The Bypass
Junkers JU-88 3E+HM on Hare Hill.
(Distance covered = 8.7 mile/Ascent =+646m)

 There's a very big Championships in Edinburgh every year, held in a large Sports Arena in the Meadowbank area of the city. It is a very busy competition and usually doesn't finish until at least 5pm.

The Pentland Hills are right beside Edinburgh, so I didn't have far to drive and because it wasn't a great distance to walk to the crashsite I was planning on visiting, it meant I was going to have plenty of time for a change, no matter how much I dawdled or kept stopping to take photographs.


Leaving the carpark, the road from here is private.


More than half the distance involved in reaching the crashsite is on tarmac'd road


The end of the road, Hare Hill can be seen just across the field.

When the tarmac'd road runs out I had two choices, go right and follow a path that goes up the western flank of Hare Hill or go left and follow a path that goes diagonally across a field then around below the northern, then eastern base of Hare Hill.


This well made path goes around the northern, then eastern base of the Hill.

After taking the second option I followed a good path that goes diagonally across a field to meet the northern base of Hare Hill,which is where I left it to head uphill towards the crashsite.


Pieces of the JU-88 in the grass, the path I followed across the field can be seen below with Harlaw and Threipmuir Reservoir beyond.

The crashsite of the JU-88 was easy enough to find and there was quite a few pieces still lying around including a fuel injection pump from one of the Jumo engines.

above and below:-Junkers Jumo fuel injection pump.

A couple of areas that used to contain wreckage looked like they had been pillaged by the magpies as there was now very little left and there was obvious signs of recent digging activity.

above and below:-evidence that someone had been digging stuff uo very recently.

Above and below:-Most of what remains is collected around a memorial post.

After taking a few photographs of what was left and having a sit down to eat my butties I still had loads of time left, so I decided to take the long way back to the car and headed further over to the west to pick up the other path that I could have taken earlier.


View over the crashsite to Edinburgh in the distance.


The Forth Road and Rail Bridges can just be made out as well as Edinburgh Airport.


Hare Hill from the south

Once onto the path up the western flank of Hare Hill I took a large anticlockwise  route first walking about a mile to the south then about two mile to the north East via West Kip, East Kip and Scald Law. I then headed back towards the South Eastern end of Hare Hill before making another diversion to the north east along the side of Black Hill, which then left me a two mile trek back to the carpark along the northern shore of Harlaw Reservoir.


Approaching West Kip, which was as steep as it looks!.


View west from the top of West Kip.


View east from the top of East Kip.


A good view north to Edinburgh while dropping off East Kip.

The paths around the Pentland Hill seemed to be very well trodden, and on the day I visited were very busy, perhaps because of the very pleasant weather. The path along the tops of West Kip, East Kip and particularly over Scald Law was as busy as the A720 Edinburgh bypass, including some very large groups of walkers and countless joggers. I also passed a lot of people just out for a stroll with their Dog so I wondered how they got on later on when the hills were subjected to a bit of a Blizzard.


The Pentland Hills version of the Edinburgh Bypass. Scald Law is the large Hill just right of centre.


Loganlea Reservoir from the descent of Scald Law


My route back to the north, between Hare Hill in the centre distance and Black Hill on the right.


Approaching Snow Blizzard, luckily for me I was off the tops.


Looking back to Scald Law from a lovely path between Hare Hill and Black Hill.

Even though my detours on the return walk increased the distance from about      1.5 mile to 7 mile I was still back at the Meadowbank Stadium with a couple of hours to spare, so I was able to grab 40 winks before the drive home, which when compared to the competitions in Aberdeen or Inverness was a bit of a short Haul.