On the Black Hill

I had a “wee adventure” this afternoon. I decided to explore Black Hill, an area I had never walked before. 
 
Half an hour in to the forest I became aware that I had not seen a soul, unusual in that it was a sunny afternoon and only about a couple of miles from Bridge of Allan. Suddenly the forest road came to an abrupt end deep in the woods.
 
But I knew it was not that far to Cocksburn reservoir the other side of the hill so  I set off along a narrow muddy path.
 
Eventually I reached the top and I could see the reservoir  (extra) but no path down to it. No matter I saw another path and reckoned that sooner or later it would descend. (See extra)
Instead I was confronted by deer fence and 4ft high bracken.
 
By now the light had started to fade. Should I risk it and try to find a route down or turn back.
 Suddenly I could see the headline in our local newspaper: “Old age pensioner lost on Black Hill”.
 
 
That decided it, and I retraced my steps  reaching  the car park with ten minutes of daylight left. This was a salutary reminder of how quickly things can go wrong out on the hills in winter, even close to home.