Will the weather forecast promising temperatures of 27°C, we opted for a walk in the relative cool of the morning; although having said that it was still quite hot! We had decided on a 4km circuit of Tegg's Nose, which we hadn't been to since walking the Gritstone Trail back in early 2008.
We set off walking from the visitors' centre shortly before 11am, having been delayed by lots of traffic jams on route. There were good views across to Shutlingsloe as we descended down a stone track and then skirted the eastern side of the hill to reach Tegg's Nose Reservoir. From here, there was a section of steep ascent through the woods before we reached the more level path near the top of Tegg's Nose.
The views were good from up here as we walked past the some of the preserved old quarry equipment. The whole area at the top of the hill was covered with heather and bilberry with the occasional foxglove, so there were plenty of purple flowers around. Some people appeared to be bilberry picking, although I didn't actually see any ripe berries myself. We returned to the visitors' centre at around 12:30pm, where we enjoyed ice cream in the shade before heading home.
Hi Alistair, it's good to see you getting out a bit, and having a great time in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteFYI the bilberries were ripe last year from about 20 July, with very good harvesting available on the lane from Walker Barn to Macc Forest, from where the tarmac lane turns right and the unmade track continues up to a high point (good viewpoint) by the forest. The bilberries are along that track. Have fun. Martin