28 July 2025
The expedition started well as my husband and I arrived at the Glen Devon Woodlands car park. There was plenty of space to park the car and the car park was free. To be honest, we would have been happy to pay a fee using cash or a credit card but we don’t like the places where the payment is via an app.
We were on the forest path as soon as we left the car park then on a gradually ascending track. A red squirrel darted across the path in front of me just before we turned on to a steep path through the woodland.
We soon emerged on to open land with superb views towards the Firth of Forth.
There was just a little more ascent and we were on a broad ridge at the summit cairn of Innerdownie (611m) – the first Donald Hill of the day (a Donald Hill is a mountain in lowland Scotland with height over 2,000 feet and over 100 feet of prominence; there are also additional Donald Tops but their definition is complex).
Views continued to be far-reaching and impressive as we followed the ridge. The breeze meant there was significant wind chill and so we were pleased to find a sheltered spot where we sat on the remnants of a stone wall near some trees for lunch. As we ate, two cyclists passed on E-bikes but these were the only people we saw until after we had descended to the valley near the end of the walk.
We could see the entire loop of the ridge around Glen Sherup as we continued our walk.
There was further ascent on to Whitewisp Hill. Even though it’s 643m in height and marked by a summit cairn, it’s not a Donald as there’s not sufficient ascent between it and Tarmangie Hill.
In fact Tarmangie Hill was our next summit and at 645m was the highest point of the walk as well as being the second Donald for the day. Our view extended all the way to Queensferry suspension bridge across the Forth and north into the Southern Highlands with even the Cairngorms in the distance. We were fortunate to have picked a clear day.
We passed to the east of Scad Hill, noticing the large Forestry Commission area in Glen Sherup where trees were being felled. The path there was closed but that didn’t affect our route on the ridge above the glen.
We noticed that native species of trees have been planted in the area as part of the Glendevon Woodlands regeneration project by the Woodland Trust.
We could see the imposing round summit of Ben Shee ahead. It looked like a big ascent but wasn’t really too far, just steep. Ben Shee is actually only 516m but its distinctive summit makes it appear imposing. There were also excellent views from the summit towards the Glendevon reservoirs and through Glen Eagles.
We descended to reach the dam at Glensherup reservoir, where we did see some more people. After crossing the dam, there was an unexpected very steep although extremely short ascent on to the track where we had begun our walk.
We were surprised that the car park was still almost empty – just two vehicles in addition to our car. We had enjoyed a fine walk of about ten miles which had included many outstanding views and a significant time on the ridge. There are certainly plenty of wonderful areas to walk in UK apart from the very crowded well-known spots.
Where's Kathryn? 