Wednesday 22 May 2019

Hart Fell...In the Moffat Hills

So, having burnt some more fossil fuel, I found myself high in Annandale near Ericstane. Today's initial target was the Corbett of Hart Fell. From there I would see how I felt and how the weather fared. Parking near the community hall off I went....

The hamlet of Ericstane and the head of Annandale

The Auchencat Burn which I would follow for the first part of my route.

The scree filled gully contains "Hartfell Spa"...next on the agenda.

This is the "Hartfell Spa" a chalybeate well, apparently good for curing ills...although the water looked like it would give you ills rather than cure any!

Things got a bit scrambley near the top of the gully

And here looking back down the gully towards Annandale. The prominent hill is I think Queensberry.

Lots of Mayflower about today.

Click on the image to increase the size otherwise you won't see all the wind turbines!
I have mixed feelings about them...there's an awful lot of them here though.

This is the subsidiary top of Arthur's Seat, to the left of the cairn in the distance is Skiddaw and over to the right of the image Criffel.

Yours trulyon the summit of Hart Fell gazing towards White Coomb.

It was a brutal descent beside the fence, out of view before climbing back onto the broad ridge in the middle of the photo...Whitehope Heights..a Donald.

Continuing beside the fence along the broad twisting ridge I joined the Annandale Way...marked by this cairn.

I stpped at the next col for a snack and drink, a great view down Annandale

Over my last top of the day Great Hill, I then picked up this great path which contoured under Strait Step. 

There were excellent views of the Devils Beef Tub from the path.
The path took me down to the valley floor at Corehead, from there it was road/Land rover track back to the car via Ericstane.
Superb weather, and a great horseshoe walk. Only one person seen (on Hart Fell summit) all day, quiet hills for sure.

2 comments:

  1. Well done Alistair, a good outing in a lovely area. Much quieter than the lakes and a lot cheaper to park. Usually free.

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    Replies
    1. Cheers Al, yep you can really stride out once on the ridges. That round has good paths all the way once on the ridge...they were dry as well yesterday :-)
      Free parking as well...whats not to like!
      Just as an aside...do the car parking charges in the Lakes put you off? Just personal interest!
      Hope you're managing to get out and about a bit.
      Alistair

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