Gallow Hill: Dundee City High Point

Water Tower at the top of Gallow Hill


Significance: High Point for the Dundee City Council Area
Member of: Scotland County/Unitary Authority High Points
Parent Peak: King's Seat
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Craigowl Hill
Historic County: Angus (of which Glas Maol is the Historic County Top)
Elevation: 175m
Date climbed: September 27th 2024
Coordinates: 56° 29' 41'' N, 3° 2' 5'' W

Route Start & Finish: Clatto Country Park Visitor Centre, 83 Clatto Country Park, Dundee, DD3 9SE
Route Distance: 1.2 km (>1 mile)
Route Elevation change: +/- 20m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
OS Trig Pillar: N/A. Nearest is TP6425 - The Roundie
Pubs / Cafes on route: None
Map: Dundee & Sidlaw Hills Map | River Tay | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 380
Links: Wikipedia: (City of Dundee), Peakbagger, Hillbagging


Gallow Hill is the highest point in the present-day Council Area of Dundee City within the Historic County of Angus. We were in town for the day as a part of our annual Scottish County Top weekend. As a warm-up for bagging Glas Maol, the Angus Historic County Top, on the following day we visited Gallow Hill plus a couple of Trig Pillars in the area.

The summit of Gallow Hill is a short out-and-back from either of the car parks at Clatto Country Park or the Templeton Woods Ranger Station. From either start point walk to the large concrete water tower at the top of the hill. The actual high point isn’t marked so we walked round a few possible contenders. The coordinates from Peakbagger take you to a bend in a path to the south of the tower. This seems unlikely to be the place as it’s not the highest ground and it’s not on a boundary. The water tower base is also unlikely as it’s man-made but we walked a full circuit of the outer fence anyway. Most likely seemed to be a small knoll on the east of the tower. Whichever point was the highest, we felt satisfied that we’d bagged it and returned back to the car.

There’s no Trig Pillar at the high point but The Roundie, nearby at 159m elevation is worth a visit. We also visited Dundee Law earlier in the day. This is 1m lower than Gallow Hill, but a more satisfying visit as it has a Trig Pillar and a great view over the city and the Tay Estuary.