Harestone Hill

Rising within the quiet Moorfoot Hills of the Scottish Borders, this 504-metre upland offers a classic southern upland experience of heather and peat. The broad summit serves as an excellent vantage point for surveying Gladhouse Reservoir and the distant, jagged profile of the Pentland Hills to the northwest.

• •The name likely stems from the Old English 'hār', meaning grey or boundary, and 'stān' for stone. Such 'hoar stones' were frequently used as ancient markers to define the edges of landholdings or parish boundaries in the Middle Ages.
• •Harestone Hill is situated in the Moorfoot Hills, a range often overlooked in favour of the nearby Pentlands. It is frequently summited alongside its higher neighbour, Blackhope Scar, as part of a long, undulating circuit across the high moorland.
• •On a clear day, the summit offers a specific view of the Lammermuir Hills to the east and the distinctive triple peaks of the Eildon Hills rising above the Borders landscape to the south.
• •While the height is respectable, the ascent is often more a battle with the local bog than a test of vertical endurance; the Moorfoots are famously protective of a walker's dry socks.