Devil's Beef Tub and Hart Fell

Sunday 26th May 2024

After spending the night in the Moffat Independent Hostel, I made my way back into the centre of the delightful town of Moffat, which I have fond memories of visiting for the first time last year while on the Southern Upland Way and prompted me to return to the area this year. There are many fabulous hills near Moffat that I wanted to visit and for this walk I was heading up to the Devil’s Beef Tub, a deep, dramatic hollow on the western edge of the Moffat Hills where stolen cattle used to be hidden. My route out of Moffat followed the Annandale Way beside the River Annan on a good footpath lined with trees and woodland plants. Later the good path disappeared and I was left to struggle through mud as, although it wasn’t raining at this point, thanks to the overnight rain the ground was very wet while the overhanging vegetation was dripping with water which presented me with a problem in staying dry while brushing past broom flowers. When I moved away from the River Annan I had a peaceful walk along a quiet road that was lined with many flowers including yellow poppies until eventually I came off onto a track that slowly climbed the western side of the valley and provided me with views towards the hills that I would soon be walking over. Rain was forecast for later in the day but I wished the weather was going to stay like this so I would be able to enjoy those hills.

At this point I was sheltered from the wind and there were breaks in the clouds which made for great walking but dark clouds were already beginning to appear from the west and heralded the deterioration in the weather. As the path underfoot became wetter, the clouds overhead grew darker and by the time I passed over Ericstane Hill it had started to rain which prompted me to hastily put on my waterproofs and soon I reached a road that skirts the edge of the Devil’s Beef Tub. However, I was not able to get a good view into the hollow from there so I continued along the Annandale Way, a short distance along the road and up to the top of Annanhead Hill where a trig point marked the summit. The heavy rain had proven to be short-lived, but it wasn’t long before the rain returned in brief bursts before finally leaving me for a while. This left me with a rather dull walk along a grassy ridge with poor views ahead of me due to low-lying clouds and into the hollow due to the edge of the escarpment being some distance away from the path. With hindsight and better weather I may have moved away from the path to get a proper glimpse of the Devil’s Beef Tub but I never did and instead I kept beside a fence that crossed below the top of Great Hill where I may have obtained good views into the hollow.

The wet, grassy ridge undulated gently with the best views south down Annandale where the sun appeared to be shining while dark clouds lingered over the hills and threatened rain but for a time held off while the views north were uninspiring across the vast gathering grounds of Cor Water and the source of the River Tweed. I stopped for lunch on Chalk Rig Edge and the relentless, uninteresting walk continued over Whitehope Height before finally descending painfully steeply to a deep saddle where an equally steep rise brought me to my highest hill on this walk: Hart Fell. Even after the gradient eased I still had a long distance to go and before I reached the summit clouds had enveloped me and it started to rain. The trig point that marks the summit was protected by a fence that could not be crossed so I ignored it and continued along the clear path that branched right when the fence turned left. However, I soon realised that I had intended on staying beside the fence so I could stay on top of the ridge for as long as possible and not start to descend until after I had passed over Swatte Fell, but since it was raining I decided it would be better to get off the hill as soon as possible and followed the clear path that descended over Arthur’s Seat.

After the rain stopped and I emerged out of the clouds I had a relaxing walk off the hills and after passing through young woodland I reached the road at the bottom of the valley. Now I had a long walk ahead of me along the road, which was potentially tedious, but no more so than on the grassy ridge and possibly more interesting as it was the same road I had been on earlier and so it was beautifully decorated with wild flowers. I retraced my steps back to the River Annan which provided me with a great way to end the walk all the way back into Moffat. I had not been sure if I would reach the top of Hart Fell on this walk due to the bad weather so I was glad that I did reach the top even though the weather had deteriorated by that point. I had a very long walk to the hills and back again that was very relaxing and far more interesting than the actual walk over the hills where the views were limited and where there was a lack in variety to the vegetation.

Grey Mare's Tail and White Combe

Saturday 25th May 2024

My Scotland holiday this year saw a lot of changes during the planning, which began while I was walking across the Southern Uplands last year from Portpatrick on the west coast of Scotland all the way across the country to Cockburnspath on the east coast. This took me through an area I'd never walked in before and in fact is an area that is ignored by most people as they rush north towards the Highlands. I was particularly impressed with the area around the town of Moffat so I was soon making plans to return with my car, initially at Easter and then I realised it would be even better if I spent a few days in Moffat on my way to the Highlands at the end of May. However, as my plans for the Highlands of Scotland developed they took over the holiday with a long distance trail that I couldn’t do while taking my car, so the Southern Uplands was dropped from the plan. But then at Easter this year I had a bad experience while camping in Dartmoor that led me to rethink my plans for this year and the Southern Uplands was back on the schedule as I reverted to my original plan for this holiday and I was more than happy about that.

First thing in the morning I drove up the M6 motorway past the Howgill Fells where I had been just a few weeks earlier and at the next impressive range of mountains I turned off to pass through the town of Moffat and up the road that passes below the mountains that look down on Moffat Dale. At the National Trust for Scotland car park I stopped at the foot of Grey Mare's Tail, which is a common name for a waterfall in Scotland with two passed by on the West Highland Way, one in Glen Falloch and another above Kinlochleven, but the one in Moffat Dale is the tallest and most famous. After a frustratingly long time getting myself ready I finally set off along the path that soon brought me over the Tail Burn where I had a restricted view of Grey Mare's Tail in the distance. The path continued by climbing steeply up the northern bank where I was afforded with better views of the waterfall before reaching the stream above the falls. The cloudless skies that had accompanied me during my drive north were now long gone but occasional breaks in the clouds enabled me to take some pictures of my surroundings while a brisk wind coming off the hills kept me cool.

Loch Skeen appeared suddenly after a turn in the Tail Burn revealing a tremendous scene of the lake surrounded by mountains that had drawn many people up the path past the falls to survey this wondrous scene. The manufactured path continued briefly beside the loch before fading with several narrow paths heading up into the heather, one of which I eagerly took to climb above Loch Skeen, but the path soon disappeared to leave me floundering in the heather. On a shallow rise I came across a clear path heading north that followed the top of a ridge called the Causey and provided me with a good route across the peat except when it descended into the morass in the col between Watch Knowe and Loch Craig. The route I had downloaded on the OS Map app included diversions to all the tops in the area, including Watch Knowe, but with no path there and almost a reversal of my steps back it was soon clear to me that this was a waste of effort and distracted my attention from the awesome views across Loch Skeen and towards White Combe.

A fence came alongside me on the low ridge but left me to find my own way across the peat bogs that blocked my way in the col and was still there on the other side when I rejoined it to continue heading uphill veering right around Loch Craig before the gradient steepened. Above Loch Craig I found an elegant cairn, but it was so windy at that point I turned around and headed north across the fence to reach the actual highest point on Lochcraig Head, just over eight hundred metres above sea level, although no cairn marked the spot. Lochcraig Head is not classed as a Corbett because the col to White Combe is not deep enough, but it is deep enough to be a wearisome descent and reascent as I crossed the grassy slopes over the saddle and back up the other side to Firthybrig Head. From this point I had a relaxing stroll in mixed sunshine with little change in the gradient on firm grass past the imperceptible rise of Donald's Cleuch Head and up to Firthhope Rig. The route I had downloaded from the OS Map app would have had me branching off to bag Mid Craig and Great Hill but I had learnt my lesson by this point and kept to the top of the ridge which provided me with a relaxing walk.

Just before I reached the top of Firthhope Rig I turned left at a fence junction to cross a broad saddle and up to the top of White Combe, the highest point in the Moffat Hills. The flat top restricted my views so I wandered around to get a better look at the surrounding hills and across Moffat Dale, but it was so windy I soon made my way back to the summit cairn and from there I made my way down beside a broken wall over Rough Crags and back to the Tail Burn. After a tricky crossing I was back on the tourist-filled path to the car park where a glorious descent in sunny weather enabled me to better appreciate the waterfalls than in the morning during my ascent when it had been cloudy. It was great to climb a mountain again and especially to have the opportunity to do so on the first day of my holiday in Scotland which is usually taken up with travelling up there. It is a shame I downloaded the wrong route onto the OS Map app as the route I actually did matched the one in the Cicerone guide. The weather was mixed with variable sunshine and strong winds but it was great compared with the rest of the holiday and made for a good walk.

Dales High Way: Asby Scar

Monday 6th May 2024

On my last day on the Dales High Way I woke at the Low Greenside Farm Campsite after a good night’s sleep and set off back to the village of Newbiggin-on-Lune where I resumed my walk. I had set myself an ambitious target over the Bank Holiday weekend of completing the Dales High Way which I had started at Easter last year but abandoned when I reached the town of Settle, which left me with fifty-three miles to do, but after doing twenty miles on the trail on each of my two previous days I was now left with just thirteen miles to do, which felt like an easy day for me with none of the high hills that I had encountered during the previous two days. Initially I followed a road out of Newbiggin-on-Lune before branching off to steadily climb over Ravenstonedale Moor soon joining the route of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk although in the opposite direction to the usual west to east. Despite overcast skies there was hardly any wind so it felt quite warm, which made for pleasant walking as I made my way slowly over the moor keeping a wary eye on the clouds that looked like they may contain a lot of rain. After a short stretch of road walking I turned left into an area rich in wild flowers most commonly wood anemones and purple-flowering orchids.

 

 

After coming off the Coast to Coast route the path brought me up onto the vast limestone plateau of Asby Scar where I took the advice of the guidebook and came off the path to climb to a cairn where I could survey the fabulous scene around me. The distant views were murky so the promised Lakeland Fells could not be seen, but what I could see was the limestone pavement covering a vast area with woodland plants growing in the gaps, known as grikes, between the rocky slabs. Dog’s mercury was the most abundant to be found but also growing there was wild garlic and wood anemones with orchids sitting out of the grikes and distributed throughout the range. This was a delight, but for reason I soon made my way back down onto the path until finally I came to my sense and realised I had plenty of time to linger so I climbed back onto the limestone pavement to wander around and gaze in awe at the enthralling sight, including the plants growing in the grikes. 

 

 

Eventually I returned to the path and reluctantly headed north off Asby Scar, leaving a piece of my heart behind until eventually I passed through Clockeld Farm and onto a road. The rest of the walk was a prolonged anti-climax that could not compete with the captivating limestone pavement that had so captured my heart. The road walking took me through the village of Great Asby until I reached Howe Slacks where I began to walk beside the river Hoff Beck, which was a mixed experience with highs in the many wild flowers I came across including bluebells and wood anemones, but all too often I was walking through an endless succession of grassy fields that made the walking seem to drag. The moments of woodland flowers were brief but delightful while the waterfall of Rutter Force made me stop for a moment before continuing out of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, through the tiny community of Hoff and past an abundant display of wild flowers near Bandley Bridge. 

 

 

I finally left Hoff Beck at the bridge and on climbing a grassy field I beheld the town of Appleby, my finishing point, with the Pennine range lurking in the shadows behind and High Cup Scar a notable feature in the skyline. This weekend was a fabulous experience that seemed to get better with each day. Near the start, on Saturday while climbing Ingleborough, I had questioned whether to abandon the Dales High Way again, but I had kept going until everything changed when the clouds lifted while traversing the Howgill Fells and provided me with a thoroughly enjoyable walk off the hills. It often felt like it was going to rain on this walk, but it actually waited until after I reached Appleby and despite overcast skies the walking was fabulous as I relished the chance to do some long, though tiring walks across hilly terrain.