East Lomond Hill and Maspie Den walk

5 years ago we walked up East Lomond Hill in a blizzard. It was December. It was cold and visibility was very poor. We couldn’t see far beyond the edge of the path and when we reached the top everything was white. I took this photo of Ben and the kids huddled together in front of what we thought was probably a very nice view on a clear day.

I can say with confidence there is indeed a very good view at this spot as we walked up the hill to the same place today.

We did a longer walk today than the one we did 5 years ago starting from the Pillars of Hercules café and walking through Maspie Den then up one side of East Lomond and down the other into Falkland. The whole walk is about 7km and took 2.5 hours.

Maspie Den

We haven’t walked through Maspie Den before and I was not expecting to be wowed as much as we were. It’s a forested walk that criss-crosses the Maspie Burn and features magical stone bridges, waterfalls and tunnels. The place has an air of Lothlórien and the elves about it.

If you’re ever in the area looking for a walk then Maspie Den should be top of your list.

This was the easy part of the walk and if you want to do just this you can do a circuit back to the start without having to walk up East Lomond.

East Lomond Hill

We ventured on up the hill only we took a wrong turn and ended up walking through quite long, slightly wet grass for a bit which was unpleasant and full of ticks. I found a tick on my ankle later that day and I’m sure this is where it came from. We eventually found the road and walked the last bit to the carpark via the road rather than through the bush. From the carpark it’s about 30 minutes to the top of East Lomond.

Here’s where it starts to get arduous and towards the end, very steep. I can’t believe we went up in a blizzard with no visibility.

There are views in all directions from the top. You can see all the way to the Queensferry Bridge that crosses the Forth over to Edinburgh.

We clambered down the other side towards Falkland and in some respects it was harder going down than up. It was also very steep which puts a lot of strain on your knees.

Eventually we reached the tree line and what felt like thousands of steps.

2,000 years ago East Lomond Hill was an important hill fort of the Picts and it’s a scheduled monument now meaning it’s a nationally important site with special legal protection. At The Stables – a café, gallery and shop in Falkland – is an artist’s impression of how the fort might have once looked.