5 Kildrummy TUmps - Strathdon

[Gordon Ballantyne]

Just Harvey and me as GordonC was confined to barracks wi a cauld ( maybe ).

Picked up H and drove to Mossat to park up where we parked in a layby for Ardhuncart Hill.


DRUMNAHIVE HILL

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Hopped over the gate into what I though was the field, but it turned out to be an old laydown area, so had to hop over another fence. Walked across the grass field to the S edge of the first strip of wood, then along the margin of a ploughed field to the gap in the next strip of wood. The ploughing operation had churned up the track through to the other side. Just round the corner was an abandoned ancient binder near a water tank.

The auld binder near top of Drumnahive

Wandered to the field boundary then along it until level with the spot height. Plodded across the ploughed field to the spot height then returned to the track by a more direct route. Forgot to take a pic at the spot height, so took one from the track when I remembered.

The top of Drumnahive in the ploo'd field

DRUMGOUDRUM HILL

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Parked up in the same spot as when I did Coiliochbhar a few years ago.

Parkup by the Don for Drumgoudrum

Walked up the zig-zag track to ruined hoosie, then kept on the track round the back to the crest of the ridge.

The ruined bothy by the track up Drumgoudrum

Decided to keep on the S side of the deer fence in case there was no gate higher up - but there was ! Followed animal tracks by the fence to where the track emerged from the fenced plantation and then continued along it to the top. Wandered around to find the spot hight, but previous forestry operations seemed to have thrown up some old stumps which made the ground there a wee bit higher than the spot height. I declared this the top !

Harvey posing at the top of Drumgoudrum

Great views across the Don to Morven and the likes.

Followed the track back down throught the two gates which had new chains - one secured by a wee karabiner but the other had an unused padlock hanging from the chain. I'm guessing that the farmer/shepherd doesn't use the padlock while he's actively using the gate.

More great views acros the Don to Morven on the way down.

Great view of the Don & Morven from Drumgoudrum

GLASCHUL HILL

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Parked just before the end of the beech trees on the main road.
Just as we were about to cross the road, an auld biddie in a 4x4 cruised slowly by, giving us the " where are you going to on my property " - look. Gave her a cheery wave, which forced her to grudgingly acknowledge.
Crossed the road into the trees following animal tracks in the space between two fences up to to the mature pines on to the track within the forest. Made a mistake by taking the first track along the edge of the wood. A section of the forest had been clear felled and fenced in with a new deer fence. The top wasn't far away, so I left Harvey guarding my hill-bag and climbed the fence, then blundered through the brash to the fence at the other side, climbed it beside the "cairn".
Off the deer fence, I managed to land on a strainer post of a BWF and jumped down on to the grass, rolling around like a landing paratrooper. The cairn was a mighty thing - more like an auld fort. Wandered around the field a wee bit - realising that a better route would have been to skirt the forestry plantation altogether via the grass fields instead of having to scale all these fences.

The fort-cairn near the top of Glaschul

Inside the cairn on Glaschul

Returned to H and hustled back to the car down the slidie leaves and beech nuts interspersing the wild hyacinth plants.




AITIONN & TRANCIE HILLS

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Drove round by Glenkindie to the cordoned off bridge over the Don, ignoring the signs.

Parkup for Aitionn and Trancie at the disabled brig o'er the Don

Walked along the side of a field of winter barley then over a gate to a grass field where the kye had churned up the ground. Followed the fence to the unremarkable top.

Harvey at the top of Aitionn

There were bonny looking white kye in the next field that could also graze in the summit field, through an open connecting gate, but they didn't notice us, thankfully or they may have come to investigate, creating a wee stooshie.
Returned to the car to finished my piece.

TRANCIE HILL
Instead of driving back to the bridge near Glenkindie, we walked across the disabled bridge and along the road to gain entry to a grass field that had only been half ploughed. At the top of the field I mosey'd left to what I thought was a gate, but it transpired to be a fence round the well. Surmounted the fence and walked up to the SE neuk of the forest where I'd spotted a gate. ( really missing GordonC's gate-spotting skills ) The lower larch plantation had a surrounding deer fence, but this rickety gate allowed us to bodyswerve all the top fences. Gained entry to the forest over a broken-down fence then followed a wee gap in the trees until intersecting a braw grassy track which ran up and over the top. Lounged around for a wee while as the gathering clouds foretold of impending rain.
( Its possible that the grassy track follows the limb of forestry down towards Trancie to the SE and may afford an easier route up this one )

The track over the top of Trancie through the trees

Reversed our upward route to the rickety gate, where I investigated a strange device buried in the ground. It looked like some form of metal box - type animal trap with a trapdoor on top held down with a concrete paving slab. Didn't seem to be any entry or exit below ground, so I left it - completely bewildered.

Headed to the W corner strainer post for an easier crossing of the fence and back down to the road, then over the seemingly intact reinforced concrete brig over the Don to the car.
Enough for the day - back hame, but nae coffee at Alford, as still in self-isolation. ( Harvey doesn't count )
This self-isolation shouldn't be too onerous, as long as we don't meet any coughing walkers with a temperature on the hill !