalding" days under clag, rain and mist, the good weather was a minor revelation.
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We descended by the same route and headed back to the car. What next? We had Law Kneis to do, the longest of the routes, and one I didn't fancy leaving til Saturday with the prospect of having to walk for miles into strong winds. So we drove along towards Ettrick. I'd decided to route this one from the north, after reading some horror stories about difficulties getting through the trees on a more direct approach. So we drove along to Honey Cottage campsite, parked in a small parking area just before the narrow bridge (i had to reverse over the bridge having failed to see the sign) and sat having lunch.
We walked along the road to Annelshope Farm, cut over the stream on a small bridgelet and forced our way through a couple of fields. Ahead of us, on the hillside were trees! The map said that this way was tree-free...one of the disadvantages of using 20 year old OS maps I guess. The appearance of the trees threw me a bit - were we going to have a jungle fight on our hands this way too? We found a promising track, which promptly ran out into some trees - young plantings. Fortunately there were good animal tracks leading the way and we headed over Annelshope Hill, picking up a forestry track just before it met more dense forestry. We followed this for a bit, then it too ceased to be. A brief push through trees, following a drainage ditch, brought us to the boundary fence/wall, which we followed to the summit. A small cairn was not the highest point, which seemed to be an unmarked tussock about 200 metres further along.
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Trees are not meant to be here
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Law Kneis
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We retraced our steps to the start of the forest, but we'd noticed what seemed to be a way through the trees from up high and took this - miraculously it brought us back out to the track, which we followed back down to the start. It would be an easier, if slightly longer route to use our return leg for both out and back.Passed a very friendly pony in the farm field and noticed they also had a diverse collection of birds - peacocks, white doves and the fattest geese I've ever seen.
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Returned to the car - decided to spend the night at Honey Cottage - the site is open, but with a bare minimum of facilities. We pitched in a sheltered spot and hoped for a relatively calm night. However it was only 3.45 and the day was still sunny - time for another hill
Cacra Hill was just a couple of miles away from the campsite and had a track marked at least some of the way up.
We parked by the beginning of the forestry track and set off, pleased to find the track marked on the map has been extended, almost to the summit. A lot of very recent plantings here - in fact the summit is peppered with new trees in a 6" baby stage just now, but won't be like that for long...We returned by the same route and drove back to the tent to get the tea on, reflecting on a productive day. The weather started to break in the evening, the wind occasionally howled, the rain rained and I slept badly.
Cacra Hill - start of the track
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New plantings at the summit
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Saturday morning was a bit wet to start, though dried up fairly soon. Packed up the tent, deciding that we'd just head home after today's hills and not try and brave the storm to come - weaklings
Ward Law was just along the road from the campsite - we parked where the map indicates parking and walked back along the road, finding a way up the steep hillside behind a farm cottage. Steep but firm short grass up Ramseycleuch Hill then onwards towards the large cairn summiting Ward Law. The wind was beginning to strengthen - there was a stile to be climbed to stand beside the cairn and Allison was apprehensive about being blown off
We decided to take an alternate route down, keeping out of the wind as much as possible, but this did involve some adventuring around the Thirlestane Burn. A wee walk back along the road to the car, crows flapping in the wind, looking like they were having fun.
Ward Law
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We headed along to the James Hogg memorial a short distance along the road to Ettrick. Standing by the monument, we can hear what - at first sound - I took to be a wood pigeon but Allison maintained was an owl. And indeed it was a large long eared owl in a small aviary, hooting at us. Poor creature.
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Hogg Memorial
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We lunched in the car and headed home - but the hills were not finished with - I'd thought we could have a short walk up Goseland Hill, between Broughton and Biggar, and if time and wind permitted, Lamington Hill, south of Biggar, on the way home.
Goseland is a very quick up and down - we parked on the east side of Goseland Farm, where there's plenty of room for a couple of cars and just headed straight up the hillside, joining a farm track after a time. Good views over to Dollar Law et al. The wind blew behind us, giving us definite assistance uphill, which was welcome. It was very windy indeed at the top,
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Over to Dollar Law
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Back the same way and on, through Coulter to a car park beside Lamington Church. This hill involved a road walk (there's no parking available further into the Baitlaws Estate) then walking around the estate buildings and through a sheep field onto the hillside. A reasonable track follows the Bottom Burn along to some trees, an ATV track then heads up the hillside for about half the way before you have to leave it and press on uphill - again on short, firm grass. Even windier up here than on our last hill. Good views over to neighbouring Tinto. I decided to head down over the exposed back of the hill, enjoying the elements, although this did mean walking at a funny angle, bent into the teeth of the wind.
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Tinto
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