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Kaim Hill

For some reason I have the League of Gentlemen in my head when I think of this hill.......... this is a local hill for local people...... Well it is only half an hour's drive from home.

Kaim Hill sits within Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.  Even though I've lived in the area for over 8 years it's not a hill that we've ever been up.  My research on routes found very few official ones written up though there is this one on the Park's website which formed the basis of the route we were planning.

Steve and I met Carol and Don at Fairlie Station.  There is a small car park here but I also like the fact that we could do this very easily by train.

The start of the route has you going through a lane that looks like you're wandering into someone's front garden and then into a fairy glen with a lovely babbling stream.  Soon enough we were leaving the woods and out onto the moor. 


We decided as there wasn't much in the way of actual path that this would be a good opportunity to do a bit of navigation practice.  So mini lesson on how to take a bearing from Steve and we were heading up onto Lairdside Hill.  Then it was onto total pathless terrain to Kaim Hill. 

The wind had picked up so we didn't stay long at the trig point before heading off to find somewhere sheltered for a spot of lunch.

Except........ we hadn't taken a bearing off the top of Kaim Hill and had just followed a path in the general direction we thought we should be heading.  We quickly realised that we needed to head back to get on the ridge to take us down to the quarry.  This began Carol's lesson in descending rough pathless terrain. 



The quarry provided much needed shelter from the biting wind as well as a good view over the Firth of Clyde.  More pathless descent training led us eventually over to Black Hill and the landrover track.  From here the route takes us past some rocks with funny wee cup and ring marks and into another enchanting wood.





Before we knew it we were back at the station.  One thing's for sure , this is a great wee hill that we will definitely be out on again.
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