Wigtownshire ramblers Straiton Circular February 2014

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 15^th 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.