Hills of Britain and Ireland
OS Map of Earn Skelly
Height: 692m / 2270ft • Prominence: 61m / 200ft • Summit : no feature: ground on E side of pool • Trip reports (hill-bagging)
Fine walk today in lovely Glen Lethnot
A quiet place.
18-Mar-22 • We travel the Spaceways • flickr
51946406603
The Divide
At this point of the walk through Glen Lethnot, I normally carry on straight ahead towards the deceptively steep slopes of West Craig. You can see the zig-zagging path between the two rises to the right hand side of the scene. However, on this occasion, we followed the main river around along a slightly different path, heading into the hills via a steep sided, narrow valley which can be seen sitting between the two hills to the left of the scene. We did eventually make it back to West Craig but that was over three hours later after we'd followed the hills around. It was worth taking a different route through the glen as there are some great views along the alternative route that we'd have otherwise missed.
panorama river angus hills ferns glenlethnot waterofsaughs 20507102932
Mountain Meadow
Instead of following the same path I always do through Glen Lethnot, I decided to go a different way and at this point, the hills were beginning to close in. Between the river and the sharply rising slopes of West Craig (which lies to the right of this photo) was this beautiful mountain meadow full of wild flowers and boulders.
plants colour angus meadow hillside glenlethnot 20522293641
Green Boulder Bridge
This is Glen Lethnot's slightly more secretive suspension bridge. The paths on either side quickly fade into obscurity and you only see it once you've walked so far along a pathless path. Walking over it is an interesting experience as it leans ever so slightly to one side, meaning that it feels like the bridge wants to throw you into the river. This photo was taken after we'd crossed the span and looks back at the rocky slopes of West Craig, which is covered in boulders on this side. We did eventually end up at the top of the hill but we went the long way round.
bridge angus boulders suspensionbridge glenlethnot waterofsaughs 20519064196
One Way Up
After leaving the bridge behind, we quickly began to ascend the hills. From here, the path was a little easier to trace and even then, you couldn't really get the route wrong as the river was on one side and steeply climbing slope was on the other. It's a shame this river flows in the direction it does as it made it tricky to photograph.
river waterfall angus rapids glenlethnot 20536427582
Boulder View
The view back into Glen Lethnot got increasingly better as we scaled the hill but I wasn't especially happy with the overall composition as I was able to capture the view but there was nothing in the foreground to set off the scene. However, I noticed these boulders lying a little above the path so I made a slight detour to photograph them. They have done exactly what I wanted them to and provided some foreground interest to bring the scene together. From this point, the path wound further into the boggy, Angus hills. There was nothing ahead of us for miles. In fact, the nearest place of any significance is Kirriemuir and that's quite a long way from here. The nearest building appears to be a good six or seven miles away, unless you backtrack to the end of Glen Lethnot...
river rocks angus gorge glenlethnot waterofsaughs 20358594859
OS Map
This is OS mapping. In some areas, OpenStreetMap shows more footpaths
Spatial NI has online OSNI mapping. Click "Basemap Gallery" (4 squares icon at the top).
Now would be a good time for a cup of tea.
GPX Editor
Record map clicks
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Photos
Please tag your photos and upload them to the British and Irish Mountains group on Flickr
The other photos have been geo-tagged as on or around the summit. For less busy mountains, it can be a little hit and miss.
Fine walk today in lovely Glen Lethnot
A quiet place.
18-Mar-22 • We travel the Spaceways • flickr
51946406603
The Divide
At this point of the walk through Glen Lethnot, I normally carry on straight ahead towards the deceptively steep slopes of West Craig. You can see the zig-zagging path between the two rises to the right hand side of the scene. However, on this occasion, we followed the main river around along a slightly different path, heading into the hills via a steep sided, narrow valley which can be seen sitting between the two hills to the left of the scene. We did eventually make it back to West Craig but that was over three hours later after we'd followed the hills around. It was worth taking a different route through the glen as there are some great views along the alternative route that we'd have otherwise missed.
panorama river angus hills ferns glenlethnot waterofsaughs 20507102932
Mountain Meadow
Instead of following the same path I always do through Glen Lethnot, I decided to go a different way and at this point, the hills were beginning to close in. Between the river and the sharply rising slopes of West Craig (which lies to the right of this photo) was this beautiful mountain meadow full of wild flowers and boulders.
plants colour angus meadow hillside glenlethnot 20522293641
Green Boulder Bridge
This is Glen Lethnot's slightly more secretive suspension bridge. The paths on either side quickly fade into obscurity and you only see it once you've walked so far along a pathless path. Walking over it is an interesting experience as it leans ever so slightly to one side, meaning that it feels like the bridge wants to throw you into the river. This photo was taken after we'd crossed the span and looks back at the rocky slopes of West Craig, which is covered in boulders on this side. We did eventually end up at the top of the hill but we went the long way round.
bridge angus boulders suspensionbridge glenlethnot waterofsaughs 20519064196
One Way Up
After leaving the bridge behind, we quickly began to ascend the hills. From here, the path was a little easier to trace and even then, you couldn't really get the route wrong as the river was on one side and steeply climbing slope was on the other. It's a shame this river flows in the direction it does as it made it tricky to photograph.
river waterfall angus rapids glenlethnot 20536427582
Boulder View
The view back into Glen Lethnot got increasingly better as we scaled the hill but I wasn't especially happy with the overall composition as I was able to capture the view but there was nothing in the foreground to set off the scene. However, I noticed these boulders lying a little above the path so I made a slight detour to photograph them. They have done exactly what I wanted them to and provided some foreground interest to bring the scene together. From this point, the path wound further into the boggy, Angus hills. There was nothing ahead of us for miles. In fact, the nearest place of any significance is Kirriemuir and that's quite a long way from here. The nearest building appears to be a good six or seven miles away, unless you backtrack to the end of Glen Lethnot...
river rocks angus gorge glenlethnot waterofsaughs 20358594859
Glen Lethnot In August
This is the defining view of Glen Lethnot from the top of West Craig and it has to be one of the finest views in Angus. Due to its remote location, not many people seem to visit here which is both good and bad. It's good because it means I've always had this glorious scene to myself. The only reason I say it could be a bad thing is because it'd be interesting to compare my photos to those of others who have been here. With that said, I can compare this photo to the one I took from this spot www.flickr.com/photos/k-burn/16656735424/ back in April . I have to say that despite the more interesting sky and more varied colour palette of the August scene, I prefer the April view as the shadows are stronger and the view somehow manages to feel even more remote. I'll have to capture this scene again in either snowy or frosty conditions... If you want to feel like you were on this walk, a lot of it was filmed and turned into a www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU6xYFliQHM" rel="nofollow 16 minute video .
grave plaque angus valley cairn glenlethnot waterofsaughs westcraig 19922671834
Basic Bridge
The suspension bridge is perhaps the best known classic bridge design. They can be as simple or as complex as you need them to be. In this case, simplicity has been chosen. The Water of Saughs is crossed in a single span that makes no contact with the fast flowing water below. Poles at either end host the cables that support and hold up the wooden deck and said cables are well anchored into the ground at either end. Whilst this bridge looks flimsy, it's design allows for movement and its lightweight nature means it's more likely to avoid damage during windy periods. Walking over it alone was certainly a fun experience. I had every confidence in the towers and the cables but the wooden deck directly had a tendency to creak when stepped on. I have a lot of respect for bridges like this. Although I've titled this photo "Basic Bridge", this isn't the most basic suspension bridge I've come across. In Glen Nevis, the idea of a www.flickr.com/photos/k-burn/5445160005/ basic suspension bridge is taken to the extreme as three steel cables cross the river. Two to hold onto and one to walk across...
bridge river angus rapids suspensionbridge glenlethnot waterofsaughs 16658952203
Smoke On The Hills
Once you reach the end of the long, dead end road into Glen Lethnot, a track leads you further into the hills. You have to walk about two miles before the wide, glacial valley gives way to the rising slopes at the back and on the day I took this, the hot April sun was beating down on a dry and predominantly yellow landscape. As I was here by myself with no-one else around, it felt like I was walking through a Scottish desert. The only major point of interest you pass on approach to the rising hills at the back of the glen is this footbridge which spans the Water of Saughs. No paths lead away from it, although I get the feeling not many people have the confidence to walk over this bridge to begin with.
bridge river angus rapids suspensionbridge glenlethnot waterofsaughs 17092983669
Glen Lethnot: The Forgotten Glen
It's been almost five years since I was last able to witness this spectacular viewpoint, situated at the top of West Craig, overlooking Glen Lethnot. In the far distance, there's a small patch of commercial pine forest. That's where the car park lies. From there, you can follow the course of both the track and the Water of Saughs through the glen. On foot, this track makes for an easy walk until it dives off to the north ascending into the hills. To reach this point, a regular walker's path splits off from the track and zig zags its way up the hillside, rising nearly 200 metres in about half a mile. As you can see, the reward for climbing the hill at the back of the glen are most definitely worth it. By the cairn situated at the edge of the hill is a small plaque dedicated to Richard J. Castleton which is engraved with "A Quiet Sleep In The Hills".
grave angus hills cairn glenlethnot waterofsaughs blackcraig westcraig 16656735424
Videos
None found
Notes
- Data: Database of British and Irish Hills v18.2
- Maps: We use OS mapping for England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man. Sadly, Channel Islands, Northern (OSNI) and Southern Ireland (OSI) mapping isn't available online, so we use Openstreetmap.