South Ayrshire Ramblers. Maidens to Mochram Hill. August 2012

At the Maidens car park.

Culzean Castle and orangery.

Passing through the gardens.

Elevenses at the Home Farm.

Lots of flowering "Buddleia" in the woods,
sometimes referred to as the butterfly flower.

I had the camera out in case he fell!!

A whole field of Broad Beans.

Today's group at the trig point.



Our walk leader.

Today Sunday August 12th I met up with South Ayrshire Ramblers for a 10 mile circular walk from the Maidens to Mochrum Hill via Culzean Castle.Our leader informed us at the start that as this is a walk  we had all done in the past he first of all was doing it in the reverse direction that we normally go and  had worked out a new way off the summit of Mochrum through some nice boggy overgrown woods.10 of us set off along the shore on a warm cloudy morning into the estate past the Swan Pond where the pair of swans were carefully protecting their 8 cygnets. On arriving at the Home Farm it was time for a wee cuppa sitting admiring the wonderful stonework used in it's construction.Once clear of the estate it was time for a wee bit more serious stuff as the walkers all climbed to the summit of Mochrum Hill. (270M).Not all that clear today with the low cloud causing some mist in the  distance and as it was quite sheltered here it was an excellent place to have a leisurely lunch break. The leader had promised us something a wee bittie different today as he took us down off the hill in an area of no visible tracks he made his way through the long grass trying to avoid the thistles as several of today's walkers were dressed in shorts. Over a couple of fences we arrived in a nice boggy wood that took us to the path we all know from previous walks. Nice gentle stroll now down past Greenside farm to the old railway line that took us back through the estate towards Morriston Farm with its large field of broad beans which we all had to sample, they were excellent and must be ready to harvest any day now. Back at the cars the leader was thanked for an excellent walk with a few new twists, after all the exertions of the past week it was just the sort of outing I needed.