Isle of Whithorn to Garlieston.7 Miles.

Cool Woods on way to Garlieston

It was another hot day and the flies were waiting to accompany me on my walk. Flies are so dependable. The first part of the walk was along minor roads and thats about all I remember. Sorry. But thats what happens. I walk for a few days – I upload my photos onto Flickr. Then when I come to write my blog I stare at the OS map on my computer and try to remember where Ive been, what I saw of note and how to make this blog scintillating and exciting for you, dear reader.

But every minor road takes on the appearance of another minor road. Sometimes I get flashbacks when the curve of a road will remind me of another perhaps a thousand miles away.  The constants are the smells – and the colours and the sounds and the  light. The feel of sweat cooling on my back on a hot day and the smell of a warm t shirt I have been wearing all day. The smell of carrion and road kill. The smell of sweet honeysuckle and wild roses growing in the hedge rows. The sounds – oyster catchers with their wheeling high pitched warning squeals of alarm. Invisible skylarks pinned to the blue skies overhead. The burst of the delicate wild flowers that cling to cliff tops, -and  far off  i see the gannets shearwaters and terns that spear themselves into sparkling waters in search of a mackerel. The rustle of a deer in dense woods that I may catch a quick glimpse of  its white rump as it bounds through the undergrowth.

All very well of course – but you really have to be here.

Port William to Isle of Whithorn.13 Miles

Isle of Whithorn Cliffs

Today my sister Anna and her spaniel shaped dog joined me on my walk from Port William to the Isle of Whithorn. It was a lovely day and we were both looking forward to a good long walk. Anna tends to run everywhere at a great speed but managed to slow down enough to keep up with me.

After stopping off for coffee in the morning at a hotel in Port William (naively I had asked for a coffee and the response was “This is Port William you are  in”), so made do with a filtered coffee which was just as good.

We set off and soon reached the hill going up to Monreith – we had to back track a little and return to walk up the steps at the end of the beach as there didn’t seem to be a way around the headland. After cutting back on to the main road we stopped at an animal sanctuary for a quick tea and chatted to the woman who ran the place. This is “ring of bright water” country as the author Gavin Maxwell lived around here. Unfortunately the otter that she had on the sanctuary had only died last week. She looked after lots of animals but she said that she was struggling financially to make ends meet and the feed bill for the animals was a lot. I hope that her venture survives.

The next stop on the route was St Ninian’s cave which was a short walk along a wonderful stony beach. The stones on the beach were all worn away into ovals and smooth spheres – many of them with intricate veins of different coloured material through them. I picked a couple of really pretty ones to give to Anna as a little memento of our day out.

The cave itself was really more of a fissure that a really deep cave, and there was no actual evidence that St Ninian had actually spent time there – but from the amount of crosses and carvings etc, it was obviously an important pilgrim shrine.

We climbed back up the cliffs and walked along the tops passing the remains of what I think was Feather Castle – I couldn’t find much out about this place and only the arch remains.

After a great walk we descended into the Isle of Whithorn – a small fishing village of about 300 inhabitants.

More Photos

Glenluce to Port William. 14 Miles.

Above Stairhaven

This weekend I was joined by my sister Anna who came  down to walk with me for a couple of days.  However today I was walking myself and Anna was going to pick me up after the walk was finished. I parked the van at Glenluce and walked under the underpass on to the minor road towards the little village at Stairhaven. At the far end of Stairhaven the path led steeply up to the cliff top path that led along the cliff top before dropping down to the caravan park at the Cock Inn.  The next section was mainly road walking but the road wasnt too busy and there was an opportunity to follow a rough track alongside the grassy verge.

This area is well known for its association with the early Christian church in Scotland – especially St Ninian. Over the next few days I would visit St Ninian’s Cave, church and other historical evidence of the early Christian involvement in this are around Whithorn and Wigton.

The first church I encountered was the remains of the church at St Finian, an early Celtic missionary from Ireland.  Not much remained – the outline of the walls and that was about it. I plodded on and before long Anna arrived and I arranged to meet her just to the south of Port William where there was a good place to park for the night.

It was great to have Anna down – it makes such a difference to have a bit of company – even if the person you are meeting doesnt arrive till later – its something to look forward to at the end of a walk.

More Photos

Ardwell to Glenluce. 11 miles.

Luce Sands

Today was going to be an absolute scorcher and I had about 7 miles of sandy beach walking to look forward to. The tides around here go out a long way and when I set off the tide was quite far out. When I eventually reached the three large buoys which which I think might have been used for target practice from the military range, the tide was still along way off. It felt quite isolated – there was noone around as I was quite far out but I could imagine the weekend in Glasgow with thousands of people thronging the parks, eating ice creams and lounging around on the grass.

Although the sun was blazing there was a coolish breeze that managed to make the walking comfortable. Actually the bext days for walking are probably coolish overcast days. Sunny days have their own problems sunburn obviously being one of them. However another problem I get if the sun is strong and especially if it is windy is coldsores. Not very often mind you – (because the sun doesnt shine very often in Scotland), but I felt that tickling feeling on my bottom lip which I knew spelt trouble.  Sure enough a couple of days I looked like I had a dead fly stuck to my bottom lip. But it was worth it.

Mull of Galloway to Ardwell. 11 Miles

Near Ardwell

I left the Mull of Galloway lighthouse on a beautiful sunny day. One of the warmest days so far this year and the whole weekend was due to be a scorcher.  I felt slightly strange that I had finally “ticked off” the last cardinal point on my trip around Scotland. The Mull of Galloway is as far south one can go in Scotland. Ahead om from the vantage point at the top of the cliffs near the lighthouse I could see the Maryport Bay towards the north and beyond. I was looking forward to the long strecth of beach walking around the bay at Luce Sands. Probably the last significant beach I would walk along. The ending is fast approaching as I savour the last of everything. The beaches for example – from the beaches at Aberlady, St Andrews and Tentsmuir, Lunan Bay,  Balmedie links and around Lossiemouth. Then the most beautiful of all – at Sandwood Bay in Caithness.  Arsisaig and Morar sands, Sanna Bay at Ardnamurchan and many many more.  Each memory was fading a little and being replaced by the couple of photos form each location that I had blogged here and elsewhere.

I wasnt even sure if I would meet any more lighthouses now.  Each lighthouse punctuated my travels like exclamamtion mark or markers. And because they were all built to a similar design by the Stevensons – I took a certain comfort when I reached another one on my travels. I knew that the yellow and white paint would appear familiar to me. Although there were exceptions such a the candy striped lighthouse I passed a long time ago at Tarbat Ness.

Anyway – the time for looking back wasn’t quite here yet and I had a shortish walk along the little country lane that dropped down into the village at Drummore – from there on there was a walk around the road north that ended at Ardwel.

Port Logan to Drummore. 5 Miles

Mull of Galloway Lighthouse

I didnt get down to the south of Galloway until late afternoon on the Friday and so I decided that I’d walk the short distance from Port Logan to Drummore and then set off from the lighthouse the next day. I don’t have that far to go now and so I’m really checking the weather forecast before I leave to ensure the remaining walks I have to do are a pleasure (at least weather-wise!) The forecast wasn’t wrong and the whole country was treated to wall to wall sunshine for the duration of the weekend. That afternoon I was sauntering ( I dont do any other speed) and noticed that everyone else was sauntering too. It was a warm day, about 22 C, which is positively tropical in Scotland and it was great to see everyone in summery clothes just ambling.

I’m a great fan of ambling and Im convinced that there is a correlation between air temperature and the perceived ambling.  No doubt the research has been done and is wrapped up in PhD thesis on a  forgotten shelf somewhere. Italians amble – have you ever seen a German amble? Never. Even in hot places -  they fight the urge to amble but stride purposefully, arms all a-swinging and purple in the face.

Anyway I was looking forward to reaching the most southern point of Scotlandshire tomorrow and turning north and then east for my final leg….

Clachanmore to Port Logan 6 miles.

Portlogan

The final day walk of this weekend and it was a short one of 6 miles before I headed back to Glasgow. The weather was still great and I could hardly believe that I had a run of four days in glorious sunshine. My feet were holding up to with just a tickle of a blister under my toes despite the fact that I hadnt done a lot of walking over the winter. I was tired though – and I also had the beginnings of a friction burn just at the tops of my legs which I had managed to stop getting worse by rubbing baby oil on it. I can understand now why marathon runners end up putting grease on their nipples. It was like a burn on my legs that was being rubbed by sand paper (I know – I’m such a woose)

Portslogan to Clachanmore. 14 Miles

Portpatrick

Another glorious day and so I got up and out early and started the 4 mile walk along the start of the Southern Upland Way that would lead me down over the cliffs, passed the lighthouse at Killantrigan and on to Portpatrick.  Portpatrick is the western start to the SUW which is a tough coast to coast walk of over 200 miles. I have walked half of the walk but had to give up when the foot and mouth epidemic hit our shores – effectively closing the whole of the countryside down. I do remember it being very tough with lots of ups and downs. Maybe one day Ill finish the section from Moffat east that I couldnt do last time.

I like Portpatrick although it was a bit busy with a hen party in full force. I dont know about you, but it is actually frightening to see a posse of pissed up women all wearing pink stetsons lumbering towards you.

Anyway the cliff path to the south was a good walk – the ruins of Dunskey castle is impressive against the skyline and later the path looks down onto the Morroch Bay. From then on to the finish the walk is mainly on small farm roads.

Stranraer to Portslogan. 18 Miles

North of Stranraer

I got off early and started walking north away from Stranraer around the west shore of Loch Ryan – This is the time of the year that I love. Early spring always brings with it a period of sunshine that seems to awaken the countryside. Suddenly the trees are awash with green buds bursting out – the colour of the green is even different – it is a clean new colour.  The other evocative feature at this time of the year is the strong pungent coconut aroma of the gorse in bloom. I think that of all the memories I will have of the last four years on this walk – the smell of the scent of the flowering gorse bushes on a warm spring day will always be with me.

The walk itself was a straightforward walk around the northern section of the Rhins of Galloway. I followed minor roads all the way and there was little traffic apart from the occasional tractor. I skirted the Carsewall lighthouse at the north then turned and headed south along the B738 till I reached Portslogan. It was a long walk (for me) at 18 miles but apart from a bit of chaffing I completed it unscathed.

More Photos

Cairnryan to Stranraer. 7 Miles

Cairnryan Ferry

This was the first walk of 2009 and I had been putting it off until the weather looked settled for a few days. I have approximately 200 miles or so to go before the end of the walk and Ive decided not to blast away at it but to savour the last miles.  The most difficult part of this project has always been the way I have to “psyche myself up” before I head off. By that I mean that it does at times seem a ridiculous project to have started and there always ensues a battle of wits with myself as to why I should drive a couple of hundred miles just to wander around muddy fields and farm roads for a few days when I could be spending time doing other more “worthwhile” activities. However I always tell myself that this has as much vailidity as anything else when all is said and done. – I’m out in the fresh air – I am getting fit and Im closer to nature than sitting in an air conditioned office all day.

I arrived down at Stranraer and caught the bus back to Cairnryan which was only about 6 miles away – so it was a good re-introduction into the walk after the winter. The sun shone and I felt the warmth on my face and got into my stride. The path went around the loch side – mainly on the road with the occasional foray to the sea shore and I was back in Stranraer in no time.

I received a comment from Jimmy Begg who coordinates the Ayrshire Coastal Path.  He says that there will be an extension from the end of the coastal path at Ballantrae to Stranraer, which will also link up to the Southern Upland Way. This is excellent news and Jimmy should be commended for the hard work he and his team at the Ayrshire Rotary club have put in to raise the funding to create Ayrshire path.  Piece by piece the coastal path is slowly coming together. We just need to link the various sections and eventually there will be an official route around Scotland. To this end I have been putting together a web site at www.nationalcoastalpath.co.uk to lobby for the creatiion of such a path.

More Photos

Ballantrae to Cairnryan. 13 Miles.

Emma and me on the Ayrshire Coastal Path

I travelled towards my starting point for the walk the previous evening and sat in the van in the Irvine and saw that the weather forecast was going to be really horrendous the next day with 35 mph winds and driving rain all day. I decided that I didnt need to put myself through that especially as a major part of the walk was going to be across a high hilly area. So I drove back to my sisters in Glasgow and bullied my daughter Emma to come down the day after and walk with me for the day.

The weather wasnt bad when we set off and fortunately stayed dry all day. The only problem was that when we eventually set off from Ballantrae after stopping off at the cafe in the local garden centre for a quick bacon roll it was already after 11 am. I reckoned that we would be reaching our destination in Cairnryan in the dark. Setting off from Ballantrae I followed the the Ayrshire Coastal Path towards the hill south of the village named Downan Hill on the map. However Im not sure if we missed the turning as the path we were following kind of “ran out”  idecided to double back and follow another path which lead eastwards towards the farm at Meadow Park. It wasnt a big detour but it was a tad annoying as a signpost at the outbuildings at Downan would have cleared up the confusion.  We carried on an followed minor farm roads until we had to skirt Eastwards around Sandloch Hill. This led us down the hill till the path eventually ended at the junction of the main A77 road and the start (or end) of the Ayrshire Coastal Path. The rest of the walk was along the main road which led down into Cairnryan – a very busy road used by the lorries and traffic coming over from Ireland off the ferry at Stranraer. By the time we eventually reached Cairnryan it was already dark and we had to be very careful that we got off the road quickly as the traffic came around the bends. I cant remember the last time I ever finished a walk in the dark, or even if I had done at all. This is the latest time in the year that I have walked on the Coast walk and Im suddenly conscious that in four weeks time it will be dark at four and Im realistically going tp have to question whether this “final push” to finish the walk over the winter is worthwhile.

Girvan to Ballantrae. 14 Miles.

Ballantrae

From Girvan the road leads south along the main A77 which can be pretty busy as there are lots of big lorries that travel north along this road from the ferry port at Stranraer where they come over from Ireland. The road narrows at a place called Kennedy’s Pass (the Kennedy’s controlled this land years ago and Im sure they did their fair share of extortion and racketeering like every other Scottish Clan) There was a sign for the Ayrshire Coastal Path that pointed across the road, but after following a landrover track up the hill in the wrong direction I doubled back and decided that I’d stick to the coastal road even if it was busy.

Just beyond Lendalfoot there was a memorial in the car park by the sea to a Russian Ship called the Varyag which ran aground not far from the shore. The road then climbed up to the summit of the pass and ahead of me lay Ballantrae and beyond Loch Ryan and Stranraer.

More Photos

Maidens to Girvan. 8 Miles.

The Ailsa Craig

From Maidens I took the road that ran in front of the famous Turnberry golf course – Im not sure if the path went around the shoreline or not but I couldnt see a signpost at Maidens harbour  for the Ayrshire Coastal Path so I missed out on a photo of the lighthouse at Turnberry. I did pass the front entrance to the 5 star Turnberry Hotel however – it is probably up there with the Gleneagles  Hotel as being one of the top hotels in Scotland. Invariably linked to to a golf course of course. Turnberry has been the venue for many an Open championship. Once I passed Turnberry I headed down the very busy A719 which runs along the shoreside south to Girvan. Once again I wasnt sure if there was a viable alternative along the shoreline but I didnt see any signposts suggesting otherwise. So I plodded on and did my hopping on and off the grass verge act until I reached the outskirts of Girvan. That night I parked at the harbour behind a Turkish Articulated lorry. The next morning I watched as the driver ate his breakfast from the side of a little pull down flap on the side of the lorry. He brewed up some strong coffee on a little makeshifts kettle and sat on a little fold away chair. I wondered how he must have felt being so far away from home. I was wondering what I was doing parked up in amongst a lot of trailers – I suppose it must be second nature to these long distance lorry drivers. How many of us realise what kind of life it must be living in the cabin of your truck catching some sleep and driving for hours and hours along strange roads in strange countries where you cant presumambly even speak the language. It must be difficult and a lonely life being a long haul lorry driver. God knows if I can anxious if I have a few hours to kill before bed and Im faced with a few hours in the van. And I have all the comforts built in. I always try and ensure I have enough downloaded programs I can watch from the BBC website. The I-Player is a real boon to me as watching some stuff on my notebook PC it allows me to live a little like a “normal” lifestyle when Im away.  The rest if the time Im better not thinking about how ridiculous this project is. Part of me wishes it was over and yet another part of me wishes paradoxically it could go on for ever.

More Photos

Ayr to Maidens. 18 Miles.

Sunset at Maidens

I drove down early from Glasgow conscious that the days were getting shorter and my walk could be finishing in the dark. I caught the bus from Maidens back up to Ayr and started my walk south heading towards the cliffs that form the Heads of Ayr. I walked under Greenan castle which clung to the cliff precipitously and walked under the cliffs by the shoreline. I wasnt sure if the new Ayrshire Coastal route followed this direction or took a route above the cliffs but I decided as the tide was out I wouldnt risk trying to clamber up to the top.

The setting up of a coastal path for walkers is a commendable venture and was organised by the rotary club of Ayrshire. However the way marking needs to be improved – just beyond the harbour at Dunure I ended up walking across a field having followed a sign that seemed to indicate the way followed the shoreline, but I had to double back when it seemed that I had taken the wrong route. The official web site for the Ayrshire Coastal Path does not give directions,  presumambly because they want to encourage people to but the guide book. However mobile web technology is upon us and it seems that it should be easier to consult a route description via a web browser on your phone or PDA. Thats my opinion anyway – but well done the rotary club for creating the route. Now if we could only get all the sections joined up and create a National Coastal Path….:P

The next stop on the way was the little harbour at Dunure with the Dunure Castle beyond.  From there I headed up the main road and past the “Electric Brae” which was meant to be an optical illusion that fools you into thinking that the road went uphill rather than down. I couldnt see it myself although I remember being fascinated at the idea of it when my dad would stop the car on the road when my sisters and I went to visit my gran who lived in Girvan. I dont think it worked then either. I think the gradient was 1:84  or something anyway so its not like the car was likely to accelarate at an alarming speed down the hill.

I cut back in towards the shoreline at the caravan park road that led down towards the beach at Culzean Bay.  The walk along the sand and for a few minutes my mind had suddenly cleared of all thoughts and I just felt the warmth of the sun and the sound and the smell of the sea to smother me. It was an extraordinary feeling of “this is what’s its all about”. All the financial turmoil in the world’s markets evaporated, the fact that Scotland couldnt score against Norway in the world cup qualifying match – and all the worries and concerns just left me and  felt calm and my mind was just a receptive vessel to my environment. Now I know this sounds like new age hippy crap and I AM Mr Cynical at the best of times, but for maybe 5 minutes I was connected to something much bigger than myself and my little insignificant life was put in perspective. An Existentialist “being in the moment” feeling. There was nothing Nihilistic about it though. It felt good. And to quote a line in my favourite film the Big Lobowski.

Donny: Are these the Nazis, Walter?
Walter Sobchak: No, Donny, these men are nihilists. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

The sun was starting to go down under Culzean castle -an impressive pile now in the stewardship of the National Trust. I had a chat with a couple of women who were renting the cottage at the foot of the cliffs and then climbed up and walked through the castle gardens on my way to Maidens. Unfortunately it was getting dark and didnt really have sufficient light to take photos of the autumnal colours on the leaves of the trees.

I used t visit Culzean when I lived in Glasgow and it would be nice to come back down again withmy camera and spend some time in the gardens. When i reached Maidens I was rewarded with a lovely sunset (see photo above) with the Ailsa Craig just peeping over the horizon.

All in all it was a longish walk but a very satisfying one.

More Photos

Troon to Ayr. 8 Miles.

Ayr

A short walk today with much better weather. I hopped on the train back up to Troon and walked along the Barassie Beach towards the harbour area of Troon. The route led on to the esplanade at Prestwick which was a lovely walk in the late autumn sunshine. I walked along to the end of the esplanade but missed the signpost along the beach at the end of the esplanade. so I had to head inland a little following the Sustrans cycle route through the back streets until I reached the other side of the golf course. From here I walked passed a rather run down industrial estate complete with gas works. The road then took me along the main street after crossing the bridge over the river. A lovely short walk and a welcome change from yesterday’s rain soak.