Hill: Deuchary Hill
Date: Saturday 2nd July 2011
Company: Myself and Beinn
Time: 5Hrs 10Mins
Dog friendly: Yes

The quick and easy way to ascend Deuchary hill starts from Guay. What follows is a longer but scenic route up this hill.

Click here to see a map of the route undertaken

I parked at the Cally car park and set off following the way-marker signs towards Loch Ordie. The walk to Loch Ordie is 5 miles each way. The weather from the outset was great, hot and sunny .

Track beyond Cally Loch:


Track beyond Hatton:


Foxgloves added a nice splash of colour to the masses of green bracken and grasshoppers were busy making music.

Foxglove:


On reaching the track junction at the Glack, the tranquillity was shattered by a disharmony of barking dogs.

Track junction at the Glack:


One of many way-marker signs:


The view of Mill Dam surpassed all expectations; a beautiful loch with Mallard on the surface, thousand of tadpoles in the loch and hundreds of damselfly darting about above it.

Mill Dam:


As I walked along the path alongside Mill Dam, the hundreds of damselflies turned into thousands. A wonderful sight.

Azure Damselfly:


Another Azure Damselfly:


Track beyond Mill Dam:


Circa 0.5km beyond Mill Dam, I decided to take the North-East path thinking that I would find a short easy ascent up the south-flank of Deuchary hill.

Wrong! As well as being steep, the south of the hill is guarded by chest-high bracken. Not just a few ferns but hundreds of metres of the stuff. There is no way I would walk through that; tick heaven! It may be straight-forward enough to ascend this way once the bracken is flattened e.g. in Winter.

Deuchary hill:


NE path, skirting South of Deuchary Hill:


As I skirted round the South of the hill, I could hear "chat, chat, chat". This sound was being made by a number of Stonechats; lovely wee birds.

Stonechat (Male):


As I continued on, I realised I was not going to get up the hill round this side as there was a six-foot deer fence in the way as well as bracken. However, it was a beautiful day, the scenery was great and I fancied skirting right round the hill to see Loch Ordie. So that’s what I did.

Lochan near Grewshill:


Between Grewshill and Riemore Lodge, I followed a faint track through the heather, instead of taking the main track.

Deuchary hill from the North:


Riemore Lodge:


At Loch Ordie, Beinn had his second swim of the day. Good for cooling down.

Loch Ordie:


On reaching Lochordie lodge, I started walking the five mile track heading back to the Cally car park. After walking 750m, I followed the path marked on the map leading up the hillside.

Blue skies were now being exchanged with grey clouds but thankfully it stayed dry and helped cool things down a wee bit.

Lochordie Lodge:


Path ascending Deuchary hill:


Looking back to Loch Ordie:


A short distance below the summit is a nice lochan, Lochan na Beinne.

Lochan na Beinne:


Final ascent of Deuchary hill:


View from near the summit:


The summit of Deuchary hill is a large pointy rock. Beinn did manage to touch the very top by approaching the rock from the other side.

Summit rock:


I stopped for a brief chat with two other walkers at the summit. They were accompanied by three dogs. Black lab, two spaniels and a golden retriever at the summit – humans outnumbered by dogs.

Summit rock and nearby trig point:


From the summit, I returned to the main path, circa 750m from Loch Ordie, and then followed the main track back to the Cally car park.

At Mill Dam, I stopped to allow Beinn to have another wee swim.

Beinn having a cooling-down swim in Mill Dam:


This is a fantastic Marilyn,  worth keeping for a good day .