Sunday, April 06, 2008

Lomond Hills from North Fife


Lomond Hills from North Fife in April looking over the Howe of Fife to East Lomond Hill from Auchtermuchty Common. Falkland Palace and town nestle on the lower slopes to the left.
The Lomond Hills consist of two prominent peaks, West Lomond and East Lomond (448m), which lie at either end of an escarpment roughly 6.5km in length. The escarpment, made from beds of sandstone and limestone, rises gradually from the south to a plateau of around 350m in height between the peaks of East and West Lomond. To the north and west, this plateau terminates in steep and, in places, cliffy scarp slopes. From its western end, the escarpment continues southwards beyond the deep valley of the Glen Burn to Bishop Hill (461m). The steep sided peaks of East and West Lomond themselves are volcanic in origin. Along the edges of the calciferous sandstone bed at the foot of the scarp slopes are several strangely eroded outcrops, the most famous of which are the Bunnet Stane and John Knox's Pulpit, so named because it is believed to be a spot where covenanters held secret meetings in the 17th Century.

The River Eden, one of the two primary rivers in Fife, has its source on the slopes of West Lomond. On the northern slopes of the Lomond hills, two burns run down from the plateau in impressive gorges. These are the Maspie Burn and the Arraty Burn. The Maspie Den has a path running along its length to an undercut waterfall at the top, which can be accessed just beyond Falkland House (approaching from the Falkland direction). The valley of the Glen burn, to the south of West Lomond, is equally impressive.
The Lomond Hills lie within the boundaries of Fife Regional Park, renamed the Lomond Hills Regional Park in 2003, and have their own ranger service who work principally with the landowners, estate managers and farmers on issues such as public access to help minimise the impact of recreational activities on their day to day business. The park covers approximately 65 square kilometres and is divided as follows: 1,120 hectares of land is in public ownership: 500 hectares belong to Fife Council and 620 are owned by Scottish Water. The balance of 5,355 hectares is privately owned.


West Lomond Hill. More.

North Fife History. Cupar: A History History of North Fife Cupar. North Fife Property. Tour Scotland. North Fife Maps. St.Andrews and East Fife: Cupar, Anstruther and Crail (Explorer) Rent a Cottage in North Fife Scotland.

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