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| Group at the summit of Monument Hill |
On Saturday February 15th I led a walk for Wigtownshire ramblers at Straiton. As I was the leader part of my duties are to prepare a press report to be published in the Free Press so I will use that as my script for the blog. A full professional blog will be published in due course by
"The Newton Stewart Blogger" my rambling mentor. The weather to begin with was a wee bit inclement to say the least so this weeks photography will be courtesy of him complete with waterproof camera, as usual my thanks for all his help and assistance.Here is the draft copy of my report:
Wigtownshire ramblers. Saturday February 2014
On Saturday February 15th Wigtownshire ramblers
headed north to the south Ayrshire village of Straiton. On a wet windy cold day
10 members met at the car park to rendezvous with the walk leader who was going
to take the group up their first challenge which was to climb the hill known locally
as Monument Hill. After putting on their outdoor protective clothing the group
made their way through the village admiring the swathes of snowdrops that
flower at this time of year.Monument Hill is a short steep climb up to the
summit to admire the structure that is clearly visible from the main road as
you drive towards Glen Trool.The monument is to Lt. Col. James Hunter Blair who
was killed at the battle of Inkerman in 1854. The weather showed signs of
easing and it was not long before the rain stopped and the odd glimpse of
sunshine shone through to dry the wet clothing off. Coming down the shoulder of
the hill the leader warned of very slippy muddy conditions so great care would
have to be taken to prevent any falls. Crossing over the waters of Girvan our
next hill was Bennan Hill (283M) which involved a steep slippery climb to take
us to the top with its fine views across to the coast and beyond which were now
visible due to the improved weather
conditions. Once safely back at the village our lunch was taken at the
car park before another short walk on the Lady Hunter Blair trail to a
magnificent waterfall tucked away inside a forest which today was in full spate
given the amount of rainfall this area has experienced recently. The final walk
was a short road walk back to the start before adjourning for a well earned
cuppa in the local tea room.
Next Saturday the walk is from Leswalt to Lochnaw a distance
of 6 miles on fairly level tracks. Please meet at Riverside Newton Stewart at
9.00AM or Breastworks Stranraer for car sharing . The walk commences at 10.00AM
for further details please contact the leader on 01776870441.
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