Hope Head

A modest summit in the Ettrick Hills, rising to 519 metres above the rolling moorland of the Scottish Borders. The broad, grassy ridge offers straightforward walking, and the hill is often climbed alongside neighbouring Ettrick Pen. Its classification as a Donald Dewey and Tump reflects its modest prominence in this quiet, pastoral corner of southern Scotland.

• •The name 'Hope Head' derives from Old English 'hop', meaning an enclosed valley or small upland hollow, referring to the sheltered upper reaches of the Hope Burn which drains the hill's northern flanks.
• •Hope Head sits at the eastern end of a long ridge walk that takes in Capel Fell and Wind Fell, a route popular with those seeking a quieter alternative to the busier Moffat Hills to the west.
• •The Ettrick Hills form part of the Southern Uplands, a landscape shaped by centuries of sheep farming, and the dry-stone dykes crossing Hope Head's slopes bear witness to historic grazing boundaries still respected today.