Lucklaw Hill, Balmullo, Fife
Wherever you are in Scotland, there are sure to be some easy countryside walks within a short distance. This one is convenient if you're based in Dundee, St Andrews, Cupar or elsewhere in NE Fife. It's variable in distance, with several different paths to add to or reduce the distance, and you can miss out the short hill climb if you prefer.
We were looking for a different walk one fine Sunday in April, having just about exhausted the possibilities on the north side of the Tay close to Dundee (most of these are already covered on Walking Stories - see the Dundee page). I managed to find the Hallewell Pocket Guide to walks in Fife, which we'd used previously for the Kingsbarns and Cambo walk, and we looked for something we could easily fit in to a half day. This was just 5 miles and included a hilltop, which sounded just right. However there was lots of beautiful scenery as the photos on this page and in the Gallery show.
With walks like this it can sometimes be difficult to find where to start, when there's a choice of lanes and openings leading off the street. Re-reading the description in the Hallewell booklet I now realise I was trying to follow it back to front!! We followed the route anticlockwise, and the route description should have taken us clockwise. Never mind, we found our way using the map rather than the description.
There were signs to the right for Lucklaw Hill from the A914 driving south into Balmullo, and we followed the 2nd of these along a street called Hayston Park. This led to a T-junction, School Road, which runs North-South through the middle of the village. We turned right, going a short way uphill, then found somewhere where there was plenty of room to park beside the road in front of houses. From here we could see a junction ahead with a sign leading to Lucklaw Quarry to the left. We ought to be able to find our way from here.
As we were about to put our walking shoes on, a woman was walking along towards us, and when we asked directions she was very helpful. She walked (and ran) regularly in the area, and was part of a local walking group. Yes, this was a good starting point for Lucklaw Hill. Whereas the map in the booklet suggested taking the 2nd turning to the left, she recommended taking the first one (Quarry Road) then the track on the right connecting it with the next road up the hill. So that's what we did, setting out about 10.30.
We started by turning left up Quarry Road and walked up a very gentle gradient, with a good view ahead and to the right where traditional farm buildings looked down across the fields. Another woman walked up and past us - one of several whom we saw out enjoying the fine sunny weather.
It was maybe 150 metres up to the turning on the right which was the farm road leading across in front of these farm buildings and past a line of trees, to join the next tarmaced road and turn left. This followed a number of turnings right then left across the lower side of Lucklaw Hill, past several attractive houses and a small field with the strange sight of lamas having a rest!
This road in turn led to a T-junction with a third surfaced road coming up from the right. Across this road was a large, fine-looking building with a plaque on the wall - it was Carmichael Centre run by Fife Girl Guides and there were several people going in and out as we walked past.
On up the road, passing a series of low buildings on the left which seemed to have been taken over by a sculptor or metalworker. A metal figure was sitting on the steps leading up to the door. There was another attractive traditional house on the right and then we reached the end of the road.
Ahead of us was a gate leading into woodland, and just inside the track divided with a waymarker indicating routes up to the left and straight ahead. We'd be coming back here later to go straight ahead - first we went left, up through the trees. It was a reasonably firm track winding up the hill through deciduous woodland with a number of old trees. After a bit of an effort to begin with it soon became easier.
We had a view left over the fence back the way we'd come, and then to the right through the trees to Dundee. This was one of the highlights of this part of the walk as the woodland opened up on the right and became a mix of birch and conifers.
It was easy walking now among the trees until we reached a gate leading through onto the open hillside. There were just a few young trees here which we passed on the path leading along then up fairly gently to the hilltop.
The summit of Lucklaw Hill isn't the most scenic spot in Fife, with a big set of aerial masts (maybe for mobile phones?), the ruins of a building and on the south side the enormous gash of an active quarry. Nevertheless it provides a pretty good view over the hills of Fife, north towards Dundee and east to St Andrews and the sea.
We looked around for a while, although there was a stiff breeze. One path led southwest down across the grassy hilltop between the aerial masts and the edge of the quarry. This would be one route down to Ardlogie House (see below) but we wanted to go back the way we had come and take the woodland route around the north side of the hill.
This turned out to be a good choice (although I don't know what the more direct route over the hill would have been like). It was an easy walk back down to the junction of paths at the foot of the hill, where we turned left along a wide forest road going straight through the trees. This was very pleasant, although muddy in places, and there was a bunch of youngsters enjoying themselves chasing around in the woods.
After maybe half a mile (less than a kilometre) we reached a junction with a path leading down to the right towards South Straiton farm. We continued ahead and soon reached a gate at the edge of the forest. The OS map showed the path leading straight across the field here, but it was ploughed up, and so we followed the line of the fence which marked out a wedge in the woodland, left then right. On the far side of the ploughed up wedge we could see what looked like a gate and a waymarker.
There was an unploughed strip around the edge of the field which was easy to walk along. Halfway along the other side of the wedge we reached a gate with a waymarker arrow leading into the woodland, and thought about going through here, but it didn't fit with what was shown on the map, so we continued further to the gate we had spotted from across the wedge. This was a large gate with an arrow directing us through.
A short distance further on through the woodland we reached another junction - a fork, with a good track leading straight ahead (this would have taken us to Cruivie farm) and another equally good track to the left. This was the one we wanted, according to the map in the Hallewell booklet. We could have taken the other one if we wanted a longer walk, with an extra mile back up the minor road.
Turning left we left the woodland and crossed a wide open slope with the top of Lucklaw Hill up to the left. This was a wide, firm farm road going down past Brighouse farm on the right then up to the minor road: a very pleasant walk in the sunshine with some colourful blossom and daffodils outside the farm.
Once at the road we had a good view across and down to the right, to the neat shape of Kilmany village. We turned left up the road and past the entrance to Ardlogie House on the left: a large house set in its own grounds. The structure of an impressive new house and outbuildings was taking shape beside the road, built on older foundations.
Just beyond Ardlogie House we reached a crossroads with the road turning right, a track to the left which would have been where we would have come down if we'd taken the path over the hilltop, and another straight ahead. Turning left would also take us straight back to Balmullo - this was Quarry Road which we had started out along.
The Hallewell route went straight ahead so that's the way we went. We wondered about taking the next turning left towards Lucklaw Farm, but it seemed to be overshadowed by the quarry. Now I can see from the booklet that the Hallewell route goes that way then must take a right turn somewhere to cross over to Cuplahills community woodland. We dithered a bit then continued along the farm road to the south, with a wide view down to Balmullo on the left and a line of tall mature beach trees on the right.
The road climbed up around a low hill, and just on the other side was another junction. Ahead went a private track to Ardit. The public track turned sharp left past a small house that was being modernised. The residents would have a lovely view down towards the estuary of the River Eden and St Andrews.
We enjoyed the view ourselves as we approached Cuplahills farm and then passed through the farm outbuildings. There were banks of gorsebushes on the left, the blossom glowing bright yellow in the sunshine.
Just beyond the farm there was an opening into a field on the left - this seemed to be the community woodland. We had a look in here (there was a metal sign indicating "Willie's Wood") but decided it wasn't the way back, and returned to the main farm road. In fact, this must have been the other end of the track from Lucklaw which we had missed. The Hallewell map and description indicates that cars can be parked around here (map ref 415204).
The unsurfaced road lead straight ahead, almost due east, past fields towards the southern edge of Balmullo. We walked past the edge of the new housing then reached some old brick buildings, apparently derelict. A tall wire fence blocked the route ahead, but there was an opening to the left into the village.
We walked through between the new houses to Pitcairn Drive. This led to the right, to the roundabout on the A914 at the southern end of the village. Instead we went straight ahead onto the road leading up through the village - this was the start of School Road, and it took us back up to where we'd parked the car, maybe 500 metres away. On the way we noticed how some original rural cottages remained, now surrounded by new housing where once there would have been fields.
We passed a play park and playing fields on the right, beside School Road, so if you had youngsters with you on the walk there would be the chance for them to get rid of whatever energy they had left whilst you took a break before finishing the walk.
Driving back to Dundee we took a roundabout route heading south of the village along the A914, taking the first minor road to the right at Muirhead leading up past Pitcullo. At the top of the climb we parked in a gateway for a cup of tea from the flask, looking down over the countryside. Lovely. The continuation would take us back past Ardlogie House where we had walked earlier, then down to join the A92 back to the Tay Bridge.
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