Highs and lows


Highs and lows of the Pentland hills

The Pentland hills sit to the south of Edinburgh, running in a line for twenty miles west to the Clyde valley. The city itself occupies a strip of land between the high ground and the shore of the Firth of Forth, while further to the south, across a wide fertile plain, the Border hills edge the sky line.  Driving out of the city on the A702, we park up at the Flotterstone Inn , finding a place in a crowded car park. The day is warm and bright, with some light showers forecast for early afternoon. The good weather has brought out walkers and cyclists and we pass many of them throughout the coming hours. Most friendly and happy to exchange greetings, others with clear ‘do not disturb’ demeanours. march on avoiding any eye contact. The early section involves a fairly steep pull up across open hill side with views gradually opening up from the south flank of the range. We reach the top of Turnhouse hill within 40 minutes, the first in a long line of summits.  Spectacular 360 degree views as pools of sunlight spot the land and sea, while lumps of cloud scud and sweep the sky driven on by a stiff south easterly wind. A quick descent on a wide path of loose stone, ahead the track continues up the slope of the next summit, a winding white scar bisecting the hillside. We stop for lunch before tackling the incline, seeking shelter in the lea of the hill. The top of Carnnethy hill is quickly reached, the small plateau hosts numerous stone circles, imagining an older time when the Votadine Celts built and occupied in hill forts in Southern Scotland. These constructions however, do not look at all ancient. At the bottom of the next bealach the path offers an escape route off the ridge and down into the adjacent valley. Close to the bottom of this drop we round a bend to find a cuckoo sitting atop a fence post. It lingers for a few moments before taking flight up the hill side, staying close to the ground it is harassed and pursued by three smaller birds, clearly wanting it off their property! We now follow the road all the way back to the car park. It runs alongside the Loganlea and Glencorse reservoirs, both supplying part of Edinburgh’s water needs. Fly fishermen stand waterside whipping their lines across the rippled surface. The tarred road stays close to the water’s edge. Newly hatched coot swim among the water weed; a flock of geese flap and call from the across the loch; cattle, fat and docile, munch grass close to the fence line, unperturbed by our presence. We re-join the outward section of the walk passing a small memorial to CTR Wilson, a local man who won the  Nobel Prize for Physics. We have covered about twelve kilometres in four hours, a walk evenly divided between the high ground across Turnhouse and Carnethy Hills and the low level return route by Loganlea and Glencorse reservoirs. Despite its closeness to Edinburgh and the numbers using the area it retains enough of its native charm to make a return visit, albeit further along the ridge, more than likely.

 

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