A circular route from Threipmuir taking in the Bore Stane, North Esk Reservoir, Spittal Hill and Green Law.

Undeterred by the overnight change in forecast from 'dry with sunny spells' to 'rain and sleet with wintery conditions', and thankful the recent gusty winds had finally abated, a group of twelve walkers set off from Threipmuir, heading over Redford Bridge, past the always picturesque Bavelaw Marsh and onto the Pentlands.

Leaving the road, we turned west, following the frequently boggy track towards King's Hill. The skies remained overcast but nonetheless we were rewarded with good views over the Forth when we paused for a drink near Baron's Cleuch before turning south and heading upwards past the Bore Stane, from where the views were even better. Having completely missed the Bore Stane on the recce, several walkers more familiar with the area were able to confirm its location and positively identify this outcrop of  rocks which lies at the meeting point of the Borders, Midlothian and Edinburgh council areas and is close to where the North Esk river rises. 

Nonchalantly batting away a few cheeky flakes of sleet, we continued along the narrow, single-track and muddy path, with Cock Rig to our left, and enjoyed beautiful views of the North Esk river below. After dropping down and crossing some very waterlogged patches of ground, we reached North Esk reservoir to find that the northerly wind, barely noticeable up till then, was now whipping across the water intent on spoiling our lunch stop. Fortunately, a couple of enterprising walkers identified a spot on the far side of the dam, where we were able to sit and shelter from the chilly breeze before tackling the post-lunch climbs.

The engineer responsible for North Esk reservoir was Thomas Stevenson, father of Robert Louis Stevenson. It was built by a consortium of Penicuik mill owners in 1850 to regulate the flow of water in the river and give a constant supply to the numerous paper mills in the valley. As the mills closed down, the last one in 2004, the reservoir became a wildlife sanctuary. The area is a SSSI in two categories, biologically for the flora and geologically for the unusual exposures.

From the reservoir we made a steep ascent of the gravel path in the direction of Patie's Hill, pausing to admire the view behind us, before turning east to ascend Spittal Hill, where we were treated to clear views in the improving weather right across to Nine Mile Burn to the southwest. By the time we had reached the summit of Green Law, one eagle-eyed walker even claimed to have spotted a patch of blue sky as we looked across to the prominent summits of the Kips and Scald Law, clearly outlined despite the chiefly leaden skies. Passing below West Kip, we then turned north and made our way downhill and back to Threipmuir, skirting Hare Hill and Bavelaw Castle to the east of us. 

The early part of the walk lived up to its reputation as one of the quieter areas of the Pentlands as we encountered nobody before lunch other than two runners who passed us as we stopped for our morning drink. A few more souls were out and about in the afternoon but the forecast had perhaps deterred people and it felt like we had the hills to ourselves for most of the day.

The threatened rain and sleet never materialised and the conversation rarely paused so at the end of a thoroughly enjoyable walk, we were almost surprised to have covered nearly 11 miles. Thank you to everyone who joined the walk and made it a memorable day. 

Alison C.

 Photos: Alison C.