Walk: A fine Fife stroll at Loch Ore

Fife | Lochore | Short walk | ★★★

[Loch Ore]

Just east of the M90 in the heart of the Kingdom of Fife, Lochore Meadows Country Park was born in the 1960s on top of a post-industrial landscape scarred by 7 coal mines. Apart from the conspicuous sight of Mary Colliery's old winding engine, the area's secrets lie submerged by the tranquil waters of Loch Ore. Circumnavigating the 3 miles of shoreline makes for an excellent, easy walk with good opportunities for bird watching, excellent views north to Benarty Hill, and a newish cafe at the finish.

[Heron by the loch]

📌 Walk: A fine Fife stroll at Loch Ore ★★★
▶ 5 km / 3 miles | ▲ 10 metres
Features: Loch Ore; Lochore Meadows Country Park
Start / finish: Main car park, Lochore Meadows Country Park, G.R.: NT 171962 ///photo.trio.pulps

Route: Circuit of Loch Ore in either direction (photos generally shown clockwise). Route marked in blue on map here.
Terrain: Good paths, mostly fairly level.
Wildlife today: Mute swans, little grebes, mallards, tufted ducks, coots, robins, grey heron. Cows in adjacent field.
Weather today: Around freezing with a hard frost in the shade; sunny with light winds.

[View from Clune Craig]

Route map


Route credit: Lochore Meadows Country Park

More photos

[View from the car park]

[Swans]

[Still waters]

[Robin]

[Sun and shade]

[View from the south side of the loch]

[Cobwebs]

[View from the south side of the loch]

[Frost in the shade]

[Swan]

[Good views of Benarty Hill across the loch]

[Looking west across Fife]

[Loch Ore and Benarty Hill]

[Looking east along the loch]

[Woodland paths]

[Lochside path]

[River Ore]

[Cows]

[View from the north side of the loch]

[Looking west from near the finish]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk: Livingston's jaw-dropping waterfall

Image
West Lothian | Livingston | Short walk | ★★★

What springs to mind when someone mentions Livingston, West Lothian? Sprawling road junctions, retail parks, 1960s architecture... how about a splendid waterfall? Under a mile from the town's southernmost suburbs, the Camilty Water drops into a short but beautiful gorge sharply at odds with the gentleness of the surrounding farmland. Two substantial waterfalls and several smaller ones tumble into the depths; the largest is actually fed by a crumbling mill lade (the mill no longer exists) but this isn't obvious from below. The walk from the nearest road begins promisingly, but the last few hundred metres are a bit sketchy: stepping stones across a side burn, and a very slippery slope to reach the best viewpoint - more details below.


📌 Walk: Livingston's jaw-dropping waterfall ★★★
▶ 1 km / <1 mile | ▲ 20 metres
Features: Linn Jaw (waterfall)
Start / finish: Space for only one or two cars at minor road corner, half a mile south o…
Read more

Walk: Island clearances on South Uist's Beinn Mhor

Image
South Uist | Tobha Mòr | Full day walk | ★★★

Beinn Mhòr is the highest summit on the Uists, and part of a rugged group of hills running down the eastern side of South Uist. Rough, pathless terrain belies the hill's relatively low height, with fearsome bog defending against marauding walkers from the road to the west. Successfully tackle all this and the reward is a wonderful north ridge: narrow enough to be exhilarating, yet with no scrambling involved (unless you go looking for it), and no chance of crowds. The second highest summit on the island - Hecla - is included in this circuit, as well as the lower summit of Beinn Coradail which sits in between. The three separate summits result in well over 1,000 metres of ascent, and you'll feel every single metre of it on the tussocky grass, bog and boulders. Potentially superb summit views were affected by pesky hill fog when we visited, but we've left a long photo roll below to give an idea of the typical terrain. Good luck!


?…
Read more

Our Lady of the Isles

Image
South Uist | Gerinish | Monument | ★

This colossal granite statue of the Virgin Mary thrusts into the sky just south of Gerinish, South Uist. Its position close to the only north-south road means you can't fail to miss it when exploring the island, with a steep lane leading up the lower slopes of Ruabhal to a parking area at the foot of the monument. The sculpture was built by Huw Lorimer, and commissioned by a local parish priest in resistance to 1950s plans to build a large missile testing range nearby. Looking at the landscape today, it seems the protests were successful, though there are still some smaller firing ranges on the coastal flatlands to the north.


📌 Our Lady of the Isles ★
Location: Off A865 half a mile south of Gerinish, South Uist, G.R.: NF 776407 ///clef.famous.judges
Open: Always
Cost: Free
Read more