The Doon - 4th January 2015

Location -    Tynron start and end grid ref NX8092    Grid Ref for The Doon itself NX819939
Total distance - approximately 3.5 miles.  (but I will do this again with the garmin to make sure)
Surface   -  Track, then open hillside, grass and mud quite a lot of muddy and boggy patches.
What did we see   -  Sheep, cows, one wee mouse and the most amazing spectacle of the mist rising from the valley.
Susan's Rating - not as hard as it looks at first glance, but there is a short steep climb before the top. Beware of the wet areas however they are very hard to avoid, have been up in summer and it's less wet unsurprisingly.  Well worth the climb.

My friend Linda had been going on about climbing Tynron Doon for quite a few months.  She had been up before a long time ago, but wasn't sure she was still up to it.  However as she had no problem on the walk we did at Moniaive last week I felt it was time we headed on up; and  what better time to do it than the first Dog Walk Sunday of the year.  Arthur was really pleased too as this had been on his to do list for a while, so joined by Eunice and Digger we all set off on our big adventure.


Start point for us for this walk was the car park of Tynron Village Hall from there we followed the track which leads up from the church past the graveyard the way is signposted.  There are other ways onto the hill but this is my favourite at the moment.

The finger post is situated near Choo Campbell's memorial bench.  Follow the arrows and keep to the right hand track, not the one which leads uphill.

Keeping on this track we wound our way steadily uphill past the waterfall which was in full spout due to all the lovely rain we have been having lately ( the road splits again but take the left hand side and continue uphill).  We stepped out of the gate at the top of the track onto the hill and gave Linda a few moments to contemplate what she was about to undertake.

The view from the gate.  Granted on a nice Summer day - look at that sky.

Once though the gate we followed the track upwards then veered off to the right to cross the stream and through another gate.  Now this is where it gets fuzzy a bit.  There are tracks, you can see them quite clearly and it's just a case of picking your way across and up to the summit.  However we took a slightly zig zag approach to avoid some cows, we made sure to keep well away from them, not that they seemed bothered in the slightest.  I'm sure they are well used to people trudging about their home.  We weren't the only people on the hill and that was on a damp dreich day.

After several stops for photo taking and wee breathers we made it to the stop.  I rather think Linda was well pleased and Arthur was too. Needless to say the dogs had a ball.   Here are some pictures taken from the top.

Wee Breathers LOL

Did I say I thought Linda was well pleased.

Nithsdale in all her glory.

Kona

This tickled us pink we watched it for quite a while.

 Tynron Doon or as some call it "The Doon" is not the highest hill in the area at 291m (955 ft) but I feel that it has some of the best views.  You can see an awful long way in all directions and we spent some time figuring out where we had been on previous walks and where we would like to explore on future walks.

 Arthur Meg and Spot on their way back to the car park.  Kona seems determined to beat them to it.

If you are interested in history here's a link to a page which tells you a little about the hillfort. 
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=24108

At the end of the walk Arthur had to leave us, so Linda, Eunice and I spent some time looking round the graveyard and the outside of the Church.  I've lived in this area all my life and this was the first time I've been up to and around the church.  Eunice says that there are some fine stained glass windows in the Church and as I have an interest in Stained Glass windows I hope to get to see them soon.