Glengaber Hill from Spango Bridge

Friday 7th June 2024

After almost two weeks in Scotland I was slowly making my way back home at the end of a holiday where the weather had been cold, wet and consistently very windy, but before I left Scotland I wanted to return to the Southern Uplands. I first walked through this area last year on the Southern Upland Way and I found a series of hills that although grassier and more rounded than those found in the Highlands, still has good scenery especially when it is sunny, which I had on this walk. At the start of the day I set off from Pitlochry, where I had spent the night, and drove south down the A9 eventually arriving at Spango Bridge, not far from the town of Sanquhar. There is a section of the Southern Upland Way that is an alternative to the main route and is used during the shooting season, which is later in the year so was not necessary when I was on the trail last year or on my return this year, but I had enjoyed the scenery in that area last year so I was keen to return and parked near Spango Bridge at the end of a particularly rutted farmer’s track. Also parked there were some minibuses waiting to collect teenagers undergoing the rigors of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and soon after I set off along the track I was passed by two groups of youths.

The rain that had accompanied me throughout my journey from Pitlochry seemed to have passed, so while plenty of clouds still lingered overhead I was hopeful that it would improve. Willowherb and thistle lined the track, though these are normally considered summer flowers, which indicated that spring was now passing and summer would soon begin. Eventually I reached a junction on the forestry track where the familiar thistle icon now appeared on top of wooden posts to mark the route of the Southern Upland Way on the Duntercleuch alternative. There was no change in the scenery, though blue sky now appeared overhead, until I emerged from the conifer plantation and began to descend into the valley of Wanlock Water. In the past this valley was a centre of lead mining and at the head of the valley is the village of Wanlockhead, the highest village in Scotland. Overlooking the village is Lowther Hill where a radar station dominates the scene and from four miles away I could see its huge golf ball like structure that prompted memories of my walk last year to come flooding back as the sun came out to illuminate the valley. After all the bad weather that I had suffered while in Scotland it felt wonderful to be walking in warm sunshine through a valley that had been a highlight of my walk last year on the Southern Upland Way.

A glorious walk through the valley of Wanlock Water brought me to the signpost that marks the main route of the Southern Upland Way as it comes down into the valley, so in amongst the remains of lead mining that used to be undertaken in this valley, I turned right to cross the river and retrace my steps up the side of the hill on a well-engineered path that slowly climbs Glengaber Hill. The grassy path took me over the hill and down into the valley of Cogs Burn passed the ruins of Cogshead, but of more interest to me was the word that appeared on the next signpost, ultreia, which indicates that ahead is the location of a kist, though not precisely where. There are many of these sculptured kists on the Southern Upland Way and inside is a hoard of hidden treasure, specially minted coins that you can collect if you can find the kist. When I passed through Cogshead last year I was unable to find the kist at Cogshead despite much searching so I was keen have another attempt now and walked up and down the track several times carefully hunting for it until eventually the location was given away by a plastic tub on the ground. The coins are often stored inside the kists in containers such as these and looking up I immediately saw the kist hidden away. Inside were some coins and the lid for the tub, however I didn’t take one as I already had a coin for Cogshead having found it at the next kist on the Eastern Lowthers. I returned the coins to the plastic tub and put that back into the kist before heading off along the Southern Upland Way happy to have found the kist.

I now resumed my walk by taking the alternative route of the Southern Upland Way, which branches off the main route at Cogshead, with lingering looks behind me of the isolated valley head as I followed the track slowly climbing out of the valley. In sunny, but windy, weather I had a relaxing walk along forestry tracks whose only obstacles were two locked gates that I had to climb over and eventually brought me back to my car. This was a lovely walk but a little too short, though that just meant I was able to spend time in Sanquhar looking around the Tolbooth Museum. The weather was good once the rain had cleared and I enjoyed the opportunity to revisit places that I had visited while on the Southern Upland Way last year, and especially finding the kist that I had failed to find before. The day after I started to do a walk up the Eastern Lowthers starting from the top of the Dalveen Pass, initially to look for the kist there as, although I found it last year, the coin I took away with me was actually the one for Cogshead. It was sunny when I started but dark clouds soon came over and by the time I reached the kist it was raining heavily. When I found kist was empty, no coins, my enthusiasm for a walk was ruined. The ever-present, strong winds were making walking very tiring despite hoping that I would be sheltered from the westerlies on the eastern slopes of the Lowther Hills, so I abandoned the walk just as I had done with many hill walks on this holiday and drove home.

The Hermitage and Rumbling Bridge

Thursday 6th June 2024

After a week in the far north of Scotland I finally headed south feeling disappointed that the weather had spoilt my plans with strong winds that had prevented me from climbing any hills, but instead prompted me to do many low-level walks that were surprisingly enjoyable. I appreciate having a good path underfoot and I don’t like walking along a rough, difficult path that is a struggle to do, so these walks greatly appealed to me. The weather didn’t show any sign of improving as I set off from the town of Ullapool and was soon driving through rain which stayed with me until I reached Inverness. At one point I saw a sign for Ben Wyvis which is a mountain that I climbed on my first walking holiday in Scotland, twenty years ago, and the memories of that walk came flooding back so when I saw a sign for Silver Bridge soon afterwards I stopped to take a picture of Black Water Falls. However, since it was raining I didn’t want to stay long and when I later passed a sign for Rogie Falls I didn’t stop. After Inverness the weather was much better as I continued to head south passing Aviemore, where I had stayed during the first week of my holiday, and over the Drumochter Pass. I was booked to stay in Pitlochry so I had considered doing a walk there, but I have already done loads of walks in the area and I couldn’t find anything interesting to do. Then I remembered that there are some walks around Birnam Woods I have wanted to do so I ignored the turning to Pitlochry and eventually came off the A9 trunk road at the turning for Dunkeld and Birnam.

After lunch I set off on a walk and it immediately felt surprisingly warm, especially after the cold winds of the North Highlands. A wonderfully relaxing walk took me slowly up beside the Inchewan Burn and soothed my troubled mind after the long drive out of the Highlands. At a junction I crossed the stream and soon after that at another junction I turned right, later turning left to follow green arrows that mark the Braan Path. There is an impressive network of paths throughout the woodlands that surround Dunkeld and Birnam and I appreciated these good paths as I made my way between the conifers. Eventually I emerged from the trees just as a few drops of rain prompted me to put on my waterproofs, but it was soon sunny again, which felt very warm and welcoming. The Braan Path eventually brought me over a road and into natural woodland with a deep valley visible through the trees to my right, but I was frustrated that there was no view even where lookout points have been built as these were heavily overgrown. Eventually I reached a road that crosses the River Braan on Rumbling Bridge and I took the opportunity to drop down to the river where I took many pictures of the cascading waters that fall precipitously into a deep and narrow ravine under the bridge. I was again frustrated at not being able to get a good view of the falls and so I had to be contented with the small cascades upstream.

Eventually I crossed Rumbling Bridge and followed the road which moves away from the river before branching onto a track that finally brought me into the Hermitage, a wood filled with tall conifers. In time the path led me back down to the River Braan where there were several opportunities for me to descend onto the rock-filled riverbank and take some pictures. Eventually I reached Ossian’s Hall, a curious building erected on the edge of the river with a balcony that looks out towards the river and down to a waterfall below, which reminded me of viewing stations I have seen in the Lake District designed to frame picturesque views. Eventually I continued past tall conifers to reach the car park for the Hermitage and under the railway line to reach the A9 where I followed quiet roads between the river and the main road past a caravan park and onto a path that, even though it was on my prescribed route, was actually a dead-end for me as a bridge has been washed away. Therefore, I had to retrace my steps to Inver Bridge and continue to follow the road beside the River Braan until I reached the junction with the River Tay and follow that along a path lined with beautiful tall trees until I reached the most famous: the Birnam Oak. However, this did not look as impressive as the enormous sycamore trees that I had just seen even though the Birnam Oak is considerably older.

Soon after this I turned away from the river to pass through Jubilee Park and return to my car. This was a wonderfully relaxing walk through Big Tree Country in warm weather that was a welcome change after the cold winds of the North Highlands. The weather on this afternoon felt almost tropical in comparison. I had wanted to visit Birnam Wood for a while so I was glad to have had the opportunity and since there are many more paths in the area I have every excuse to return and further explore these fabulous woods.