📌 Tinto Hills, South Lanarkshire
★★★★
If you live in southern Scotland you’ll probably already be familiar with Tinto. Standing tall amidst low ground, this is a great spot to pick out many of the country’s hill ranges. The Pentlands, Moorfoots, Lammermuirs, Campsies, Trossachs, Cheviots and Galloway Hills are just a few, and that’s before you include the peaks beyond the Scottish mainland: the English Lake District and Arran should both easily be visible on a clear day. This is the most popular ascent route: the path is wider than some roads, and leads past a double-walled Roman Fort directly to the 43 metre-wide, Bronze Age summit cairn – adding four metres to the hill’s height and visible from the car park. The path splits at one point, but it doesn’t matter which branch you choose.
📷 Chronological photo guide
View from the start 
Lower slopes 
Clear path to the summit 
Maurice’s Cleuch, on the western branch where the path bifurcates 
Maurice’s Cleuch 
Eastern branch of the path 
Approaching the summit 
Tinto summit cairn 
Looking south to the Border hills 
Looking west 
Looking north 
Head back down by the route of ascent 
View from the south at Wiston Mains (not on walk route)
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at Fallburn, minor road 1 mi southwest of Thankerton
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 964375
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.619653,-3.645539
🚌 Bus to Thankerton (0.5 mi)
🚗 Car park – gets full
📝 Key info
▶ 7 km / 4 mi | ▲ 490 m | ⌛ 2.5 hr
Features: 🏰 Fallburn Fort; △ Tinto (711 m, “Torbett” / Donald)
⬤ Moderate | Wide dirt path, on gravel higher up – sustained but relatively gentle ascent.
Download file for GPS➡️ Out-and-back walk: start – Fallburn Fort – Totherin Hill – Tinto – return by outward route
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: The odd sheep, distant grouse exploding from the heather, and a few uninterested midges.
Weather: Sunny and clear above valley haze, with little wind. 7ºC at start but warming up quickly.
September 2015
