I would recommend my return route, taking a pretty direct NW line from the trig point to reach the forest track as a better option than my outward route.
Showers, some heavy, had been passing through with great regularity as we’d driven towards this hill. They continued as I had a late lunch and got changed. I then waited a while longer for a shower to pass, commenting as I did so that it was a bit pointless waiting to set out in the dry when I was clearly going to get wet before long.
The suckler cows in the first field I entered largely ignored my presence, but there was no guarantee that they would on my return. Thus when I exited the top of the field and saw the track that the map shows to only return part way to the road, I thought I would investigate it on my way back. However, first I needed to go in the opposite direction, through a series of gates and new woodland, then into the forest shown on current maps.
Aerial photos had suggested that I should find a good break through the forest (NT 185 488). The reality wasn’t as good as the aerial photos suggested. The opening was strewn with grown-over forest felling detritus, then was a section of really rough ground, then a section where little trees have self-seeded and grown up. I was able to push my way through, but it wasn’t ideal.
Getting across the burn at the bottom of the dip was just a step, and getting out of the forest was easy enough too, using a gap in the wall and climbing over the high-tensile barbed-wire fence. It was then just somewhat-rough open ground between me and my summit, on a line that kept me pretty sheltered from the wind until I popped out on the ridge.
From the trig point I could see that, whilst there were showers around, there wasn’t one that was going to hit me soon, which seemed quite incredible given how frequently they had been coming through before I set out.
Given the wind, I didn't tarry at the top and my descent was far less sheltered. I took a more direct line back to the forest and, after a short dither between ‘better the devil you know’ and ‘I think I’ll venture into the unknown’, I decided to try a different gap in the trees on the way back. The deciding factor was being able to see a gate in the wall (NT 189 487), and what looked like faint ATV tyre lines beyond. It worked well, with the ground being far less rough, and no trees blocking the way.
It was then but an easy trot back down the track. The more direct option, bypassing the cow field, worked just fine; it led all the way to some tall metal barriers, but I followed a trodden line that led me around them. I concluded that they are there to stop anyone driving between the farmhouse ruins and up the track, rather than to stop those on foot.
It was fifteen minutes after I got back that the next shower came through. I had timed my outing perfectly!
Summit selfie
The lumpy view to the S was the most pleasing.
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