Ettrick Pen

Rising above the head of the Ettrick Valley, this prominent Southern Uplands peak offers a sense of deep isolation. Its broad, grassy slopes are crossed by the Southern Upland Way, leading to a summit marked by an ancient cairn with sweeping views over the Moffat Hills and the Solway Firth.

• •The name combines the Cumbric 'pen', meaning head or top, with Ettrick, which likely derives from an ancient word for 'obstruction', perhaps referring to the challenging flow of the river in the valley below.
• •The most popular approach begins at the end of the public road at Over Phawhope, following the Southern Upland Way as it climbs the shoulder of the hill before a short, final detour to the summit cairn.
• •From the top, the view to the west is dominated by the steep-sided peaks of the Moffat Hills, specifically the high plateau of White Coomb and the rounded dome of Hart Fell.
• •On a clear day, the vista extends south across the Solway Firth to the distinctive coastal silhouette of Criffel and the distant, jagged skyline of the Lake District fells.
• •Given its remote position at the very end of the Ettrick Valley road, you are far more likely to be interrogated by a local Blackface sheep than to encounter another human being on a weekday.