Pitlour Hill - 22/02/2019

I was starting my second walk from Auchtermuchty, heading west this time to the far north-west of the county - my destination: Pitlour Hill trigpoint.

I like the village of Auchtermuchty. It's one of the only places in Fife that I have seen the Dipper. I would like it more if it had toilets and a cafe; I discovered on this walk that it has neither.

I started my walk by paying a quick visit to the church; something I always like to do.

Auchtermuchty Parish Church. NO2311

I walked through the village and headed north-west into gridsquare NO2211. There was a reservoir marked on the map, which made a definite, if boring subject for this gridsquare's photograph.

Auchtermuchty Reservoir. NO2211

Just before Leckiebank a 'Private' sign and arrow directing walkers right, took me away from my original route. I never mind this as long as it doesn't mean missing out on a gridsquare. Looking at the map now, some months later, I seem to remember it meant missing out on one, but gaining another. My original route was going to take me up Demperston Hill in NO2112. There is still a track marked on the map leading up this hill, but I suspect it might be better to access this gridsquare from the west. I was nearly in it at the top of Pitlour Hill.

For now, I followed the footpath signs circumnavigating Leckiebank.

Leckiebank Farm Cottages. NO2212

I joined the road at Newton and briefly entered NO2213 at Pitmedden Forest.

Road at Pitmedden Forest. NO2213

I followed this yellow road to its end, pausing at Newhill to ask some passersby if they knew how I could get to Pitlour Hill. as the crow flies it's only about half a mile from here. They had no idea what I was talking about. Perhaps they weren't locals? I hoped not.

There was nothing particularly interesting to photograph along this road and I was glad to get off the road onto a forest track. 

Road to Newhill. NO2113

I was still veering from my original route, but was looking forward to seeing the loch marked on the map.

Dried up loch at Broom Hill. NO2013.

The loch was more or less dried up, however, so there was nothing to be seen here. Discouraged at the way the day and walk was turning out, I determined that I would reach that trigpoint and headed off up the hill across bog and sapling conifers. It was an unpleasant quarter of a mile or so until I reached Pitlour Wood and found much more interesting subjects to photograph in the many interesting trees up here.

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Trees and tree roots on Pitlour Hill. NO2012

I eventually reached the trigpoint, probably my least favourite Fife one so far.

Pitlour Hill trigpoint. NO2012

Looking at the map, I could see two potentially interesting features to look, out for on my descent to Pitlour Park. Brownie's Chair and a monument. I was also looking for somewhere to eat my lunch and thought I'd found the Brownie's Chair; in fact I thought I was sitting in it for lunch. It looked rather like a chair after all.

Outcrop near Brownie's Chair, NO2012

The only reason I know this is NOT Brownie's Chair is through subsequent research, which described Brownie's Chair as being a thatched cottage, one storey high and once occupied by one of Mr Skene (of Pitlour)'s gamekeepers. Allegedly the brownies used to sit on a tree trunk by the cottage. There is no sign now of this cottage although I did see some rubble by a herd of cows which was in the right location. No brownies though.

If I didn't see the Brownie's Chair, I did see some 'pretend' standing stones in the next gridsquare.

'Pretend' standing stones at Pitlour. NO2011

The search for the monument was in vain too. It was in the forest and I wasn't about to go wandering in search of something that might not be there. I'd done enough walking off piste today. I couldn't find out anything about this monument when I got home and tried to research it. Whilst the monument did not materialise (largely through lack of effort involved in looking for it), a pond did. This was not marked on the map unless you count three blue squiggles as representing a pond.

Pond near Pitlour Farm. NO2011

Some sheep posed beautifully for a photograph.

Sheep and West Lomond from Western Pitlour. NO2011

Western Pitlour turned out to be a ruin, one of my favourite things, and quite an extensive ruin at that.

Western Pitlour. NO2011

NO2011 was proving to be a very interesting square. Perhaps I should start a legerboard of interesting Fife gridsquares and, when I've done them all at the age of 150, decide which is the most interesting, a bit like Classic FM's Christmas Carol countdown at the moment. Hmmm, now there's a thought. On the 1856 map of this area, not only is the aforementioned monument depicted, but a summer house close by. Perhaps of more interest though, is a Roman fort, shown only by hashed lines at NO 2039 1161. Although the OS Place Names Book says it is called  'The Roman Camp' by local residents, it goes on to say there is no certainty of it being such. Whatever it was, I passed it by in oblivion!

For anyone interested in the Pitcairn of Pitlour family history, there is a detailed family history here. I was interested to read that two members of the Pitcairn (Pitcarne) family were fined for their presence at local conventicles in 1674. William Pitcairn and his brother Henry were fined twice in the same year for attending conventicles (field services) and for harbouring the minister, Rev John Welsh. At the time of the Covenanters, both attending conventicles and harbouring fugitives and 'wanted men' were crimes punishable by fines, forfeiture, imprisonment and, in some instances, by death.

William Pitcairn lived at Pitlour House. The present house was built in 1784.

Back of Pitlour House from the north. NO2011

My obsession with NO2011 was over. I had reached the road, must cross it and find another gridsquare. NO2010. It has not escaped my notice that these are years within my ken. I'm not going to make anymore of that than that simple sentence.

I was in for a pleasant surprise as I had thought it necessary to walk along the road into Strathmiglo here, but, in fact, there is a footpath leading south, signposted to the village. Brilliant.

Footpath by Barroway Burn. NO2010

The footpath runs parallel for a bit to the Barroway Burn before continuing on to emerge at the busy A912. I crossed the road and went straight into the village of Strathmiglo where a disused railway line now forms a decent footpath eastwards.

Disused railway line at Strathmiglo. NO2110

I continued walking this pleasant footpath through woodland, parallel to the noisy A912 until it emerged near its convergence with the A91. The A912 is a strange road as you keep thinking you're leaving it. I'm very familiar with this road, having driven it many times when I stayed for a while with my brother in Falkland. On my regular visits to see dad in Perth, this was the route I took. I was now seeing the same route on foot. I like that. Something about taking the same road slower and being able to say as you drive past at a later date, "That's the footpath I walked along when I did such and such a walk." It's all about befriending the land, acquainting  yourself with it. One day I will walk barefoot so that I am truly walking 'skin to skin'. Not in February however!

A familiar and helpful navigational junction at Strathmiglo. The A912 and the A91. NO2110.

My wintry woodland path had diminished in size and I chose a fallen tree to sit on to finish the last of my hot tea and whatever snack I had left.

Disused railway line at Strathmiglo. NO2110

I saw an overwintering Chiffchaff here, which cheered me somewhat, not that I particularly needed cheering. I had recovered from my earlier mood slump. That had all been due to not being able to find a path when I wanted one. Things since then had gone swimmingly. Naturally, this state of affairs was not to last. I had risked thinking I could walk the entire length of this disused railway into Auchtermuchty. Do not follow in my steps! The red lines on my Memory Map bear witness to my wandering footsteps. I eventually found a bridge, a good subject for a photograph of a gridsquare I would barely be in.

Railway bridge near Strathmiglo. NO2210

I had already photographed NO2211 at the start of the walk (Reservoir), so passed swiftly through this gridsquare following a straight track until the track disappeared. I snapped a photo of the burn and an attraxtive bridge, not realising I had already 'bagged' this gridsquare.

Bridge over Auchtermuchty Burn. NO2311

It took several attempts to find a navigable way back into the village of Auchtermuchty, but all was forgiven once I was back on harder ground, until, that is, I discovered there were neither toilets nor cafe in the village, so I made a hasty retreat home!

Number of miles walked: 9

Number of new gridsquares: 11

Number of trigpoints: 1

Number of features shown on map that did not materialise: 5 (including paths)

Number of features not shown on map that did materialise: 2

Walk worth repeating: No, but return to find Brownie's Chair, Roman Fort and Monument