Mid Cairn [Craig Leith]

Perched on the southern face of the Ochil Escarpment, this 542m Dodd commands the fault line landscape where the Ochils rise abruptly from the lowlands. Also known as West Hill, the summit offers a characteristic vantage point along the dramatic geological boundary that defines this compact range. A modest but worthwhile objective in a well-walked area.

• •The name Craig Leith derives from Scots 'craig' meaning crag or rocky outcrop, combined with a Gaelic element possibly referring to slope or hillside, reflecting the linguistic layering common along the Highland Boundary.
• •The summit sits directly on the Ochil Fault, the major geological fracture that created the abrupt southern escarpment and defines one of Scotland's most dramatic landscape boundaries between Highlands and Lowlands.
• •The alternative name West Hill is refreshingly literal, distinguishing it from neighbouring summits in the Ochils with rather less geographical imagination than its Gaelic-Scots counterpart.
• •At 542 metres, Mid Cairn qualifies as a Dodd, Donald Dewey and Tump, making it a modest collector's piece for those working through the lower Scottish classification lists.