Day Bagging Trip to the Lowther Hills

Bruno searching for the trig point
Model of Schiehallion

This is much too far to drive for a day's bagging. I'd designed myself a 23 km circular walk starting in the middle of Mennock Pass and going around by Cairn Hill, East Mount Lowther and Green Hill. The first and the last of these three being the ones I wanted to bag.

But, as Dave Burns once said, "The michty plons ae mice an men aft invalve nice cheese". His brother may have used this phrase for another, similar one, in one of his pomes, or so it's said. Anyway, the point is, I got up late.

So, after a two and a half hour drive during which I overtook six tractors and sat at four sets of roadworks, I duly arrived very very shortly before noon - much too late to do the walk I'd planned and get home before the hoodies start to congregate around the garden gate.

So I replanned and made a short walk which bagged the very lovely Auchensow Hill plus Cairn Hill in walk one, and another even shorter one starting at Wanlockhead for the bagging of Green Hill in walk two.

It all went spiffingly spiffing. Auchensow Hill is a little gem of a round, grassy thing with very steep sides, and this was followed by a magnificent bit of fellwalking on a dryish, grassy moor to the even lovelier Cairn Hill - all of 449 metres high. The cairn is a bit pathetic for an ancient cairn, but I expect that when its a bit less dull and misty than it was today, there would be a fab view all around. A nice little ridge took me back to the valley and an estate road.

Some men were playing with their JCBs on the road and had completely blocked it and , basically dug it up. The driver stopped his machine for me and swung it around so I could get past. As I scrambled past, though, I happened to grasp the rock which they'd cut through - and put a big, bloody hole in my finger as a result. It'll probably have to be amputated, or at least there'll be a green line running up my arm tommorrow, and when it reaches my heart......

After this, I had a drive up to Wanlockhead and parked in a sort of devastated area.... (lots of devastated areas in Wanlockhead) - and had a poke around some lead mines and then steeply up on to Green Hill - at 588 metres, the summit of my explorations that day. This was a very short up and down sort of thing. Not good views, although a ridge running South and South-West from the top looked very attractive. Too late, though - I had to go home.

8 Miles and 2300 feet of climbing - which is a reasonable amount for 8 miles, I would have thought.

This would be an excellent area for anybody who wanted to do a short backpacking/wild camping trip - say, for TGO Challenge training (hmmm... rubs chin thoughtfully ....)