English: Area of Carman Muir scored with ditches. As seen in satellite imagery, the pattern of ditches shown here is a very prominent feature: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/mm?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=55.971069,-4.614215&spn=0.00538,0.013046&t=h&z=17

A pool (1178513) is visible as a dark shape in the left of that satellite image; directly to the right of the pool, in the right-hand side of the image, is a prominent three-fold meeting point, where areas of ditches oriented in three different directions meet; the area around that meeting point is the one shown in my photograph, but it is just a small portion of a much larger area of land covered by this pattern of lines. The photograph was taken from a small rock outcrop on an area of slightly higher ground to the south-west.

Former use of the land here has clearly left its mark. An article by the naturalist John Mitchell was recently brought to my attention (see 1178512); concerning this area, it says: "site partially drained for forestry in 1986, but planting not carried out". This may explain the many prominent channels visible here and nearby.

While photographing the area, I measured (using GPS waypoints) the spacing of the ditches, and found them to be set 5 or 6 metres apart.

On the skyline, the television transmitter (374587) on Millburn Muir is visible near the left-hand edge of the photograph; to its right, above a closely-spaced pair of poles, the Dumpling (Duncryne Hill: 462628) is visible as as a bright bump set against darker distant hills. Also on the skyline, at the right-hand edge of the image, the wooded area (1063986) around the summit of Pappert Hill is visible; to its left is Auchencarroch Hill (near which a landfill site is located: 278809).