Four weeks ago we were in the Ochils revisiting Dumyat, a favourite hill that never fails to impress. Over time we have walked the majority of the multitude of tops that make up the Ochils, however, a few have escaped our attention and today we were at the eastern end of the Ochils, at Dollar with three new tops, a reservoir and a glen all our intended objectives for today.

We departed the Castle Campbell car park for a short, but quite steep walk up the tarmac road before taking to a narrow path through the forest on the lower slopes of Hillfoot Hill and a short time later emerging onto a more substantial forest track which wound around the southern slopes of the hillside with ever increasing views south over the Forth valley and west towards the hills of The Saddle and Whitewisp Hill, the views were fine, as was the weather, which contrary to the forecast was clear, bright and sunny without the expected wintry showers. The once forested upper slopes of Hillfoot Hill is devoid of any trees with only stumps and broken bows littering the hillside through which a very narrow track has emerged allowing the careful walker access to the flat summit which offers a grand view point for those how venture here. A similarly narrow path facilitates the descent north from the summit to re-join the main forest track on the northern slopes. As we contoured around the north side of Hillfoot Hill we had our first sighting of Glenquey Reservoir and Seamab Hill which we would eventually reach, but not before visiting the open expanse of Commonedge Hill.

We left the main forest track and headed north east over the open grassy hillside for the steady climb up to the 468m summit of Commonedge Hill, an indistinct summit crossed over before swinging east and making a slight descent and then an easy climb to the 439m summit of Seamab Hill, which at least has a small stone cairn to mark the spot height. Once again, this open top provided a full panoramic view from the Forth Valley, over the Lomond Hills, and onto the neighbouring Ochils tops. Three new tops completed, and still the weather was amazing, clear blue skies, albeit there was a blustery, bitingly cold wind at times.

The climbing done for the day, we descended generally north from Seamab Hill and into the woodlands of the lower slopes of Auchlinsky Hill, where we found a sheltered spot to sit by the burn and footbridge and in glorious sunshine take our lunch break. The day was just getting better. A beautiful woodland walk took us from our lunch spot to the access road for Glenquey Reservoir and a very relaxed stroll along the reservoir into Glen Quey.

The magic was not yet complete. As we completed the walk along the reservoir and the path lead us further into the ever narrowing Glen Quey there was a complete change of atmosphere, gone was the open expanse of the hillsides with the panoramic views. Now we were being enclosed by steep hillsides on both sides as the glen closed in on us. The whole atmosphere was of remoteness and wilderness, yet we were only a few kilometres away from Dollar. This small glen was a pure joy to walk through, a very fitting end to a quite marvellous walk in an entirely new area of the Ochils, which I am certain we will return to before too long.

A great walk, thanks Pat for bringing this gem to our attention, and thanks everyone for your company.