Tinto Hill, Revisited, Sunshine!

I'm on my revisit round job this weekend after the crazy snowy weather in March/April. Last Sunday I was back in the Lomond Hills and it was foggy. Today I'm back at Tinto Hill and it is sunny, yay! I was here on Sunday, March 17 in deep snow and mist and at times near to white-out conditions. Today I can share with you the beauty of Tinto on a clear day.

I'm starting again from the car park near the tea room and today I can see all the way up Tinto Hill. The car park is almost full today. The tourist route here is dry mud. So much easier running than the slush and snow I found in March. I'm not going to spend long on the tourist route, with this excellent visibility I'm exploring alternatives. Just before the iron age fort there's a gate and a fence to the left. I'm off the hard mud onto the soft rough ground along the edge of this fence for a about a mile. There are lots of folk walking the tourist route as usual on a fine weekend day. Here it's just me and the sheep and the rough and wet ground. I reach a farm track which will take me up toward a patch of forest above me. In front of me is Scaut Hill, my first target today, and to my right Tinto Hill, the main event of the afternoon.

Starting from the car park near the tea room on a fine clear day

The tourist route is hard dry mud today.

Leaving the tourist route and following this fence ...

... on good rough ground ...

... often nice and soft .underfoot ...

... to a farm track ascending, Scaut Hill in front, Tinto Hill to the right.

I'm leaving the farm track and heading along sheep tracks toward the corner of the forest. The views up to Tinto Hill are enticing and I'm tempted to change route, but I persist and descend through the heather to a pretty little stream which I have to cross.

Leaving the farm track to the left here, and what's this thing ahead?

Enticing views toward Tinto Hill, looks like another nice path, one day, ...

... but today descending through the bone dry heather ...

... to a pretty little stream below ...

... and a convenient crossing.

I ascend a little from the stream and traverse along sheep tracks and rough ground crossing a few more delightful little streams until I pick up the farm track ascending Scaut Hill. I remember, I am going up Tinto, I should take a stone. The ascent is relentless, at first grassy, and then often rough and stoney. The views to the summit of Tinto are great and I can see the track from Scaut Hill to Tinto Hill, navigation is a breeze today. I could do with some breeze at the moment, I'm getting really hot now, overheating a little. Reaching the summit of Scaut Hill I find piles of stones. I also find a welcome breeze and a very welcome little bit of descending to the saddle between Scaut Hill and Tinto Hill.

Traversing toward the next patch of forest ...

... crossing some pretty little streams.

The track up over Scaut Hill ...

where I remember to take a stone.

The ascent is relentless ...

.. and becomes rough and stoney.

Great views to the summit of Tnto here

Piles of Stones on top of Scaut Hill ...

... and a little bit of welcome descent to the saddle.

I am soon at the low point of the saddle where there are puddles and ahead of me some more relentless ascent to Tinto Hill with more stones. I step off the track onto the grass at the right and pause to take a swig of coconut water and look behind over Scaut Hill. I can hardly believe I was there just a few minutes ago and I feel great, recharged, full of energy now. Passing through a gate I know I am near to the tourist route and the summit, but I don't know what these iron boxes are all about. I'm back on route one and the summit is just ahead of me, one more short hard pull and I'll be there.

Puddles at the saddle, and relentless ascent ahead ...

... looking back over Scaut Hill ...

... avoid the stones on the grass to the right

Not a clue what these iron boxes are all about

Route one regained and the summit is near

Today I can see the trig point and the top of the cairn is clear. The young chap here kindly takes a photograph and we exchange a few words, he seems a little bored, but perks up as he sees his mum and his
dad get up ready to move off down again. I take a moment to admire the views from Tinto, on a clear day these are simply wonderful.

The trig is easily found today ...

... and the cairn above the trig is clear

Yours truly ... 

... admiring the views to the north ...

... east ...

... south ...

... and west.

I have one more thing to do here, it's the stone I've stowed in my waist pack. Alright, it's a feeble little stone, but, come on, give a break, I've been running. Time to descend and soon a fork in the path ... left or right ... I'll go left, it's more fun that way. The path leads around the top of steep sided Maurice's Cleugh. I have a little play in the scree (camera stowed, natch) then when it gets very steep a careful traverse to the heather and grass slopes. I am in the sun and in the lee now and I am overheated, so a pause to swig coconut water and tie the t-shirt around the straps of the waist pack. The remainder of this run will be bare chested. I have a much cooler steep descent on the grass and burnt heather toward a pretty clump of trees and then turn left into the cleugh for a photo-op.

Leaving my small contribution to the Tinto cairn ...

... and now to descend.

Hmm, left or right here, I'll go left ... 

... along the top of Maurice's Cleugh ...

... steep scree, a little scree play here then ...

... back to the heather and grass.

The cleugh ... beautiful.

I'm heading back to route one and the car park now on sheep tracks, scraps of ATV tracks, and rough ground. The tourist route comes into view with families of walkers and in a jiffy I'm up among the rings of the iron age fort taking photographs of sheep (again, well, I am a Welsh boy, fair enough). Through the gate near the fort and a canter on the dry mud back to the car park where some walkers take a photograph.

Sheep tracks back to route one ...

... look like the tourist route ahead

Sheep among the rings of the iron age fort

Through the gate and a canter to the car park

Hot and happy at the ending

Well that was a really enjoyable outing for me today, hard work for sure, but that's the way, ah ha, ah ha, I like it ... I've been going for just over one hour and three quarters, just under twelve kilometres distance, and just under six hundred metres total ascent. Fingers crossed, I'll have started to get a bit of a suntan at the same time. Now time to head back to Edinburgh, grab a spot of late lunch, and a brief meet up with some folk running in EMF tomorrow.

Enjoy!