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Saturday 10th April 2010 - just me and the dogs
We had only done one hill to date in Galloway (Merrick) so we took the opportunity to explore the eastern side of the forest park.
Having read online reports we took the forest track heading WNW past Fore Bush. There are signs directing walkers to the hill - how could we go wrong? The turn-off from the main track is no longer a path but another forest track. This crosses the Folk Burn and what turned out to be the last sign is uprooted beside it. We continue along the track for another couple of hundred metres and it stops. Uh oh, no sign of a path. We continue N along one grassy firebreak and then W on a wider grassy firebreak to the forest edge. There is a stile, but it's half-rotten, shoogly and the top strand is barbed wire with a disintegrating bit of wood attached as protection. There is a goat skeleton nearby. I have a 48kg German Shepherd with me with no chance of me getting her over this. Where is the gate the reports mention? We resort to heading south for a bit until we find a gap under the fence that Honey can squeeze through.
Afterwards I look at Google Maps - the yellow is the track and we took the red route. Looking at the 1:25k OS get-a-map I think the blue route should have been the path we took.
Anyway crisis past and we head up the slopes of Polmaddy Gairy. We meet a couple of guys on the E cairn of Corserine before we head over to the trig point.
Click here for QuickTime panoramaMerrick
Arran
Lamachan Hill, Cairnsmore of Fleet and the Isle of Man
Lake District
Honey
We head SSE along the grassy ridge that goes by the name the Rhinns of Kells over Millfire, Milldown and up to Meikle Millyea. The dogs take the opportunity of a dunk in the Lochans of Auchniebut
Panorama from Meikle Millyea.
Tess has a belly slide
We spot a herd of feral goats near the top. We head down Meikle Lump and spot a high-grade crossing stile and gate at NX 53473 83805
We soon reach the forest track and head back to the car past the watch tower and down "Prof. Hans Heiberg Drive", with another dunk in the burn on the way.