We rode the bicycles along Loch Lee to the meeting of these two waters and followed the delightful path past the Falls of Unich into the steep-sided glen above. The sun shining on the rocks and freshly blooming deep purple heather made this a most attractive and friendly place yet the crags towering above suggested that a more menacing aspect might be felt on days of mist and storm. The higher Falls of Damff twist through an angle halfway down and are not really seen to advantage from this west bank of the burn. After teetering on the edge of the rocks above the falls in a vain attempt to encompass their full drop we cut back through deep heather to the col and so up to the unmarked summit amongst short cropped heather.
Despite the hemmed in nature of the hill the view was fairly extensive although mainly of undistinguished rolling heathery ridges. There is a remarkable expanse of very high ground hereabouts, dominated by the inconspicuous Corbett, Ben Tirran, with no other summit having the 500 foot drop necessary to enter the tables. By far the most striking feature of the view was Mount Keen with the scar of a path up its south ridge. Lochnagar was draped in cloud to the west and in a few moments its threat of worsening weather was upon us in the form of a persistent drizzle which discouraged us from lunch at the summit. We descended northeast and soon found a pleasantly sheltered clump of heather on which to sit and partake of belated refreshment before tackling the uncomfortably steep and rough descent back to the bicycles. The weather was brightening up a bit so we rode them up to the old stables in Glen Lee, a pleasant little bothy showing signs of recent occupation by both man and horse.
These hills are rolling, rough and heathery so the tracks are welcome and we were pleased to see one branching down just before the defile which has the dramatic name, Clash of Wirren. This lesser path continued right onto the ridge where there was a fence to follow over the lesser top of West Wirren to the the trig point on the highest summit surrounded by black and squelchy peat. Here at a junction of fences we turned north-east and the going along the ridge was rough but pleasant. As soon as we headed down to seek the track shown on the map the terrain became exceedingly unpleasant through long tufts of grass interspersed with bog. Probably we left the ridge too soon for eventually we joined an easy going track which led us northwards as required. As it swung away east we left it on a short cut which was perhaps not worthwhile and led to encounters with two adders which fortunately slid off into the heather. At Keenie we kept down by the river hoping to use the first bridge we came to. It had certainly seen better days and bore warnings and private notices but we negotiated it safely and strolled back on the road to Tarfside, coffee and further treats from the bakery.
These Southern Upland ridges are rough and rolling with peat hags their major hazard. This one was particularly twisted, writhing its way over Tudhope Hill, Millstone Edge and Langtae Hill to the flat summit plateau of Cauldcleuch Head. The greatest attraction is the loneliness and the spaciousness, the latter somewhat spoilt by the forest which covers the northern slopes hereabouts but the former as enjoyable as ever. Few walkers wander these empty hills.
We continued as far as Greatmoor Hill, another of Dawson's summits, and then swung south-east to join the track alongside the Braidley Burn. The road walk back was not unpleasant on this very quiet lane, in fact it turned out to be the highlight of the day as we had a marvellous close up view of a fox on the parapet of the bridge at Billhope.
Fortunately a good track ran through the new forest towards the hill, although we followed it with some trepidation hoping that it would not come to an abrupt end as forest tracks are wont to do. It led us right to the present edge of the planting, about a kilometre east of Door of Cairnsmore, where we emerged onto a boggy trackless heathery hillside which was clearly being prepared for more trees. The going improved gradually as we floundered through this unpleasant interlude onto the south-east ridge of the hill which leads up to the cairn on the south top, Knee of Cairnsmore. This feature was named from the map rather than the landscape perhaps for in plan the hill does have very much the shape of a leg. As we climbed along the thigh the ridge broadened and rose to a very flat summit area which was capped today with mist. There is a large cairn and a trig point and slightly to the south of the highest point a memorial stone to RAF personnel from a nearby airbase who have died in eight separate crashes on this hill, a feature which was both saddening and disturbing as we wondered not only if another disaster might be imminent but also pondered on the low flying planes which constantly roar through the Vale of Keswick at home.
We dropped off north-eastwards, soon coming out of the mist, and made the short ascent of Meikle Mulltaggart before descending towards Loch Grannoch Lodge, just south of which we could see the only break through the forestry. This turned out to be a dreadful route as the valley was boggy and choked with long tussocky grass. We eventually struggled out onto the track with much relief and followed its uneventful course back to Dromore.
Unfortunately much of the area has been spoilt by afforestation with massed conifers. Although the ridges have in general been left clear of trees the impenetrable lower slopes give very limited options for the approach or, in the case of some of the lower hills, no options at all. We drove along Clatteringshaws Loch and parked at the end of the tarmac from which a new track, not shown on our map, continues through a locked gate to connect with the Southern Uplands Way running into Glen Trool. One possible approach would therefore be to follow this to the bothy at White Laggan and ascend the hill from there. I decided to reserve this route for my return and to utilise the tiny break in the forest at this point to scramble up on this eastern side. It was a scramble, firstly through head high bracken and then over boulders amongst deep heather but by veering always leftwards I evaded the cliffs and emerged onto the flatter ridge above. I sat down by a large boulder for lunch, looking back eastwards over the sea of conifers. It might have been the rocking stone marked on the map although I was unable to move it.
The walk along the ridge over Cairngarroch to the trig point on the highest top was quite pleasant and not unduly rough but the best bit is the narrower continuation south-westwards to another top which features in the appendix to Donald's tables because it had an isolated 2000 foot contour on the old one inch map. Here I turned through more than a right angle to make my way down, steeply at first, to White Lochan of Drigmorn. This ridge was typical of the splendidly rough territory in this area. The white lochan is surrounded by little crags and the tiny black loch further down is almost inaccessible through a maze of rocky steps, boulders and heather. I had to drop down on the right to make any progress towards the col where I joined the track down to White Laggan bothy. This track unfortunately has deteriorated to such an extent that it was difficult to avoid sinking up to the knees in bog in the lower reaches.
A German family having a snack in the bothy asked where I had come from. I pointed to the mountain. "Is there a track?", they asked and seemed amazed when they learnt that I had come over it without one. I was soon on the tedious forest road which led round above the attractive Loch Dee and then through the trees to the starting point.
Next day we had another memorable climb of the Merrick.
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