Fell Hill (417m), Bogrie Hill (432m) and Wauk Hill (357m) 8th May 2010

 

Fell Hill (417m)

Fell Hill

The car was parked by the side of the road near the start of the track to Fell Farm, which is the gateway to this hill. Mark and I started walking along this track at 1 pm on a lovely sunny day. There was a bit of a chilly wind but when the sun shone it felt warm and spring-like. Skylarks sang and hovered over the grassland, whilst lapwings and cuckoos called. It felt as though spring had arrived. It was an easy and pleasant walk along the track, with views behind us to Bogrie Hill and Castramon Hill. We reached he ruined farm, where we heard the cuckoo, and climbed the slopes to the top of the hill. This was marked by a trig and a large cairn/monument and although it was windy it was a fantastic place to be. The view was amazing and took in the Galloway Hills, the Cairnsmore of Carsphairn group of hills, the Lowther Hills, Criffel and across the Solway Firth to the mountains of the northern Lake District. We had lunch just below the summit and admired the beautiful and extensive vista. I could hardly bring myself to leave but we had two other hills to climb, so we retraced our steps down the hill to the farm and along the track back to the car. This we reached at 3.25 pm, a round trip of nearly 2 and a half hours.

Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (797m) from Fell Hill

 

Bogrie Hill (432m)

Bogrie Hill from Fell Hill

I parked the car below Bogrie Hill on a large grass verge, at NX786846. The climbing started as soon as we left the car at 3.45 pm, but it was only a 200m climb. The ground was not difficult underfoot and so it was an easy ascent. The top was marked by a trig and the view, whilst beautiful and extensive, was not as fine as that from Fell Hill. The Lowthers were much closer here, whilst the Galloway and Cairnsmore hills were further away. We could also see Criffel, the Lakeland hills, the Northern Pennines and the Isle of Man. After a short stay to admire the view we descended the short distance to the car, arriving at 5.05 pm. The walk took us a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Bishop Forest Hill (392m) from Bogrie Hill

 

Wauk Hill (357m)

Cairnkinna Hill (554m) from Wauk Hill

It took a while to find a parking spot for this hill but eventually I decided to park the car at the first spot we had seen, which was a lay-by on the A702, at NX823905. Mark and I started walking at 5.45 pm, initially through the fields at the bottom of the hill. A rickety stile led to the open hillside and the route lay alongside the wall that ran up the hillside. A trig marked the summit and we sat nearby admiring the view. The Lowthers and Cairnkinna Hill looked particularly beautiful in the evening light. After a bite to eat we descended by the side of the wall and then took a more direct route across the fields to the A702. A short walk along the side of the road brought us to the car at 7.35 pm, a total of 1 hour 50 minutes for eh walk. Ten minutes later we were on our way home.

The Lowther Hills from Wauk Hill

 

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