Mount Hill

Rising above the Fife farmland near Cupar, this modest Marilyn is defined by the massive Hopetoun Monument on its summit. Reached via straightforward forest tracks, the top offers clear views across the Eden Valley towards the Lomond Hills and the Firth of Tay, following recent felling in the surrounding plantation.

• •The 29-metre Roman Doric column at the summit was erected in 1826 to commemorate John Hope, the 4th Earl of Hopetoun, a veteran of the Peninsular War who was knighted for his actions at the Battle of Corunna.
• •While once obscured by dense forestry, recent felling has opened up panoramic views that stretch across the Howe of Fife to the twin peaks of West and East Lomond.
• •The hill's eastern slopes were home to the 16th-century poet and diplomat Sir David Lyndsay, who took the title 'of the Mount' from the local farmstead.
• •A near-identical monument to the Earl of Hopetoun stands on Byres Hill in East Lothian, though that one was completed two years earlier, in 1824.
• •Despite its status as a Marilyn, the ascent is unlikely to trouble the calf muscles, as the well-graded forest tracks provide a climb that feels more like a brisk park stroll than a mountain expedition.