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At long, long last we managed to 'offically' hit the hills after Queen Nicola granted us permission. The plan was to tackle the same round yesterday but the thought of gusty winds up to 50mph was not very appealing so we delayed it for 24 hours.
For anyone who hasn't visited or done the Dun Rig horseshoe it really is a cracking walk and excellent training for the bigger hills that are on the horizon for us.
We arranged to meet at the start for 8am and were on our way early as we were all itching to get going.
Parking layby
The way ahead, we opted to do the round clockwise
Picturesque river to cross, nice sturdy bridge to save getting wet feet
George romping along
Looking back
The western end of Peebles as we gained a bit of height
Looking SW
George still leading the way
The ascent is fairly gradual but does last quite a while and the path / track makes for an 'almost' enjoyable ascent.
Lovely green rolling hills in this area
A good track for the initial ascent, the bog kicks in after the first summit
Looking back we came over the undulating lumps
First summit of 4, Birkscairn Hill
The way ahead
Tommy's dog Max reluctant to pose on the cairn
Big rounded lumps
As usual the fences assist with navigation
Path was now getting boggy, with worse to come
Looking back
Still going up - Dun Rig would be the next summit and the high point of the walk
Great visibility
Fence to clamber over, luckily not topped with barbed wire
Still going up
Reluctant to face the camera
Trig on Dun Rig
Max posing on the trig
The way ahead, the worst of the bogginess would soon appear
One for the trig lovers
After Dun Rig you have to head SW over the boggy ground as the direct route would involve losing rather a lot of height over less than friendly terrain.
Dun Rig is on the right and the way ahead and up is on the left
A bit more descending then more ascending
This shot gives you a better view of why you head SW before heading north up Glenrath Heights
After the small cairn on Glenrath Heights, the sting in the tail is the descent/ascent/descent/ascent across to Stob Law and then back again
The strange thing is Stob Law is just about the smallest hill around, but stands on it's own
Looking north
The start of the ascent up Stob Law
George enjoying the penultimate ascent
Here it is the massive cairn on top of Stob Law - well worth all the effort and the detour
On the final push back up to the top of Broom Hill, except we cut the corner to meet up with the fence and the last of the bog before the final descent
Peat hags were actually fairly dry, not that we fancied testing them out
Back alongside the fence
Way ahead is fairly obvious
A trig especially for Parminder, so he can take his camera out for the second time. The trig is on Hundleshope Heights
Plenty of evidence of heather recovering after a burning session
The motorway downhill, still a fair distance to go as Peebles can be seen in the distance
This contraption appears on the descent - any suggestions?
The line across the glen is a wall, definitely wouldn't have fancied building that
The final descent back down to the main track out
Looking back up, our resident teenager (Parminder) in his usual position
George nearly at the bottom
The easy stroll back to the vehicles
Wouldn't fancy cutting the hedge, one layer of barbed wire is bad enough
Camera photo zoomed, Lomond Hills in Fife in the far distance
Another camera photo of Peebles Hydro and the surrounding area from on high
Really enjoyed the day and we are gradually getting our hill fitness back. The time has come to maybe get back amongst the big boys again and get Parminder nearer his final goal. We were hoping to have a good bagging year but the recent events have certainly amended any thoughts of nearing compleation this year. As usual a huge thanks to my walking buddies for the great company and banter. Parminder has 2 new trigs to add to his little but growing list.
