The Dog Rambler

Thursday

6 E-diary
May 2010

Walk Hartside Hill and Clints Hill, Length 6.2

Scottish Borders miles
Dogs on walk Dylan, Lucas, Phoebe, Struan and Talaidh

A wet and rather dreich day greeted us today as Lucas prepared for his first walk with us.
A little bit nervously he climbed into the Jeep, with a little help from me, as Phoebe
sprawled across the back seat did nothing to help. Rather she kept shoving her nose at
Lucas as he tried his best not to look too perturbed by all these new experiences.

Struan and Talaidh, having met Lucas already nonchalantly gazed on from the boot,
whereas Dylan, even more was lying down in the boot taking no notice at all – yet. All
settled, we set off towards the A68 heading for a turn off just before Soutra Hill. A couple
of miles along the minor road took us to the start of the walk. Our destination was lost in
the low cloud blanketing the hills and casting a veiled shroud over the tops of the trees.
The low cloud was accompanied by a drizzle, so light you are not aware of how wet it is
making you. Perhaps it was making the dogs wet but not me as I was kitted out in full
waterproofs and the gloves were back out again as the temperature struggled to lift the
mercury.

Having managed to find a space to park, as two cars were parked in the spot I normally
use, we set off through a gate heading south east thorough a field of rough grazing, its
grass bending with the clinging drizzle, and a strip of semi-mature trees, tops fuzzed by
the mist. With the field containing some cows, Lucas was on his lead for the start of the
walk, meaning he would have to wait to really make the acquaintance of the others.

He did not have to wait long. As soon as we passed through the next gate, taking us into
the forest surrounding Hartside Hill, he was let off. Having met Phoebe in the car he made
a bee-line to find out more about Dylan. He seems he liked what he found out and for
most of the walk wherever, Dylan was, Lucas was almost guaranteed to be not far behind.
However, Phoebe was not done with Lucas yet and she lolloped over, unusually quite gently
for her and tried to engage him in some play. This half succeeded but Lucas appeared a bit
wary of those long unpredictable legs of hers and his attention kept getting drawn to
Dylan. Struan and Talaidh, having seen new dogs joining the walk many times just got on
with snuffling about in the verges of the track.

The track was a well made forestry track that snaked up the slope of Hartside hill. The
verges of the track on both sides were very wide, so much so that it did not have the feel
of forest walk, which can sometimes be a bit claustrophobic with the views hidden by the
spiralling height of the trees. However, the low cloud and mist did for any views we may
have been hoping for. But what the damp did was to flush all the tremendous and exciting
smells out of the wide verges and keep the dogs very interested.

As we wound up the track we met two women heading back down with a black Labrador
and a Golden Retriever. It was Lucas who alerted us to them with some powerful barking
for such a slender dog. We stopped and chatted, commenting on how we did not normally
meet other people on this walk. The dogs played and Phoebe led a chase across the heather
and grass tussocks beside the track, but only Dylan was anywhere near to keeping pace
with her.

We pressed on up the track with the sun teasing us. Its pale, whitewashed poached egg
yellow weakly glowed through the cloud for a minute before being swallowed into the
boiling, churning, sweeps of continuous cloud. The extra spot of warmth given by the sun
created ghostly clouds of mist rising from the heather, distorting the shape and size of the
trees behind. The strange luminescence of the low mantle of cloud intensified the colours on
the ground. The heather which normally looks black to dark brown at this time of year
glowed with bronzes and warm browns and a under hue of deep soft green. The grasses
offered a spectrum of green, too numerous to count but were also flecked with reds and
yellows. It all had the effect of an extravagantly woven tweed jacket, comforting the hill
against the weather.

Further on we met another person coming down the hill. This time a man on his own,
striking out at quiet a pace. Lucas barked along in time to his stride, but not getting too
close to him, until we reached each other. This gave us a chance for a quick breather whist
we chatted, before pushing on further up the hill and into the thickening cloud.

The track rounds the southern side of the summit swinging along its eastern side. We
followed it till it ended at a turning circle for forest vehicles. But the fire break heading
straight on contained a path that will be worth exploring on future walks. Retracing our
steps Dylan took Lucas off onto an explore in the tightly packed pine trees, whilst Phoebe
watched them from the edge. Struan and Talaidh were just plodded along the track in
their own little worlds.

On reaching another fire break we descend onto the moorland ridge leading to the summit
of Hartside Hill’s smaller twin Clints Hill (1,525 feet), both of them sporting
communication masts on their summits, which loomed menacingly out of the mist. After
not taking in the view but the dog having a chance to chase and roam freely over the
springy heather we did make our ascent onto the top of Hartside Hill (1,535 feet) and its
trig point huddled in the trees beyond the tall mast. On the way back across the ridge an
imperceptible increase in the strength of the breeze pushed the cloud apart revealing
Hatedie Hill and its mast and then opening up a window to a vivid green view of fields
below on our left.

Having covered both hills it was time to make our way down. Although the cloud
descended again, there was a sufficient gap for Lucas to spot the blades of some wind
turbines gracefully turning just above the tops of the trees about half a mile away. With a
start he came running back to me and also jumped into my arms. At first I could not
work out what had got to him, but then it became clear, the wind turbines. Phoebe and
Dylan just kept on playing as Phoebe tried to reclaim Dylan from Lucas.

We wound back down the track and as we got lower so the weather lifted, promising a
bright and sunny afternoon ahead. After negotiating the field of cows again, with two
refusing to move from beside the path, We arrived back at the Jeep in bright sunshine.

Nick

Photo slideshow from the walk

E-diaries now also available at www.scribd.com/TheDogRambler

Nick Fletcher
The Dog Rambler
9 Links Street
Musselburgh www.thedogrambler.com
East Lothian nick@thedogrambler.com
EH21 6JL t. 0131 665 8843 or 0781 551 6765

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