Sparleton Hill

Despite my ambitious personal intention to summit every hill in East Lothian, and my preference for preparing my walks carefully- this one, on a glorious May day was a completely spontaneous ‘Bag’ for myself, Hubs, the doggies and our littlest Sprog who has already sat on more trig points that he has had candles on top of birthday cakes! I had actually planned a short, tot-friendly walk in the village of Cranshaws and a civilized picnic back at the camper van for that day, however our route took us down the extremely picturesque road to the Whiteadder Reservoir, and hubs and I both agreed we couldn’t pass up this opportunity to get up and out into the vast beauty of the Lammermuir Hills. So we parked up at the small car park just over the bridge, on the opposite side to the main reservoir. We passed through the small gate, following along the waters edge, and watching out for adders- it is well known that they frequent this area to sun themselves on the path so take caution with dogs, keeping them on a lead! Passing through the second gate you have two obvious main options- head straight on up the hill right in front of you, or follow the path off to the right. In actual fact, it doesn’t matter which one you take as both paths can be joined easily a few hundred yards up. On this occasion we headed to the right, and I am so glad we did! Although not immediately obvious as it hides around the corner, this path leads you straight to the remains of Gamelshiel Castle. There is not much left of this in all honesty, just a couple of crumbling stone pillars, and some of the stone has been repurposed into a round sheep pen, but it makes an interesting feature none-the-less, and we were lucky enough to spot a stunning peacock butterfly resting on the stones, butterflies are always magic enough to capture the attention of walk-weary little persons (and nature-lovers like myself too)!

After a brief amateur photography session we crossed a small, boggy burn and followed the path as it heads up the hill. Very quickly into the ascent you are rewarded with that incredible feeling of space that comes with beautiful, uspoiled views of hillside heather, still water, patches of trees and acres of sky. You are already on Sparleton Hill at this point, the summit lies above you to the right. This section is only a gentle climb, as you circumnavigate around the hill, with a slight change of direction at a small muddy pond, complete with at least one newt- that’s a verified sighting- (so long as it was able to avoid being sat on by a hot springador dog who finds completely impossible to resist the urge to bathe in any given puddle, the muddier the better)!

Views for days! Looking out to the left before you reach the gate

A short walk (Daddy shoulder ride for some) and a bit more ascent later and we reached an open gate, with a cliched token pair of lost glasses atop the post. From here you get your first proper look at the Sparleton wind farm development down and to the left of where you are currently standing. I am used to seeing these turbines now, as I am sure many are, however I always remain impressed by them- so unexpected large in stature with an almost haunting beauty about them, certainly a sight to behold on a bright, cloudless day!

Continue a few metres through the gate and the path meets a wider, more substantial stony path that when followed to the right leads directly up to the summit of Sparelton Hill. It is not a particularly steep or challenging climb, there is no bouldering involved and the views remain ‘on point’ as you climb up above the windfarm. I can personally verify that it is possible to carry a child the entire way up from here, even under a baking summer sun!

The summit of Sparleton Hill is one of those rewarding ones, with not just a trig, but also a large makeshift cairn, that climbers have been piling up over the years- also the views here are fabulous! Watch out for ground-nesting birds during the summer months- I was dragged flat out onto my stomach in the middle of the heather when the dogs spotted a flapping pheasent a few meters away, thankfully we had the place to ourselves so no-one bar family witnessed this- I am sure it was highly entertaining (as always!)

It is possible from here to continue forward and complete a circular walk down to and along the banks of the reservoir, however on this occasion (as always!) time was tight so we only followed the path for a little while before cutting back across the hill horizontally (past the little random weather station- you will know what I mean- there is a very obvious antenna!), to rejoin our original path back down the hill the way we came up.

If I manage to re-visit the full circular, I promise I will update this entry!

Gullane Beach – Dirleton Circular (including the hanging caves)

Thorter Burn Falls (East Lothian’s secret waterfall)