Kinpurney Hill

It has been a while since we have had a chance to do one of these 40 walks in Dundee and Angus. We returned to Newtyle, the scene of the last walk we managed to do. But this time we took the more strenuous option: the climb up Kinpurney Hill, a 345 metre high summit to the east of Newtyle.

The hill is distinguishable from the ground by the disused observatory, built in 1774, that sits atop it. According to the book, it was almost demolished in the 1970s. But it is such a well-known landmark that work was carried out to stabilise it instead. Today it is a listed building. I can well see why. Although the tower is nothing special when you get there, from the ground it looks incredibly romantic.

The walk begins in exactly the same place as the railway walk. But instead of going through the park, you exit the town and walk along the country road until you reach Denend Farm. Here you enter a wooded area called the Den, with Denend Burn running through it. The Den could be better kept, but it is a pleasant enough walk.

When you reach the end of the Den, there is a nice bench to take a breather. This gives a hint of the views to come.

Continuing, you enter an open field with sheep grazing. The climb is rather steep in places, and I certainly felt tired. But the walk is quite short. The book estimates that the whole walk should take three hours, but we reached the top of the hill within 45 minutes.

When you reach the top, Kinpurney Tower awaits. It is not quite as charming as I imagined from looking at it from the bottom of the hill. It’s clear that it was restored to look good from half a mile away rather than up close. Nonetheless, the authorities should be applauded for preserving it at all.

There are some cracking views from the top of the hill. You can see a great deal of Angus, and there is a pretty good view of Dundee as well. The city peeks out from behind the Sidlaw Hills, which are just a hop away.