Seven Fife Marilyns...in a day

[Sgurr]

This is the third time I have done this round, one in April 2017 http://www.scottishhills.com/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=20732&highlight=seven+seventy+seven
And the second last year
http://www.scottishhills.com/html/modules.php?name=Trip_Report&topicid=24697
I thought it unlikely I would try it again given that we have so many unclimbed Wainwrights, but what with R breaking his hip and catching Covid 19 and unlikely to be able to do the bigger hills yet, I thought I should try to see if doing a 10,000 fit-bit walk every day had managed to maintain my fitness, and was quite pleased to find that age 81 was not slower than 80

Benarty 50 minutes (2.4 miles 651 feet)
West Lomond 2 hours 7 mins (4.2 miles 781 feet)
East Lomond 42 minutes (0.9 miles 289 fee
Cairnie Hill 1 hour (2 miles 482 feet)

Normans Law 57 minutes (1.2 miles 430 feet)
Mount Hill 1 hour (2 miles 505 feet)
Largo Law 1 hour 35 mins. (1.9 miles 718 feet)
Total distance=14.6 miles Ascent=3856 feet. Total time 7 hours 54 mintes (I think, my adding is weak)
R drove me the 100 miles, which isn’t bad for someone who broke a hip on April 1st and then got Covid 19
Below, my chauffeur. It's lovely having a chauffeur, as I don't need to keep changing my footwear, and I can eat going along.


Altogether I spent 3.5 hours in the car and 7 hours 54 minutes walking.
Apparently the picture I had posted as a “Weather Watcher “ picture had appeared on the early news around the time we had set off (6.15 am)


We whizzed past West Lomond, looking much more formidable from this angle.(Photo taken from car window)


Parked at the back end of of Benarty (for grid refs, see the first report) and only saw one dog walker.


West Lomond was hardly busier and I saw a jogger and a walker before reaching the summit where people were hang gliding Only two families and five solos before I got back.


Things were hotting up on East Lomond. It is just the hill for beginners and I met a lovely three year old who had walked all the way up without a carry on the summit.


I’ve only once met anyone on Cairnie Hill, and today was no exception, but sitting in the car below, R met a walking couple from Perth whose hobby was walking along old railways or as near to possible to ones that are in use. There’s no Cairn or trig for a selfie here.


Norman’s Law is usually busy, but although I saw a couple on the summit when I started , they must have come the longer way, and I met nobody going up or down. R ventured as far as the wood hoping to find some of the butterflies that were there on our last visit, but he saw none, and I saw only a dead one.


At Mount Hill, the farmer has padlocked the gate where people usually park, so R just sat in the car parked across it while I squeezed around it. The gates in the wood are padlocked as well, leaving no doubt that they want you to follow the marked track circling the monument. I went up that way, but got up and climbed gates and fences on a shorter return. Again I saw nobody.


A cross country drive saw us in Upper Largo. R wandered round picking blackberries while I climbed the hill. The horses here are very well kept. The path is even more eroded than I remembered it…the price for a lock-down early summer without rain I suspect. Here I am looking whacked. I saw nobody except the owner and her little girl feeding the horses.


Below, R took a photo of me looking smug as I reached the end. I wore the jacket throughout, though it was far too hot as I did without a rucksack and carried camera, phone, loo paper, drink and a tangerine in my pockets. My lightweight jacket doesn’t have enough.


Next morning, my alarm went off at the same time and I nipped out for another Weather Watcher Editor’s Pick.


These hills were singularly deserted compared with climbing some of them for R's rehab when we kept meeting people.
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=97923

[iangpark]

Seriously impressive stuff - and each time it becomes more impressive! Think my one-day-max is three so seven is daunting even for a 24 year old.

[Sgurr]

Thanks Ian. Hope I haven't locked myself into doing it every year, but as long as this Covid keeps going, and until husband's walking improves, may find myself doing it again

[thepigguy]

Excellent stuff. I'd been looking at something similar for my next trip south, but had reckoned five hills was my limit. I'd better buck up my ideas!

[Dave Hewitt]

Probably of interest to Sgurr and Clach Liath among others:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/1650997/hiker-becomes-first-to-bag-fifes-10-highest-peaks-in-a-single-day/

Good effort (and nice dog), but the timing and particularly the ascent figure both seem a bit odd. Looks like he did Marilyns and Humps - eg this thing:
http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=12896
is in Fife and is higher than a couple of his hills but it's just a Tump.

One of Sgurr's efforts for the seven Marilyns gave almost 4000ft overall - see above - whereas Ross C seems to reckon "a total height of 3700m". I suddenly thought - ah, he's just added up the actual height of the ten hills - but I've now done that too and even that only comes to 3358m. Hard to see where the quoted figure comes from unless he left the GPS running while in the car. It being tricky to climb them all within 24 hours also seems curious. I've never tried even the seven - and I've not even been on Lumbennie Hill as far as I recall - but in guesstimate / back of an envelope terms I think I'd expect to do the walking side of things in about 11 hours without any rush. Not sure how long the driving would take, not really being one for grand tours like this (or Twenty20 bagging as it's known in some quarters); would three hours be enough for that side of things?

[Sgurr]

My height estimate could be wrong. I just added up the sums got from running the cursor on the GPS planner here and adding them together. Not the most scientific of ways to do it. EDIT just had another go and it comes to 4062 feet..more because last time I didn't include any of the ascending bits in the descents.


Anyway however and whatever he did, it's a good effort. Maybe I should see if I can do his route next year.


Can't think that Saline and Knock would add more than an hour each. Did the Trigs and time between 1st and last photos was 1/2 hour for Knock. Thought I hadn't climbed Lumbennie, but it is so unmemorable I have, and it wasn't long at all.

EDIT again. Adding the 2 westernmost hills would add 34 mins onto my original driving route, while going round and adding in Lumbennie would add an extra 3.5 miles at the Cairnie Hill end. One might do the western hills together. Might go out and see if there are easier ways up them than I think, and have a shot next June.

[AileenRob]

Hi there, I'm a local newspaper reporter and would be keen to get in touch with you to ask you more about your hillwalking - I'm sure it would be an inspiration to others. Let me know if you'd like to share your story. Thanks, Aileen

[Sgurr]

Hi there, I'm a local newspaper reporter and would be keen to get in touch with you to ask you more about your hillwalking - I'm sure it would be an inspiration to others. Let me know if you'd like to share your story. Thanks, Aileen

Sent you a pm. Only just seen this.

[litljortindan]

Great going! Embarrassed to say that we got lost descending Benarty though on the plus side my wife said she quite enjoyed that. A few other hills there that we've not been on so we may return to continue our mocking of Fife though I suppose St Monan's cave will have been re-named by the time we are able to revisit.
Good choice of car too. I discovered I could get our Jazz from Turriff to Skye and back without having to stop for extra petrol. Not such an issue for your trip round Fife but still good to not have to think too much about fuel stops.