Black Knowe Head

Rising to 550 metres in the Ettrick Hills of the Scottish Borders, this grassy summit sits amid rolling moorland typical of the region. The ascent involves navigating tussocky terrain and fence lines, rewarding those who make the journey with a genuine sense of remoteness and wide views across the Southern Uplands.

• •The name derives from Scots 'black knowe', meaning dark-coloured rounded hill, with 'head' indicating a prominent or principal summit—a descriptive combination common in the Borders where Scots dialect overlays older Gaelic and Norse influences.
• •Black Knowe Head forms part of a longer ridge walk that can be combined with neighbouring Ettrick Hills such as Wind Fell and Hopetoun Craig, offering a full day's traverse across quiet, seldom-visited terrain.
• •The hill sits within ancient sheep-farming country, where the Ettrick Valley has sustained pastoral communities for centuries—the same landscape that inspired James Hogg, the 'Ettrick Shepherd', who knew these hills intimately.