Auchterhouse Hill – A Hill Fort on the Sidlaws above Dundee
About 4.7 miles on foot.
The Sidlaws are the line of heathery hills that stand behind Dundee, and Balkello Community Woodland is the easiest way onto them.
A path climbs out of the young wood to Auchterhouse Hill, where the banks of a hill fort ring the top and the view runs from the Tay to the Angus glens. It's 7.5 km and about three hours, on narrow hill paths that are muddy after rain.
- Time
- About three hours: Visit Angus's Sidlaw Hills trail from Balkello, 7.5 km (4.7 miles), graded moderate. A hill walk on narrow paths.
- The path
- Woodland paths, then narrow, muddy hill paths, steep in places.
- Where to start
- Balkello Community Woodland car park, Forestry and Land Scotland's, on the road between Auchterhouse and Tealing. Free, and locked overnight: open 8am to 5pm from October to March, 8am to 10pm from April to September. DD3 0QY is the nearest postcode.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off by 11.30am, and be back before the car park is locked at 5pm.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. The car park is locked at 5pm from October to March. From November to January set off by 11.30am.
- Dogs
- Under close control.
- Children
- A real hill walk for children used to them. The forest's short trails suit smaller ones.
- Toilets
- None at the wood: the nearest are at the playing fields in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, four minutes away by car.
- Before you set out
- Check the closing time on the car park notice board.
The walk
Balkello Community Woodland is on the road between Auchterhouse and Tealing, north of Dundee, and DD3 0QY is the nearest postcode. Forestry and Land Scotland's car park is free, but it's locked overnight. From October to March it's open from 8am to 5pm, so read the closing time on the notice board and be back at the car well before then. Visit Angus gives the walk to Auchterhouse Hill as 7.5 km, grades it moderate and allows three hours. It begins in woodland planted in the 1990s, then leaves the trees for open grass and heather.
Auchterhouse Hill is 424 metres high, the second highest of the Sidlaws, and the banks of a hill fort ring its top. On Balkello Hill beside it there's a view indicator in memory of Sydney Scroggie, the blind hillwalker and poet. Craigowl, the highest of the range at 455 metres and easy to pick out by its masts, can be added by walkers with time in hand, over stiles and fences. Dundee and the Tay lie to the south, and the Angus glens to the north. The hill paths are narrow and muddy, and steep in places.
There are no toilets at the wood. The nearest are at the playing fields in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, four minutes' drive away. Keep dogs under close control. For something shorter, the forest's own Raven Trail is 2.4 km, strenuous, and about an hour. From November to January, set off by 11.30am.
If it rains
The hill paths turn to mud and the tops are open to the wind. On a wet day keep to the forest's own short trails, which start from the same car park.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Clare Stewart via Google