The Three Wirrens
By Andy Crawford
Distance: 12½ miles/20km.
Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger Sheet 44 or 1:25,000 Explorer Sheet 389
Start/Finish: Bridgend, Glen Lethnot Grid Ref NO537684. Park beside the
village hall or on the open grass area between the hall and the school.
Grading: This is a remote, open walk over rolling, rough and heathery hills
suitable for fit adults and older children. Mostly on good vehicle or hill
tracks with some quiet road walking, the route crosses three hills: East
Wirren 2,096 feet/639m, Hill of Wirren 2224 feet/678m and West Wirren 2,060
feet/628m before descending into a valley then finishing over another two
tops.
There is very little shelter from the elements therefore care must be taken
to ensure that proper footwear and clothing is worn. A good summer route but
in winter weather or low cloud, a map and compass, and the ability to
navigate with them effectively may be required due to the many paths which
crisscross the hill. This is commercial breeding land for deer, grouse and
pheasant and where sheep and cattle graze freely so dogs must be kept on a
lead. It is not suitable for mountain bikes.
The Angus Glens penetrate into the eastern side of the Scottish Highlands
and offer the opportunity to see and walk on the mountains, yet be only a
short drive away from busy towns and cities! There are ten 'Munros' -
mountains of over 3,000 ft - in the glens that once provided sanctuary for
historical greats such as William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, the Marquis of
Montrose and Viscount Claverhouse. Today, the glens are a popular venue for
getting away from it all!
Of all the Angus glens, the least familiar is surely Glen Lethnot. It is
best accessed from Brechin or Edzell. From Brechin, follow the signs for the
Caterthuns - ancient ruined strongholds of the Pictish times - to Burnfoot
cottage, the 'gateway' to the Glen. The road from the left, just before the
cottage, joins from Kirkton of Menmuir. Approaching from Edzell, travel west
past the castle and the cemetery to reach Bridge of Margie after which there
are several farm entrances and the ruins of Lethnot church before reaching
Bridgend.
Two bridges are evident side by side over the West Water at Bridgend: the
modern, prefabricated one is put to shame by the once graceful arch of the
old bridge and although this has now collapsed into the river, the parapets
can still be seen. The central stone is said to have been inscribed 1725,
and was allegedly built due to a battle of religions, between the
Presbyterians and the Episcopalians.
From the top of these hills, on a good day, the views south over the valleys
of the Howe of the Mearn and Strathmore bordered by the North Sea, the
various towns including Montrose and Brechin, Dundee and south to the
Lothian hills are tremendous.
There are two WWII aircraft wreck sites in the area covered by this walk: a
Bristol Beaufort bomber that crashed on 8 March 1942 at NO513740 with the
death of both crewmen and a B24 Liberator bomber that crashed on the Hill of
Wirren on 17 October 1944 at NO521735. There were four survivors from this
crash. Click here for more details.
Follow the road from the village hall towards the school and take the grass
track on the left up to and through a gate. Continue ahead and then turn
right beside another gate and follow the broken wall up the field to reach a
wide track. Turn left and continue towards the derelict shepherd's cottage
at Dikehead. Pass to the right-hand side of the building and through a gate
then ahead to where a fence line carries down right (northeast). Go through
the gate here, turn right and follow the fence line down to the Burn of
Drumcairn bearing left away from the fence for a short distance to negotiate
the almost vertical high bank. The ground on either side of the burn can get
quite wet. Cross the burn and head up the opposite bank, regain the fence
line and continue over the lower slopes of Hill of Formal on a narrow path
to meet another wide track leading in from Newbigging at Grid Ref NO542697.
Turn left and follow this track out onto the moors and where it divides at
Grid Ref NO540702, bear left and continue over the low summit of Craig Narb
then down to where it divides once again. Continue on an easy ascent past
the wooden shelter and to the east Torr na Menach then continue ascending to
reach the triangulation pillar near the summit of East Wirren. The actual
top, although slightly higher, is a short distance to the west across the
relatively flat summit.
Go through the gate and turn left (west) on the wide track for approximately
½ mile/800m. At Grid Ref NO532733 take the left fork up the easy slope to
reach a gate in the corner of the fence. The line of the old (now broken)
fence is still obvious and should be located and followed since this next
part of the route passes through an area of black, squelchy peat hags and is
indistinct. The route bears northwest for a further ½ mile/800m to abut
another fence running from southwest to northeast. Turn right, northeast,
and continue for a further 220 yards/200m to complete the ascent to the
triangulation pillar on Hill of Wirren.
To reach West Wirren, follow the tracks alongside the fence line that leads
away westwards down a gentle slope for some 620 yards/500m then north
westerly for a further ½ mile/800m ascending slightly over the final
section.
From West Wirren a good double track leads down past a high cairn on West
Craig and almost to the roadside near Tillybardine Farm. Where the track
turns away left down the glen, descend the gentle grassy slope and head
towards a gate beside a small arched road bridge - taking care through what
can be wet and boggy ground. Cross the road, cross an area of grass and then
the narrow, adrenalin boosting suspension bridge over West Water at Grid Ref
NO489729!
Once across the bridge, negotiate another area of boggy ground and head
steeply uphill. There are many paths crisscrossing this hillside and
locating the start of the main path is not easy. Higher up there is a gap in
the fence where the path swings right past a line of grouse butts going
higher still over Ordies Hill. Continue climbing to reach a junction with
another track at Grid Ref NO488718 then turn left down the broad shoulder of
the hill and pass to the south of the summit of Craig Duchrey. Stay on this
track as it passes a jumble of fenced enclosures and ruined walls and
buildings then bear right at a fork onto a single track alongside a high
stone wall eventually to meet the tarmac road at Grid Ref NO520698. Turn
right from here and walk the 1½ miles/2.4km back to the start.
Images on
http://www.chiadfhear.co.uk/main/walking/walks/three_wirrens.htm
--
Andy Crawford
www.chiadfhear.co.uk
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