Corwharn and Cat Law from Balintore

The route begins close to Balintore Castle, a few miles north-west of Kirriemuir.

From Kirriemuir, the B951 is followed westwards towards Glen Isla and Glen Shee. Around 10km beyond the town, shortly after passing the Loch of Lintrathen, a narrow road branches northwards and is followed for around 3km until it bends sharply eastwards. Here, a junction leads towards Westerton Farm, where a rough gravel area beside some bins potentially provides informal parking.

I parked around 200m before the junction, beside the bridge over the Quharity Burn, where a small gravel area has space for a car or two.

From the junction for Westerton Farm , signs point towards Glen Uig and Lednathie. Passing the farm buildings and houses, a decent estate track heads north-west into Glen Quharity. Although rather potholed in places, the old tarmac surface still shows through here and there, making for easy walking.

Travelling up the glen, the track passes below Longdrum Farm before curving right and climbing gently below the edge of a fenced forestry plantation. By the edge of the plantation, a gate is passed through and a junction is reached where the left fork is taken, climbing uphill alongside the fence.

The track becomes faint in places where it is partially overgrown with grass lower down and heather higher up. It continues towards the crest of Milldewan Hill, briefly leaving the fence before rejoining it at a shallow dip . With around 2km still to go, the track continues, climbing gently over Cairn Corse and onto Corwharn's broad summit crest, clothed in heather and bog-cotton.

The highest point lies close to the fence and is unmarked. Just below, a large, neatly built cairn stands a few metres to the south-east.

Fine views extend across the surrounding hills, with Driesh, Mayar and Ben Tirran dominating the northern skyline.

From Corwharn's cairn, the line of an old fence is followed downhill through heather and blaeberry before grassier ground is reached lower down. Although sections of the fence have been repaired, remnants of old wire and posts hidden among the vegetation can catch out the unwary.

The glen floor track is then met and crossed through an opening in the fence beside a pair of signposts . The broad slopes of Tarapetmile are then climbed alongside the continuing fence, where recent muirburn has left a clear strip that makes for easy progress. Higher up, the fence is crossed onto its eastern side to pick up a faint ATV track that cuts through the heather and heads southwards across the crest.

The track continues around the top of Hill of Glendye before turning towards Cormaud. As the track nears the fence again, a stile marks the point to cross over and join a much better track beyond. This track is followed to the Heughs of Machirn, where a junction is reached beside yet another fence. A left turn leads to a gate before a sharp right turn joins a fainter track running on the eastern side of the fence all the way to Cat Law's summit.

Beyond a gate, the summit plateau is broad and flat. The highest point is marked by a single quartzite boulder, while nearby stand a trig point, a solitary tree growing from a peat hag and a couple of untidy cairns beside the meeting of several fences.

The summit itself is rather uninspiring, though the views southwards stretch a remarkable distance and, even beneath darkening skies on my visit, the Lomond Hills of Fife could be seen on the horizon.

Keeping the fence on the left, it is followed south-west across pleasant grassy ground until it turns sharply. Leaving the fence behind, the hill's grassy crest reaches rougher ground scattered with boulders. Beyond, a good track is reached.

This track is followed all the way down towards the grazing fields below Black Hill before passing through a couple of gates and , to reach the minor road around 1km east of Balintore Castle.

The castle's once-impressive stone entrance stands in rather neglected condition, shrouded in scaffolding, while the castle itself is undergoing gradual restoration.

As I followed the road back towards the start, passing a large shed, an old Morris Landcrab, similar to the one my dad owned in the early 1970s, sat slowly rotting away beside a pair of equally weathered military Land Rovers.