Heart of Granite - Route Notes

Start - Caldons to Lamarchan.  All photos in Caldons to Curleywee and  Photos 1-9

This is the same as the Bruce's Crown Race.

Go through the house garden, and follow round to right. Then you are alongside the deer fence with the river on your right. You will come to a track/bridge. Cross the bridge to your right and immediately turn left with the river on your left. I have put a couple of markers up this route but now many. There is a goat / walkers path that follows the river. Sometimes near the edge of a gully and sometimes it cuts a "bend" and leaves the bank. Try to follow the path as it's easier going. At around 250m the forestry have created a new huge track that you pop out on. There is a made "footpath" leaving this track that ends at the stream. Head up the stream where there is a fallen down tree. There are a few up this valley and I have marked and cut back as much as possible. Then it's easy as a wall on your right leads to the summit. The summit is a shelter cairn. Not marshalled. The tracker will pick up your summit time.

CP1 to CP2 - Lamarchan to Curleywee Curleywee Cairn and Photos  1-5

This is also the same as the Bruce's Crown race

From Lamachan follow the metal stakes which continue on the line that you've approached the cairn by. They bend right and you're on a good path then which leads you to Bennanbrack. The stakes continue off Bennanbrack and the summit can be bypassed where you pick up the stakes again. A few bumps you can go round and after the lochan contour left. Then cross the wall and a good path takes you to the summit of Curleywee. Not marshalled. the tracker will pick up your summit time.

CP2 to CP3 - Curleywee to Axe Head Stone .  Photos 6 - 12  Photo 9 is looking back at Lamachan Photo 11 - Bruce's ear is pointing at the CP on the track

Head off the summit on a bearing to White Hill and then a path appears leading you to White Hill. The path is then faint and peters out. On the original Heart of Granite the checkpoint was at the cattle pens and the direct line was awful so I've moved the checkpoint east to help you onto better ground. From White Hill I have tried two routes. 1) heading west where on some maps the path continues. You descend down a valley and you'll see the Axe Head checkpoint in the valley to aim for. There is a faint path on the other side of the stream in that valley and you have to cross a short area of tussocks to get to it. 2) Heading straight down which although is steeper, it's on grassy areas, eaten by sheep with a few trods down the rocky bits. This drops you further east of the checkpoint on the road. Marshalled with food and drink.

CP3 to CP4 - Axe Head Stone to Craiglee Trig point.  Photos 13 - 19

I would not recommend cutting across the valley to the trig point. The tussocks are huge. I would continue along the track, through the forestry gate and cattle pens to the gate on the right leading into the "field". From here head across the initially short boggy area to the foot of the hill in front of you. There you pick up a path, that would have been nice once but has been trashed by cows. (sorry about this bit). It's only a pretty short section of path that leads through the tussocks to the foot of Craiglee and is worth using. It leads you to some rocks which can be used to gain ascent. The final climb is steep then you're on a flat rocky shelf that leads you to the summit trig point. The tracker will pick up your summit time here. It won't be marshalled.

CP4 to CP 5 - Craiglee trig to the Path at the foot of Rig of Jarkness   Photos 19 to 35

The plateau is wide and seems confusing with rocks everywhere but you're heading for Merrick which can be seen in the distance. You cross the plateau with the pond on your right and climb up slightly. Again there is another pond on your right. (photo 22). Head across this and a path will be appearing and if you can stay on it that's the way. You're looking for a bowl / shallow gully (Photo 23 to the right of the rock and Photo 24 looking down the gully with the big rock in front of you). Go down this gully and bear left. (Photo 25) You will see a long rocky ridge in the center of Photo 25 with a gully at the right hand side. Photo 26 Head to this and another deep pond appears which ends in a narrow gully. Photo 27. From here that loch in the distance is what you want. Dow Loch. You should be on a path now that leads you to Dow Loch. Photo 28-30. There are two paths on the map and you will be on the furthest left one in the photo. This path gets bigger and leads you right down the ridge to the far end. Photo 32 - 35

It's honestly lovely running with views left and right of where you've been and where you're going.

At the end there is a steep drop to the river. Initially stay on the path and this weaves left and right again, then left down the grass on the left hand side of the ridge. Photo 35. About 100m from the river I would head parallel left with the river and then contour back right under the tussocks. The path goes that way. The direct line is just tussocks. This will be manned with sweets / bars.

CP 5 to CP6 - Path / river to Marrick Trig point summit  Photos 36 - 41 (sorry not many photos - it was getting foggy and dark so I pushed on)

There are a few ways to go but the simpliest is to follow the path right alongside Loch Valley and then Loch Neldricken, passing the Murder Hole on route. It is a good path that is boggy in places but it leads you up a stream, crosses the wall and takes you to Loch Enoch. From here you contour round the far end to the fence and the foot of Redstone Rig. The initial climb is steep but after that I found a path and it weaved it's way always upwards, quite gently. As you get higher the grass becomes very short and easy going. Remember to bear right at the plateau to get to the trigpoint. This isn't manned but the tracker will pick up your summit time.

CP6 to CP7 - Merrick to Benyellary

Follow the massive tourist path down the flank, to the wall. The best running is to cross the wall and over the boggy path. There is also a path on the left of the wall. You cross the wall back again after the col and head uphill alongside it then just divert off left to touch the massive summit cairn of Benyellary. Not manned and the tracker will pick you up.

 CP7 to CP8 - Benyellary to Bruce's Stone

There's a bit of route option but the simplest way is the tourist path that goes through the deforested area, turns right then left after the bridge. Heads down passed the bothy and continues through bogs and rocks down to the carpark. Cross the carpark onto the manmade paths leading to Bruce's Stone. This might be manned.

CP8 to CP 9- Bruce's Stone to the finish

 There is a little path on the right of the Stone down some slabby rock which leads to the bottom carpark. Then follow the road until either Route 1) the footpath. You can't miss the footpath sign. It says "Southern Upland Way and some other path signage. It's a well made path and a bit wavy but doesn't have much ascent on it. You will come alongside the loch into a carpark.  Or Route 2) follow the road. Both routes come to the public carpark before the bridge. Go over the bridge, left at the fork, over another bridge and into Caldons. The Finish is on the track to your right.

Merrick Trig with Bruce