A walk up a location of our industrial heritage.....Hill of Foundland

Hill: Hill of Foudland

Type: Sub2k

Height: 467m

My original plan was to tackle this hill from the north side. But last night I had read reports that mentioned crossing a field with possible cattle. Surprisingly, to me, for this time of the year the fields that are not full of hay bales (huge profits ahead selling to drought ridden England), are full of cattle. And they all have very young calves so being the fearty I am I was not going to put myself in that position. If it arrived and no detour I would turn back.

However my preparation the night before with the OS map showed a maintenance track coming up the other side of the hill with no fields to cross.

So this morning I set my Sat Nav for Lenchie instead of Jericho.

A bright morning driving east meant I had the full blinding sunlight effect. Full concentration was required.

The hill from car park

Drove up the rough track and found a parking area for 2/3 cars before the fence to the slate quarry. Another day another slate quarry. 

According to Aberdeenshire council Foudland quarries supplied slate for buildings within a 50 mile radius, which was the limit for a horse and cart. Balmoral Castle being one of the most famous. The turn of the 20th century saw a slump in the building industry and the Foudland slate quarries closed 100 years ago.

Through the gate where I took the wrong track but thankfully it bent back and joined up with the one I should have been on. A lot of machinery in situ so despite the above I presume the quarry is still operational as and when it is needed.

At this stage the main landscape I walked through was fairly newly planted trees which in future years will reduce the views considerably. Maybe the machinery at the start was for this.

But for now as per the map the track was a hard packed construction for the joint use of the tree planters and the maintenance of the two aerials on the top of the hill.

Skylark

The main birds rising were Meadow Pipits and Skylarks which were aplenty. Nice to see and hear as it has been a while since a Skylark spotted.

Another deer fence reached but not locked. As I ascended a burst of noise and action as 8 Red Grouse protested at my presence burst out and giving me a scare. Over the years I have wondered why grouse sit so close to a track. They have large areas of heather cover where they could stay undisturbed but only fly to this when disturbed, strange.

The hill high point is marked by a trig and is reached before the transmitter masts which are a short distance further on. It is located on a large flat heather moor, presumably once a farming grazing area. 

View East

View North

There are excellent 360 degree views and the early morning light gave it a special glow.

View West

Old bings becoming covered with vegetation. Tap o' Noth behind the dark green plantation

The map shows the vast area of the quarries and the slate waste mounds are overgrown but still identifiable, it would have been tough working up here.

Pink Footed Geese

I descended the same way and was delighted to first of all hear then sight my 1^st skein of pink footed geese this autumn. The change of season is moving forward despite this late burst of warmth, well this Scotland and everything is relative, we will take any warmth.

Loved the small fields with proper mixed trees as surrounds not a sight seen often

Another nice example wonder what the thinking was when trees were planted

And don't forget the fields of hay

So a short straightforward early morning ramble. The views are excellent so if in the locality fill your boots for minimal effort. Plus the bonus of spending a bit of time researching the hill and understanding the history of what I was walking on.

Back at the car another car was parked up behind me but where was the owner? Maybe gone off piste as I never saw them, its a vast landscape to escape in.

More interesting facts about the slate quarries from e-architct:

Although everyone believes they know the colour of “slate”, its full spectrum speaks of subtly different origins: Ballachulish slate is a deep blue-black; Snowdonian is dark purple; Westmorland slate is a shade of sea green; Easdale is gunmetal grey; Birnam slate is almost violet in colour… and Foudland slate is midnight blue with a crystalline sheen.

The Foudland quarries were opened up in 1754– local knowledge having unearthed a belt of slate running along the west border of Aberdeenshire from Auchterless towards the Tap o’ Noth near Gartly. At their peak a century later, the quarries produced almost one million hand-split slates per year– which is an amazing total given the harsh conditions on the hill.

Ascent: 173m

Distance: 4.6km

Time: 1.21

Wildlife: Wood Pigeon; Red Grouse; Skylark; Meadow Pipit; Pink Footed Geese; Chaffinch; Dunnock; Crow; Wood Pigeon;

A rough wee ramble for the good views.....Carn na Dubh Collie

Hill: Carn na Dubh Choille (might be hill of the dark forest/wood)

Type: Sub2k

Height: 479m

Unfortunately I was still nursing a painful knee so I wanted a relatively low level walk and opted for this Sub2k.

Wakened by noise I looked out of my window and the rain was battering down but a patch or two of blue sky could also be seen, be positive was my mantra today.

A short drive to the start where thankfully the rain had eased. Nevertheless at the parking area I had donned a proper waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers and gaiters. There was humid air and I suspected that I would be more damp from the inside rather than the exterior.

Proper salmon leaping spot

I had a short wander along a track located beside the road until the overgrowth defeated me. A short road hop led me to the bridge over the Black Water. This looked a proper spot for salmon but none spotted today.

Somethings had a bite

Next was a tree lined forest track for a mile or so. Lots of bird calling and an amazing variety of fungi, I suppose we are now in the growing season.

But more interestingly on the track I was following regular scat droppings which are most likely from a Pine Martin. At one point there was an obvious scat marking zone with at least half a dozen different droppings. One very fresh, probably dropped this morning. If I lived here a camera trap would be installed.

I exited the main forest and crossed an overgrown cattle grid. Some reports deviated from the track at this point using the deer fence beside the trees but this looked well overgrown so not for me today.

Not very appealing but here goes

I continued up the track to where another report recommended going through the newly planted trees via an obvious track. It didn’t look that obvious but in I ploughed.

Squelchy underfoot

In fairness there was a track of sorts. It was well overgrown but passable. It was also absolutely water saturated with minimal opportunities to avoid these sections so despite the gaiters very wet boots and socks.

On my way up a single roe deer alert bark in the new trees which was the only sign of wildlife in this section on the way up. It was only about 20 minutes to get through but it felt much longer but I was still relieved to break out onto the moor.

Relief was short lived as I was once again in really crap terrain. Deep grass and heather concealing tree planting holes, very slow going. The most recent report I read was from 2022 and as I suspected a lot of growth has taken place in those 4 years.

I came across a muddy deer trail/water course which took me away from my direct ascent to the top but well worth taking as walking was much easier.

Finally I left this and took a direct line to the summit. I thought the going would be easier and it was, but only partially. The only missing thing were the tree holes all else still very awkward. My knee was protesting but not painful.

Sphagnum moss everywhere some patches dried out enough to walk over but others very wet and to be avoided.

Love the way the light is clear through the rainbow

A heavy shower blew in from Ullapool direction bringing with it a wild wind for a few minutes before relenting and giving me a pretty rainbow. Luckily there was a large erratic to shelter behind.

The summit in sight

I thought I had reached the top until I spotted a trig on the next height. The last section threw in its last problem with a waterlogged terrain which meant water hopping/jumping and a short climb to the trig.

View to ullapool

Looking back to Ben Wyvis where the rain has now arrived

I took a 360deg video which was mostly of low clouds hiding the tops of all the higher hills nearby. Sadly size restrictions mean it will not upload to this site.

Another one on the descent

Brightened up and Loch Glascarnoch now clear

Brighter so more insects in wet area a quicker pace

For my return I thought about going more direct but just descended the same way. Through the wet section I had to put my hood up to escape the buzzing insects which fancied my ears, thankfully it worked.

Fox Moth caterpillar

All in all a fine little ramble which tested my knee. More awkward ground than I would have liked but seemed to be the norm recently. A lot of these hills would be best done late winter/early spring with harder ground and much lower vegetation.

Still when the views could be seen they were well worth the effort particularly towards Loch Broom and the Beinn Dearg range.

Back in the forest i found at least half a dozen Scottish woodland red ant hills absolutely teeming with life. Been ages since I have seen mounds like this. It was worth spending time and watching an ant colony at work.

Ascent: 361m

Distance: 8.6km

Time: 3.14

Wildlife: Common Frog; Blue Tit; Wren; Chaffinch; Siskin; Goldcrest; Meadow Pipit; Red Crossbill; Robin;

Slate quarries and turbines.....Hill of Tillymorgan

Hill: Hill of Tillymorgan

Type: Sub2k

Height: 381m

I parked up on a dirt section off the interestingly named Cadgers’ Road. I always thought of a ‘cadger’ as someone who tried to get something from you without paying, 'can I cadge a fag' frequently heard in Glasgow growing up. So in this case who was the cadger?

From the dirt layby I walked down the road for a short section before turning left and heading up a dirt track.

Not a lot to say about a short climb through the trees. I had read that the track is used by Cross country motorbikes and the track was cut up in places by deep bike tyre marks. However, overall the track was mainly ok and I did not encounter any bikes. I could hear the 'whoosh whoosh' of turbine blades and then one came into view.

My track met up with the formal construction road which led up to to the turbines. Reports suggested there was a barrier of new fence and a locked gate at the first turbine. As it turned out there was a new fence and gate but the gate was open. The fence looked climbable so not an issue either way.

A large turbine was directly ahead and beyond the turbine I noticed a track heading up to the slate quarries.

Abandoned slate quarry

Followed the rough and progressively narrowing track until I reached the bowl of a derelict quarry abandoned many years ago. This also coincided with the end of anything being called a track. Crossed the rough heather which led to a barbed wire fence. Walked up a bit and found a neat section to leg over where the barbed wire had been folded under the plain wire so thankfully no ripped trousers.

This man made waste bing was not the top 

Ahead was an overgrown slate dump which was obviously not the top I was looking for. I headed for it across a strange undulating ground formation which turned out to be the covered remains of two excavation trenches. I then skirted around the side which led onto flatter grass and lo and behold I could see the trig. I hadn't researched it properly and was just expecting a small cairn so a trig was nice.

It had been a grey day and just as I reached the trig surprise, surprise the rain came on.

The mast on Hill of Foudland another hill bagged on this trip

Knock Hill pokes up seems to be seen from all hills around here

The view was nothing special under these conditions so it was a case of taking a couple of snaps, getting waterproof trousers donned and move on.

I moved quickly to get back down the track and get into the trees which sheltered me from the worst of the rain.

A sad end was coming across a dead badger at the side of the road. It looked in perfect condition, so sad. Seen quite a few roadkill badgers recently maybe youngsters who have been moved on looking for there own place.

Objective achieved, a short ramble but never mind the cadger who/what the hell was Tillymorgan? There are reports of a nearby Battle of Tillyangus, so Tilly (or Tillie as also found) does seem to represent a place rather than a person.

A short ramble but another northern Sub2k bagged.

Some historical data from Aberdeenshire Council:

The remains of slate quarries lie around the summit of Hill of Tillymorgan. A few small bothies associated with them lie close by. The quarries were established in 18th Century, and continued to operate into the late 19th Century. The slate was found in veins, inclining to north on the top, running generally from east to west, and is in the early to mid-19th Centuries there were 8 quarries in full operation on the hill. Between 2 and 10 men were employed in each quarry as quarriers, splitters, barrowmen and labourers. The best slates were found at a depth of 4.5m to 9.1m. Blue and grey slate was often to be found in the same quarry, occasionally with beds of grey slate between two of blue, although blue is the dominant colour. In the early 19th Century, the average quantity of slates quarried and sold in Tillymorgan was around 300,000, at a price of 50s per thousand (around £215 in today's money).

Ascent: 180m

Distance: 4.1km

Time: 1.05

Wildlife: Blue Tit; Goldcrest: Robin; Coal Tit;

A wild and windy summit.....Carn Faire nan Con

Hill: Carn Faire nan Con (Cairn of the dogs)

Type: Sub2k

Height: 370m

As always the weather forecast is numero uno for all hillwalkers, at least for those with a sense of self preservation. Today’s forecast was for a dry start with heavy rain arriving by 2-3pm depending on which forecast you believe in, but at least reasonable consistency. So the objective was to get this over and done with by lunchtime.

An early warning as I drove to the starting point in Garve. The roads were wet and the hills were covered in low cloud along with bands of showers around me. The positive was that none of these had forced my wipers to activate.

Parked in just off the main road at the entrance for the maintenance track hopefully leaving enough room on the off chance something actually needed maintained.

Switched on my GPS and nothing happened. Prodded a few buttons as you do, still dead. Opened the back to find zero batteries, still sitting in the charger at my hotel. I always give them a boost on the morning of a walk so I have full batteries. I think this has happened once before so I need to set a reminder on my phone or something. Luckily I had created my route on OS maps so that was on my phone. The map shown on the blog is that track.

Climbed the gate and wandered up the track. I presume this track is for pylon repairs but judging by the small trees that were growing in the middle of track no vehicle had been up here for a long time.

I was dressed for the rain but it was really muggy so all sorts of beasties were attracted to my carbon monoxide breathing face and of course I did not have a midge/fly hood with me.

On the lower slopes views were few and far between but a lot of bird activity kept me interested.

Slightly higher I was getting views of Loch Garve, the roadworks and the sound of the two carriage train from Inverness to Lochalsh.

Despite the good vibes the clouds were lowering not a good omen.

Then without any real warning the views opened up and I was looking down over the stunning waters of Loch Luichart.

Down below a vivid green open space with a large building caught my eye. It is named on the map as Arrieleitrach which was a remote settlement and township much of which became underwater when the loch was created. Historical records recorded tenants from 1700. No obvious road so presumably unseen hill tracks are the only way to it.

I knew that the Sub2k of Sgurr Marcasaidh was the slopes above this but the top section was under cloud.

Walk on a bit further

Back to reality and things were about to change big time. I reached the point where I planned to cut off and go cross country but I carried on for a bit further as there was too much bracken on that direct path.

Rain coming from the NW over the loch, about to get wild for a while.

When I cut off the heavens opened and the rain was biblical. After my experience earlier in the year with my phone (see Wisp Hill blog) I was taking no chances. So it was put in a waterproof bag, into another waterproof bag and was not touched for another hour until the rain had gone off.

The next 30 minutes was only 100m of ascent but it was brutal. Solid heather and bracken bad enough in the dry but with the rain horrendous, even worse than Saturdays ramble.

Went a bit sideways under some small outcrops found a gap where a bit of mild hands on took me to the small cairn. A historical lookout spot but not for me today. No hanging about I was immediately off. I wish I had snow goggles to protect my eyes as hail mixed in.

Having no desire to go back through that horrible stuff I took a different route. I had read another report who had descended via steep heather to reconnect with the upward track. For once today I was lucky as his report mentioned clinging to the heather on steep slopes. I must have came down a different slope as I had reasonable heather which became boggy moor but no bracken.

I descended to the right of the snap over the humps as the left is a big drop and new plantings

Unexpected, but so grateful, the rain stopped. Near the trees I spotted an eroded, sodden but still usable ATV track which led me back to the main track.

As I descended the clouds began to lift. The ariel towers on Little Wyviss had cloud behind them but within 15 minutes the cloud had lifted and I could also see the slopes of Ben Wyviss.

This flew out of the trees at first I thought buzzard but immediately it looked bigger, eagle I suspect

Scotch Argus

After those exertions I was happy to take a slow wander back down listening and spotting the birds and butterflies.

For a small hill that had a brutal final section no doubt a lot easier in the early spring. Unlikely to be back and if I did I would go straight up my descent route but I enjoyed sections of the ramble if not the summit. 

Ascent: 239m

Distance: 5.12

Time: 2.16

Wildlife: Chaffinch; Meadow Pipit; Scotch Argus; Golden Eagle?; Blue Tit;