Hill of Garvock
Hill of Garvock, Laurencekirk. Section 7.
Height -277 metres. Map – OS Landranger – 45.
Climbed - 20 March 2011. Time taken – 1 hour.
Distance – 4 kilometres. Ascent – 60 metres.
Trip Report Details:
The start for this walk was the B9120, east of Laurencekirk, at the highest point on the road. Here there was a large parking and picnic area looking across The Howe of Mearns to the west and the North Sea to the east. Unfortunately it was rather misty so I didn’t get the best of views.
I set off through a gate and headed south-west, on an easy gradient, across a field following the edge of a fence and a separate single strand electric fence. These fences later turned east but I continued in the same direction staying on the crest of the hill.
There were in fact four fields to cross but I got the impression that walkers weren’t welcome, at least on this route. I’ve already mentioned the electric fence but there was a second, which wasn’t in use, beside a cattle grid. Before that I came to a double fence where a couple of old gates were tidied down with barbed wire. There was also a strand of barbed wire along the top of the gate and fence. This meant for a slightly difficult fence crossing.
Once clear of these obstacles it was an easy stroll to the summit trig point and the Tower of Johnston. I was surprised to find the tower door open so I climbed the spiral stone steps to the top. There were a couple of steps missing or worn away which did make it awkward on the descent. Unfortunately as mentioned earlier the views were a bit hazy but it would be a grand viewpoint on a clear day.
I returned by the ascent route re-crossing the obstacles.
Photos taken on walk.