The Oikofuge: Walking

Tinto

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0200

Tinto (NS 953343, 711m) 8.3 kilometres510 metres of ascent I feel vaguely embarrassed to be writing about an ascent of a popular hill by a popular route, but sometimes ingenuity escapes me. Tinto is the site of a great missed pun opportunity for me. Decades ago, I was invited to climb it along with an … Continue reading →

Ochils: Ben Cleuch From The North

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 14:00:00 +0200

Ben Shee (NN 952039, 516m)Cairnmorris Hill (NN 933016, 606m)Skythorn Hill (NN 926013, 601m)Andrew Gannel Hill (NN 918006, 670m)Ben Cleuch (NN 902006, 721m)Ben Buck (NN 896014, 679m)Ben Buck NE Top (NN 904024, 583m) 20 kilometres790 metres of ascent Most of the foot traffic on Ben Cleuch, the highest point in the Ochil Hills, comes up the … Continue reading →

Glen Doll: White Water Circuit

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 13:00:00 +0200

Tom Buidhe (NO 214787, 957m)Tolmount (NO 210800, 958m)Crow Craigies (NO 221798, 920m) 21 kilometres910 metres of ascent These three rounded summits form a horseshoe around the headwaters of the White Water, which flows down Glen Doll to join the South Esk in Glen Clova. I’ve visited them all before, but never linked them up into … Continue reading →

Ben Vrackie From The West

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0200

Ben Vrackie (NN 950632, 841m)Meall na h-Aodainn Moire (NN 941622, 633m) 14 kilometres900 metres of ascent This one is much less eccentric than most of my “familiar hills from an unusual direction” reports—the route to Vrackie from the west is well-documented, but considerably less-travelled than the tourist route from the south. There’s even the potential … Continue reading →

Glen Doll – Glen Clova Circuit

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0200

Cairn Lunkard (NO 232781, 863m)Craigs of Loch Esk (NO 237786, 851m) 17 kilometres790 metres of ascent This is a classic circular route over the plateau between Glen Doll and upper Glen Clova, but it’s been fifty years since I last walked it. I was put in mind of doing it again during my recent trip … Continue reading →

Sidlaws: Long Loch Circuit

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 13:00:00 +0200

Lundie Craigs (NO 281378, 353m)Keillor Hill (NO 281385, 334m)Donald’s Brae (NO 293396, c280m)Auchtertyre Hill (NO 293398, 278m)Newtyle Hill (NO 296399, 270m) 8.5 kilometres210 metres of ascent It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new walk in the Sidlaws. This one accesses an old ridge-walk from a new direction. I’ve previous visited these hills either … Continue reading →

CCCP 2021: Beinn a’ Chuallaich

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0200

Beinn a’ Chuallaich (NN 684617, 892m) 13 kilometres720 metres of ascent The Crow Craigies Climbing Party was again prevented by Covid restrictions from assembling in full force this year, but the founding members managed to get together for a socially distanced day on the hill nevertheless. Our aim this year was to climb Beinn a’ … Continue reading →

Glen Doll: Craig Mellon to Cairn Damff

Wed, 12 May 2021 13:00:00 +0200

Craig Mellon (NO 262773, 866m)Cairn Broadlands (NO 270777, 852m)Craig Damff (NO 247777, 846m) 15.5 kilometres800 metres of ascent Craig Mellon and Cairn Broadlands dominate the view up Glen Clova as you approach the road-head—neatly paired humps with Glen Doll on the left and upper Glen Clova on the right. The broad slope between the two … Continue reading →

Lockdown Walks: Three Brochs

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 13:00:00 +0200

An exploration of three lowland broch sites near Dundee

Lockdown Walks: The Dundee-Newtyle Railway (Part 2)

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 13:00:00 +0200

At the end of my previous post, I left you gazing at the blind end of the old railway bridge over Lochee High Street. Back in the ’70s, there used to be several of these bricked-off gaps along the line of the old Dundee-Newtyle railway, But this is the last one left---it doesn't even have a partner on the other side of the road.

GPS Navigation With Historical Maps

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:00:00 +0200

A project to transfer an out-of-copyright georeferenced historical Ordnance Survey map from the National Library of Scotland website, to use with the GPS of an Android phone

Continue reading GPS Navigation With Historical Maps at The Oikofuge.

Lockdown Walks: The Dundee-Newtyle Railway (Part 1)

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 14:00:00 +0200

This one follows the route of the old Dundee-Newtyle railway, as it weaves around town. The track bed is long gone (I can only just remember the occasional goods train plying this route in the early 1960s), and subsequent demolition and building work has left little of even industrial-archaeological interest ---but it's a pleasant route to follow, and wide enough to allow two-metre distancing throughout, with a little care (and occasional willingness to step off the path).

Continue reading Lockdown Walks: The Dundee-Newtyle Railway (Part 1) at The Oikofuge.

Glen Clova: Allan’s Hut To The Capel Mounth

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 14:00:54 +0200

Sandy Hillock (NO 266804, 768m) Dog Hillock (NO 286793, 732m) Ferrowie (NO 303794, 801m) 20.4 kilometres 1020 metres of ascent I’ve had it in mind to take this obscure little jaunt for some time—a trip along the crags on the north side of upper Glen Clova, linking the two main routes across the hills between … Continue reading →

Lomond Hills

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:00:33 +0200

West Lomond (NO 197066, 522m) East Lomond (NO 243061, 434m) 12.7 kilometres 480 metres of ascent This was a lunch-time impulse, on a day that suddenly seemed too good to waste. The Lomonds are a pair of ancient volcanic plugs, pushing up through layers of sedimentary rock that form an intricate escarpment around three sides … Continue reading →

Clachnaben

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 14:00:19 +0200

Threestane Hill (NO 631873, 431m) Mount Shade (NO 626870, 507m) Clachnaben (NO 615865, 589m) Hill of Edendocher (NO 603859, 577m) Sandy Hill (NO 593858, 592m) 20 kilometres 790 metres of ascent Clachnaben is Clach na Beinne, “stone of the hill”, a name that correctly applies to the granite tor that forms its summit, and which … Continue reading →

CCCP 2020: Mona Gowan & Morven

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 14:00:07 +0200

Scraulac (NJ 314056, 741m) Cairnagour Hill (NJ 325056, 743m) Mona Gowan (NJ 335058, 749m) Mullachdubh (NJ 354057, 681m) Morven (NJ 376039, 872m) 17.9 kilometres 800 metres of ascent The Crow Craigies Climbing Party’s meeting for 2020 was cancelled during the Current Unpleasantness. But the three founding members, now into our fifth decade of chuckling and … Continue reading →

Glen Isla: Mayar From The Southwest

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:00:52 +0200

Finalty Hill (NO 212750, 905m) Mayar (NO 240737, 928m) 22 kilometres 820 metres of ascent After more than a hundred days in Covid-19 lockdown, the Oikofuge was finally permitted to live up to his nom-de-blog again, and head for the hills. I’d noted the accessibility of Mayar from Glen Isla last year, during a previously … Continue reading →

Lock-down Walks: Three Ships, Two Bridges, And A Bad Poet

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 14:00:53 +0200

2.6 kilometres 25 metres of ascent This one’s just a short, level stroll along one of the more interesting sections of Dundee’s waterfront on the Tay estuary. It also goes off-book a bit by being a one-way stroll—linking the two ends of the journey is left as an … ahem … exercise for the interested reader. Even … Continue reading →

Lock-down Walks: Dundee Law

Wed, 20 May 2020 14:00:19 +0200

Dundee Law (NO 391313, 174m) 5.1 kilometres 183 metres of ascent Another day, another park on the way to another Dundee hill. My starting point this time was the southwest corner of the steeply sloping Dudhope Park, on my way to the Dundee Law. Dudhope gets its name from the old word hope, meaning “valley”. … Continue reading →

Lock-down Walks: Balgay Hill

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 14:00:46 +0200

Balgay Hill (NO 377308, 146m) 2.8 kilometres 84 metres of ascent Well, needs must when the Devil drives. The current UK coronavirus lockdown imposes paradoxical advice on the Oikofuge when it comes to walking outdoors—apparently I’m to “stay local”, but take my “normal exercise”, so long as it lasts “no more than an hour”. Given … Continue reading →