I was in North Aberdeenshire to ascend more of the lesser known hills the first being The Broback, (Tump) located south of Huntly and approached from the minor road to the south-east. Having located a parking spot near the high point on the road I passed through a quarry then along the side of a field to reach a farm track leading to Birkenhill Farm. A couple of fields were then crossed to reach the grassy knoll which was the summit of The Broback. The return to the road was more direct then a road walk led back to the car.
The next Tump involved a drive south-east along the minor road used above to north-east of Gartly where I parked at the side of the road and entered the wood. Paths up firebreaks led to the summit of Tor Hill, an open area with a few young firs growing.
The third hill in the plan was Hill of Newtongarry (Tump) located west of Drumblade. I parked at the side of the minor road to the south and walked through a narrow strip of well spaced trees to more open ground where I visited a couple of knolls as I was unable to tell which was the highest.
Hill of Mungo, located north-east of Huntly, was the next Tump. I parked at the ‘T’ junction to the north-east of the hill, crossed a stubble field and entered the wood and walked over the brash covered tracks to reach the summit of Hill of Mungo. Two knolls were visited as I was unable to say which was highest.
To the south of Hill of Mungo was Hill of Greenfold, another Tump, so I moved my vehicle to just north of the A97, walked up the track to Greenfold Farm then entered and crossed a stubble field. Some gorse bushes had to be negotiated before I could enter the woods where the trees had been thinned. Brash covered tracks led to the knoll marking the summit.
The next and final hills of the day were White Hill and Hill of Cumrie (Tumps) located south-west of Ruthven. I parked at the side of the minor road to the north of White Hill and walked up the tarred road towards Whitehill Farm then climbed White Hill the high point marked by an enormous rock. Descended to the farm and followed a vehicle track south and into a wood. From here I ascended Hill of Cumrie visiting a couple of knolls as I couldn’t say which was highest.
- Total time taken – 3.5 hours.
- Total distance – 16.5 kilometres.
- Total height climbed – 530 metres.