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Barone Hill (or The Barony) is one of the
nicest hills in Bute. The central section of Bute by Loch Fad has five
Tops, and all of them are on thick, rough ground. The hills are
low-lying and I climbed four on this trip. I hadn't anticipated how hard
the ground would be, which turned out to be true for most of Bute's 30m
Tops.
I left Ardbeg in the evening with enough light to see me across these
hills. I cycled into Rothesay and back out toward Loch Fad. You can
cycle the majority of the way to Barone Hill, up 100 of it's 162 metres.
I sweated up a steep forestry track which opened out onto a small moor
enclosed by heather-covered rocky tops. I dropped the bike and continued
on foot up a vague track to a dry stone wall which marched over the
contours to the summit trig point.
This region of Bute has some of the most interesting underfoot
conditions, especially on Barone Hill. Brown heather, green grass, gorse
bush and the hard bedrock merge to ground akin to the north of Scotland.
After the bog-slog of Windy Hill the day before, this was welcome, but
short lived.
Soon, heather was clawing my my ankles. I navigated among gorse bushes
across 'Craw Hill' and continued to Kerryfearn - a minor prominence but
one Top on my list. I linked the thin grasses and bedrock upward. There
was nothing to mark the top but relief that for a moment I was out of
the thick ground. I'd also stumbled into a cow/bull with calves on the
way - enough of a sight to make me retrace my steps through the gorse
maze and find another route out.
The rough ground continued across to Barmore Hill. By now I was ticking
tops. The pleasure was diminished by the sheer rough-going - much
harsher than most Munros. Few walk these areas and vegetation grows
thick. Fences abound. Blackpark Hill was in much the same vein and I
fought the tugging, dragging grasses every last inch back to the bike.
The ideal trip in this area would be to climb Barone Hill itself. Park
by Loch Fad (if possible), walk up the forestry track and climb by the
dry stone wall to the summit. The other hills just don't match Barone in
quality. I was happy just to get back to my bike and enjoy all the
downhills into Rothesay.
I was tired enough to go back to the accommodation. Then I found out
over the phone the place was empty - parents were out. I didn't want to
go back to an empty house, so why not one more? I was tired, but
Birgidale Hill look possible on the map - I could cycle down the West
Island Way to within 150m of the top.
And so I did that next and arrived home way later than planned!
360° panorama from Barone Hill
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