Black Mount, White Hill

Brilliant sunshine on an early February Saturday afternoon. The Six Nations has started, Wales will play Ireland, but I am distracted from rugby by thoughts of running in the hills. I've spent a morning of family grocery shopping dithering about where to go today ... Tinto and the Paps of Fife are on my mind at the moment ... but I'm in no mood for the drive to these places today. I settle on Black Mount and White Hill near Dolphinton, just west of the A702.

I suppose Black Mount is a southern outlier of the Pentland Hills range. It's covered in dense dark heather, so perhaps that's the origin of the name. White Hill is a little sister of Black Mount. It's covered in tussocky grass, and next to Black Mount it does look white.

Black Mount and White Hill, from the road to Garvald

These hills are very much less visited than the main Pentland summits to the north. Folk are missing out. Black Mount is isolated and on a clear day the 360 views are fantastic. I remember a family walking trip here in September 2011, it was great. We parked in Dolphinton, climbed White Hill where we stopped for a mid-morning snack, then up Black Mount and picnic time. The route involved more road work than I'd like today ...

I start from the north west on the road to Walston, there is just about enough room for a couple of cars to pull in opposite the entrance to a track near Westfield Farm. There are no other cars here today. I'll be surprised if I see a single person on these hills today. The track leads up into the heart of Black Mount.

The beginning ...

... along a farm track ...

... which leads into the heart of this hill.

Little do I know at the time, but I will return along this track later today. For now, I have turned off the track, crossed a pleasant little burn, and ascend on rough ground, steep after crossing the burn.

Pretty little burn ...

... followed by steep ascent on rough ground.

I pause to take a look back along the farm track and Dunsyre Hill. I am thinking to myself, that's a really pretty looking little hill, I'm going to run there one day soon. After some puffing and heaving ascent, and bit of a traverse, I look out over the flat top of Borland Hill. I had planned to go over there today, but, well, runs don't always go to plan.

Looking back along the farm track and pretty Dunsyre Hill

The flat top of Boland Hill

I'm in search of a feature marked on the OS Explorer map "Walston Well (Chalybeate)". I don't think I'd ever come across this word 'chalybeate'. I had to look it up in a dictionary - apparently an adjective meaning "of or denoting natural mineral springs containing iron salts". I'm following the course of another pretty little burn in search of this well. I do not find a well, but never mind, it's been lovely dancing and scrambling along these stream beds.

I realise I've come too far to the west, I've descended too much. The well hunt abandoned, I turn for the ascent of Black Mount. I remain far from the few footpaths, sometimes I can pick up a small stretch of old ATV track, but most of the time I am on rough ground or sheep track. There are patches of frozen snow lingering on the hillside. The place is mostly frozen, the ground is mostly frozen, a mixed blessing. I am not up to my ankles in wet marsh here, good, but the rough frozen ground is twisting and testing my ankles, not so good.

Thank you, you wonderful sheep!

Small patches of frozen snow linger on the hill side.

The summit comes into sight ...

... and for a brief while good ground underfoot.

The summit is soon reached. The trig point here has seen better days! Visibility is excellent and Black Mount does not dissappoint today  :-)

The trig has seen better days!

Pentland Hills

In the distance, snow capped monroes

Tinto!

Culter Fells

Broughton Marilyns

There is a chill wind here blowing from the west and my left cheek is a little bit frozen. No time to linger, I descend Black Mount toward White Hill. The water here is frozen, just like the earth. Just before the descent steepens there is a spur to the right. I find the name amusing - Windlestraw Top.

Descending summit of Black Mount on frozen ground ....

... the water is frozen as well.

Windlestraw Top

White Hill appears below and soon a steep descent to Charlie's Bower. I'm loving this descent, leaping bounding dancing whooping sliding ... ah I'm in my crazy little heaven here.

View of little White Hill below

Fun descent to Charlie's Bower

There is a small stone cairn summit marker on top of White Hill where I pause a moment to look back at Black Mount. I descend on rough grass tussocks to the north west onto a farm track which leads me back to Charlie's Bower.

Summit marker on White Hill

View back toward Black Mount

Views descending White Hill on rough grass tussocks, to the south west ...

.... and to the north west

The farm track leads back to Charlie's Bower

Here I cross fences again and start the last section of today's excursion. I am traversing around Windlestraw Top, over the saddle with Newholm Hill, and down into the valley back onto the track where I started a almost a couple of hours ago this afternoon.

Looking back at White Hill after Charlie's Bower

The path traversing around Windlestraw Top

Down into the valley ...

... and onto the track where I started earlier this afternoon.

It was great to get out somewhere a bit less familiar on this splendid sunny afternoon. Maybe a bit of a shame I didn't have much success on the chalybeate well hunt, but the hunt meant I had unexpected fun along the side of an exquisite little burn. Then the unwanted re-ascent got tough, rough, sections of narrow sheep track here and there offered some relief ... but there was not enough running and too much walking here for my taste ... I guess the lesson is that's what to expect if you will travel the path less trod.

There were times today which were wonderful, and times which were horrible. Hard going, and slow going, and today hard to control breath on the ascent ... maybe something to do with horrible chesty cough and head cold I've suffered this week. I just about managed a distance of 10.3km, with a climb of 550m, in 1:56:04 ... oh well, chances are, it'll be better the next time.

Now I've mentioned the next time ... this time next Saturday I'll be en route to Pune, India. Last time I was over there I had great fun running hill trails in the city. This time I plan to take the camera, so I hope I'll have at least one chance at a photo-plod to share :)

Enjoy!