Core Hill-Mill of Easterton Circular
From the very start, at the summit of the 285 m Core Hill, this walk provides some wonderful open views of the rich farming heartland of Aberdeenshire, covering the fertile and productive Garioch and Formartine areas on either side of the hill. All along the lengthy mid-section of the route, on what may be the remains of an old turnpike road, there are particularly stunning views of the Bennachie range, and to the faraway Grampian Mountains in the west. The Meldrum broadcasting mast on the Core Hill, where you start and finish the walk, played an iconic role at the dawn of the television age, transmitting 405 line analogue BBC TV signals to the NE of Scotland from 1955 to 1985. Nowadays the mast transmits FM and DAB radio to the region. There is an interesting BBC coat of arms on the transmitter building, the background to which is explained in the guidance for Waypoint #1. Also passed on the route is the base for the Mackie’s Ice Cream empire, and the prominent wind turbine and solar panel farms that support the enterprise. The Mackie family have been farming at Westertown since 1912, and Mackie’s of Scotland is now a very well-known Scottish food brand. Mackie’s were formerly a milk retail company and in 1986 began making ice cream. In recent years, the business has committed to being self-sufficient in renewable energy and to take “… care of the land, wildlife, farm animals, staff and local environment in the best way possible”. They have four wind turbines with a total capacity of 3 MW and have also installed a 10 acre site of solar panels with capacity of 1.8 MW. The slurry from the cows is pumped up to a slurry lagoon on top of Easterton Hill and mixed with waste water. It is then used as natural fertiliser and spread on the farm fields via four miles of pipe-work. All in all, an interesting, and not over-taxing, walk with some fantastic views. Our website link:
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