Cunninghame Ramblers to Crosbie Hills by West Kilbride June 2011

An aptly named restaurant located in the station

Today's first obstacle.

Walkers stop whilst the route is confirmed by walk leader.

Coffee break at Little Caldron.

Looking down on Hunterston "B" power station.

Millport Bay.

Some wonderful views of the Clyde today.

Walkers pass Fairlie Castle (circa 1581)

Railway tunnel to Largs.(instead of a tree lined avenue)

Todays rambling group

Today I joined the Cunninghame Ramblers for a mid week walk from West Kilbride to the Crosbie Hills which are situated above the town.22 walkers started off from the railway station on a 9 mile "B" grade linear walk to finish up at the village of Fairlie where we would get the train back to West Kilbride.Firstly we passed through Crosbie caravan park and up onto a track which would take us past Glendane Hill (272M) . Here we met the local farmer who inquired where our route was taking us. After our walk leader assured him we were going to be using the quad bike tracks only he was satisfied we would not upset the ground nesting red grouse which is a source of income for him come the shooting season.Once out onto the hills we stopped at Little Caldron hill for refrershments before going up to the top of Caldron Hill (329M). The weather today was sunny and windy which made the views from the summit quite spectacular.  Arran was especially beautiful bathed in the sunshine with lots of ferry and boat traffic between us and the island.From here we dropped down and crossed the Fairlie to Dalry moor road . Now we climbed a little to the summit of Black Hill (220M) where we could see an aerial view of Hunterston Nuclear power station and the neighbouring coal terminal which featured on the TV a lot during the miners strike of the eighties.Now we reached Diamond Hill where lunch was taken and  also the sweeties were passed round supplied today by our walk leader.After the break we descended through Fairlie Glen passing the uninhabited castle till we reached the railway station where we were to get our train back to the start.This was an excellent walk today in the summer sunshine and again our thanks to the walk leader for all her efforts in working out our route to avoid nesting birds and her ability to handle a farmer who could have been a wee bit awkward towards 22 walkers on his land.Thanks also to the group for allowing me to join them today and look forward to seeing lots of you again next Sunday for the walk near Ballantrae which I have done  before and would highly recommend.