Glen Lyon - The Praying Hands

Tucked away in a hidden corner of quiet Glen Lyon is a fabulous rock feature called The Praying Hands. I'd been desperate to visit since first becoming aware of it as the photos I saw online looked very atmospheric. A spring camping trip provided the opportunity to finally get there. 

It wasn't a long walk to The Praying Hands but it was a pretty walk through springtime woods alive with bird song and the call of the year's first cuckoo. The track crossed the River Lyon by a vehicle bridge then traveled west before heading into the hills at the idyllic cottages of Balmenoch. A short pull alongside gently tumbling waterfalls soon had us standing below The Praying Hands. 

I was mesmerised. It was such a beautiful spot with the rock perched precariously on a prominent plateau that gave a commanding view of this part of the glen. Their situation and their very appearance must have made The Praying Hands an auspicious place for the ancient people who lived close by. It was hard to drag ourselves away as they seemed to have some magical pull on us as well.

However the short walk to The Praying Hands was not enough to fill a weekend trip, so we continued further up the glen and pitched the tents at an inviting spot by the river. Freed from our heavier camping kit, we set out to climb the Corbett that rose above the head of the glen, Meall nam Maigheach. A shallow gully with craggy boundaries provided a pleasant pull onto the ridge and revealed a ring ouzel, also known as the Mountain Blackbird. It looks like a blackbird but has a necklace of white feathers and inhabits these higher, wilder places.

The walk along the ridge to the summit was long and rough with a pathless trudge through deep heather and peat hags. But the views were superb and from the top I could look back to a couple of key moments in my life. To the south the view was filled by the Tarmachan Ridge. It was the first hill walk that I ever did with my friend Graham 27 years ago and Graham was standing beside me now on the summit today. To the west I could look further back at the pointed top of Stuchd an Lochain, the first Munro that I did on my own. That must have been about 30 years ago! 

We sat a while on the top beside a little lochan that reflected the blue sky above before making a more direct descent to the glen. Eventually the faint outline of a path alongside the river guided us back to the tents. The short evening left enough time for cooking supper, sipping tea and watching the sun set behind Meall nam Maigheach.

A slow start the next morning allowed the rising sun to clear the ridge to the east and dry the dew from our tents. It was then a short amble back out though we couldn't resist their pull as we passed and made another visit to The Praying Hands.

Fact File

Start/finish: Camusvrachan, Glen Lyon

Public transport: None to the start. I took the train to Dunkeld where Graham met me with his car but I have previously accessed Glen Lyon using the bus to Aberfeldy with the folding bike and then cycling up the glen.

Route: Crossed the bridge over the River Lyon immediately south of Camusvrachan and turned right when it met another track. After a pretty pond, reached cottages at Balmenoch and opposite the cottages on the west side of the river a grassy track heads uphill. Further up it's easy to see The Praying Hands to the right above you. Continued up the west side of Gleann Da-Eig and gained the ridge of Meall nam Maigheach at its lowest point just south of Creag nan Eildeag. Straightforward walk southwest to the top. On the return, we skirted the crags then descended to the bottom of the glen. A faint path traveled back on the west side of the river and made a pleasant walk.

Borders - Dollar Law

Some trips are not about having the biggest adventure or covering the most miles in the hills. Some trips are just about finding a nice spot for the tent and enjoying the evening pottering around your temporary home. This was such a trip.

Dollar Law sits at the head of the Manor Valley to the south of Peebles, in an area of hills I have not managed to visit before now. But this sunny, spring day created the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with them. Our route climbed up through sheep farm country with curlews calling mournfully in the fields while skylarks sang above. A steep pull put us up onto the heathery ridgeline but it was bone dry up here and we soon had to drop back down again to collect water, a slightly dispiriting diversion. 

Weighted down with enough water to get us through the night, we continued west along the ridge to a flat bealach just below the top of Dollar Law, a perfect spot for pitching the tents. This high place gave wide open views. When you think of hills in Scotland, you more often than not picture the Highlands but here in the Borders hills and ridge lines filled every compass point to the horizon. Culter Fell dominated the view to the west with Tinto just poking above. 

The sun dipped and cast a golden light over our tents. Later it set with quite a spectacle, appearing as a bright red ball that dropped behind Culter Fell. It was equally beautiful the next morning when it rose to the east and our camp spot was perfectly perched to enjoy both sunrise and sunset.

After breakfast it was an easy stroll to the top of Dollar Law but a knee-crunching, steep descent to the valley floor to walk back.

Fact File

Photos on Flickr click HERE

Start/finish: Manor Valley road at the start of the track to Old Kirkhope farm.
Public transport: None so we used my friend's car.
Route: Walked up the track to the old farm at Kirkhope and skirted to the left of the buildings to start climbing the grassy ridge above the river opposite Southey Hill. Followed the fenceline here for much of the way and gained the ridge at Newholm Hill. Picked up a path running southeast over the shoulder of Dollar Law and camped on the large flat area to the north of Fifescar Knowe. For the return, we dropped directly northeast of Dollar Law, coming down the side of plantation to rejoin the road to walk to the start.