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SussexSnow


Posts: 406
Joined: Sep 2003
Last Visited: 06:43
18th Apr 2019
Fantasy Lowther Hill lifts
Date Posted: 13.40hrs on Mon 26 Feb 18
Walking back down from the Lowther Hills slope yesterday I did fall prey to fantasizing about where I would put the next lift... ;-)

It was brought on by seeing the four sizable drifts down the spines of the cleughs off the summit ridge. And some good drifts lower down almost accessible from the village with a little bashing and snow making. How could they be accessed?

In the best traditions of fantasy lifts. this assumes endless money and some snow

Line 1.
Access chair or bubble from near Mountain Lodge in Wanlockhead, up line of the SUW footpath. Mid-station for the nursery slopes before the access road dips down. Then up to the summit. Good for bike uplift in summer too.

Line 2.
Longer bubble from Leadhills up the valley past the loch. Mid station to serve those coming off the cleughs and snow making down the valley they join.

Anyone want to play?



tim1mw


Posts: 700
Joined: Nov 2006
Re: Fantasy Lowther Hill lifts
Date Posted: 20.08hrs on Tue 27 Feb 18
Is this what you had in mind?



Another option could be to persuade the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway to build an extension with a rack section up to the base of the main lifts (and beyond?), sort of like what was proposed for Ben Wyvis (but in Narrow Gauge). Yes, I know it's a train and they have a bad reputation here, but this one would be more like Snowdon which seems to be successful.



Edited 3 times. Last edit at 20.12hrs Tue 27 Feb 18 by tim1mw.

Attachments: lowther.jpg (201kB)  
growwild


Posts: 3550
Joined: Oct 2005
Re: Fantasy Lowther Hill lifts
Date Posted: 11.57hrs on Wed 28 Feb 18
Many moons ago some dude fae England found a substantial gold deposit around there, went back doon south tae raise funds and died..

SussexSnow


Posts: 406
Joined: Sep 2003
Last Visited: 06:43
18th Apr 2019
Re: Fantasy Lowther Hill lifts
Date Posted: 20.18hrs on Wed 28 Feb 18
Excellent, thanks for working it up. The Leadhills l8me is much longer than I expected. The area to the right of its mid Station is the nursery area. From there down to Wanlockhead also looked good mountain biking thanks to the grassed over mine working. And I love the rack railway idea. the Golden Nugget Express, Growild

growwild


Posts: 3550
Joined: Oct 2005
Re: Fantasy Lowther Hill lifts
Date Posted: 03.05hrs on Fri 2 Mar 18
Scotland cannae properly cash in on tourism, too feart of risks.. A wee puffing train going right up would be cool, tourists would use it, MTB would use it too and auld guys wearing flat caps would cut doon on the heavy n bitter and have something tae do!

The Golden Nugget Express gives me a vision of an auld mine cart hurtling downhill on rickety tracks!

alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
What's this?What's this?What's this?
Re: Fantasy Lowther Hill lifts
Date Posted: 18.11hrs on Mon 5 Mar 18
growwild Wrote:
Scotland cannae properly cash in on tourism, too feart of risks.. A wee puffing train going right up would be cool, tourists would use it, MTB would use it too and auld guys wearing flat caps would cut doon on the heavy n bitter and have something tae do!

The Golden Nugget Express gives me a vision of an auld mine cart hurtling downhill on rickety tracks!


There's already a narrow-gauge railway between Leadhills and Wanlockhead.

growwild


Posts: 3550
Joined: Oct 2005
Re: Fantasy Lowther Hill lifts
Date Posted: 20.45hrs on Mon 5 Mar 18
Aye though I was more thinking like the one in Wales, doubt even snow tyres would get the one at Wanlockhead up the top of the hill in question.

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