Cunninghame ramblers outing to Comrie in Perthshire. August 2014

Crossing the River Lednock into the village

Known locally as the white church.

The ayes to the left and naes to the right.

Entering the forest.

The first of many waterfalls.

Nice to see walkers and cyclists sharing the same path.

Lovely Perthshire scene.

Melville monument stands high above Comrie.

Looking down on the village.

Waiting for directions.

I just liked the different colours in this field.

The "B" group walkers.

Look no hands!

Our leader used to live in Comrie.

NB. That is a bell in her hand to keep us all in order(including me)

Yesterday Saturday August 30 Cunninghame ramblers set off on a long journey to Comrie in beautiful Perthshire. 28 of us assembled in a local car park to do a B and  C grade walk. 9 opted for the easier walk whilst the rest of us headed for the hills. Passing through the village it was nice to see the different sides in the forthcoming Scottish referendum  sharing the same park which tells the visitor this is truly a very friendly place. Passing through Fordie estate we soon climb onto the moorland with all its paths and roads to allow the grouse shooters access to their sport.The wind was quite strong at this height so we were not bothered by the local midges as we made our way to some standing stones left over from another era. The views were magnificent of all the Perthshire mountains with Loch Earn also visible in the distance.Lunch was taken on a lower slope which gave us some shelter from the wind before we walked to the Melville monument which stands gracefully on a hilltop keeping a watch over the local town and wonderful countryside. The sun had now made an appearance ,also the wind dropped giving us a very pleasant woodland walk back to the start. A great day out to an area not many of us had visited before,grateful thanks to the deerstalker for organising the two walks her attention to detail allowed everyone a very memorable walking experience in glorious Perthshire.

Footnote. We were again very fortunate to have the Duke with us yesterday and once he has produced his Utube slide show I will post the link here later.Click here for slideshow

Cunninghame ramblers. Barr trails. August 2014

What a beautiful day to go for a walk.

Tea break in the forest

It does not get much better than this.

Care had to be taken on this stretch.

This guy managed to get a seat at the "ladys" table.

Lunch at Kirstys cairn

Bridge taking the strain of the large group

Leader with the sweets

Yesterday Wednesday August 27 Cunninghame ramblers met at Barr a lovely picturesque village situated in the hills of South Ayrshire.26 of us assembled in the village square on a perfect warm sunny morning to head off up onto the hills and into Changue forest. Once in the forest  we went along a track known as the Fairy Knowe which meanders its way through very tall trees allowing the sun to shine through casting unusual light onto the ground ahead of the walkers. Lunch at the Kirstys cairn was followed in the afternoon with a further forestry walk taking us all high into the hills above the village with the wonderful views of the countryside all around us. A good track took us all  down back to our starting point to end an absolutely excellent 7 mile walk in conditions which could only be described as perfect. Thanks to the teacher for leading us on one his favourite walks (The traffic commissioner wonders how he manages to organise the weather )

Day out to the Edinburgh Festival August 2014

Anne waiting on the tram.

Lovely clean stations

Ferris wheel on Princes Street

Houdini was there!

Super drumming group

Some entertainers were different

He had his head in a bucket (don't ask why)

On Monday Anne and I travelled by bus to Edinburgh to visit the fringe events taking place along the the Royal Mile. There was the usual entertainers doing their tricks keeping all the tourists entertained. Unfortunately it was a bitterly cold day with a wind coming in off the North sea which did not encourage us to stand about too long in the one place. Good day out despite the cold for our annual visit to Scotlands capital.

Perth grandson doing the ice bucket challenge. August 2014

Click on the video.

ADRC Marathon walk from Girvan to Ayr. August 2014.

Full group leaving Girvan

First stop near to Turnberry.

Yesterday Saturday August 24th ADRC took the early morning bus from Ayr to Girvan for the annual marathon walk of 26 miles.With myself as leader 26 of us met at the railway station on a lovely warm sunny morning and after a small safety talk on marathon walking we were off on our way first of all past the golf course much to the amusement of the players who were queuing to play off the first tee.Soon out on the coast we followed the Ayrshire coastal path along the shore to Turnberry which was our first stop of the day. Suitably refreshed the next break was at Culzean Castle where seven of our group  had decided enough was enough and were collected by pre arranged transport. Down to nineteen it was off to Dunure along the Croy shore and up into the farmers fields, it was at this point we had a couple of small rain showeres which was a wee bit strange as it was lovely and sunny all around us with the exception of one dark cloud immediately above . It soon passed and we were treated to the most spectacular views of the Clyde and Arran from high up on the hills above the village.Dunure harbour was our next break for liquid refreshments as the going was to become a wee bit testing on the next few miles which had boulders ,soft sand and mountains of seaweed to navigate through. Once passed the Bracken Bay caravan site the going got a little easier underfoot but some of us were feeling a wee bit drained by now as we had completed 20 miles with another 6 still to go. We are a hardy bunch in ADRC unperturbed with sore feet we soldiered on with promise of lots of fine ale at the finish, it was this thought that certainly kept me going and I am sure a few of the others. The last 3 miles were along Ayr promenade which took us all to the finishing point at our local Wetherspoons (pub) where everyone enjoyed a well earned pint or three to replenish the sweat lost throughout the day, it is a proven fact that on this type of marathon most people will lose 4/5 pounds of their weight which was soon put back on with all the beer and food consumed. A wonderful day coupled with the fine weather made this the most memorable marathon I have had the honour of organising   for this rambling club. Thanks to all who took part in the marathon your company and banter made the pain and suffering all worthwhile.

Footnote. My good friend the "Duke" will later on today produce a utube of yesterday with lots of photos etc and  will post a link to his site later when I receive it.(hence the reason for a lack of photos on my blog)
The link is :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZBgrPlZgbE&list=UUWZlcEbp7CL3nMxvU_lWgjw

2 reccies this week. August 2014

This was the Barr trails recce.

On Tuesday August 19 I met with the teacher in Girvan to do part of the recce for this weekends annual marathon with ADRC. It was a lovely sunny windy morning to do a shore walk as we made our way first to the Maidens and then onto Culzean and Dunure a total distance of about 15 miles. We finished there as yesterday we were off to Barr to recce next weeks Cunninghame ramblers walk on the forest trails.Again we chose a nice sunny day and ably assisted by the deerstalker and her cousin we did a further 8 miles working out different ways to vary a well known walk. Two most enjoyable days walking and now looking at weather forecasts for this Saturday which  are favourable at present so all we need is a dry day to walk 27 miles to a well known watering hole in Ayr.

Footnote: Long trousers would be beneficial on the early part of the marathon due to tides we will have two small diversions which are fairly overgrown with nettles etc.

Cunninghame ramblers. Hadyard Hill circular near Dailly. August 2014

Making our way up Hadyard Hill

Out on the moors

Todays large group

Aye the leader has to make an appearance!!

Today Cunninghame ramblers went to Dailly for a 9 mile circular walk up Hadyard Hill with myself as walk leader. This was a great honour as only yesterday my membership to this group was confirmed by the Ramblers Association. 23 of us met in the village square on a fairly pleasant dry sunny morning which was a tremendous change from the last three days which were extremely wet and dreich for this time of year. A good steep climb took us all onto the ridge high above the village and  the summit with its wonderful views of the Clyde and South Ayrshire .A short break was taken here where I pointed out a lot of the landmarks and other walking routes  the group may consider for the future. Dropping down into Hadyard wind farm we had a stop for lunch before coming to the Barr road back to Dailly. As we approached the village a light shower of rain came on so I decided to go through the Lindsayston woods which  gave us some shelter before arriving  back safely at the start. Not many photos today as I was the leader so my time was spent navigating a safe and dry route over the tops of the moorland. Thanks to all  who turned out today I cannot decide if it was me or the fact that you have all been kept indoors for the last three days that such a large group turned up for my first walk as full member of this esteemed group.Thanks.

Wigtown ramblers. Newton Stewart circular. August 2014

I could not resist adding this photo

Several gates were negotiated today.

Kirroughtreehouse Hotel

A wonderful view of the town

Keeping the best till last!! (the leader)

Yesterday was a rather sad day, after 10 years plus as a member of Wigtown ramblers I have decided to move to another group nearer to home. At the time of blogging I have not been accepted as a full member of Cunninghame group but the process is under way allowing for the committee to address any objections to my membership should they arise.So for the last time I will  refer to Wigtown ramblers as my mother group which I have affectionately called them over the past few years. Yesterday Saturday August 9 I travelled to Newton Stewart by bus to do a 9 mile circular walk of the town led by none other than my blog mentor "The Newton Stewart Blogger". As usual he will publish a full professional blog later so I will keep mine to minimum. Leaving town 28 ramblers climbed up to the masts which gave us some wonderful panoramic views of the Galloway Hills before crossing the A75 to take us past Blairmount Park  down to the River Cree. After a lunch break we had pleasant afternoon in the warm sunshine meandering through woods and forests before arriving back in Newton Stewart where the group went for teas and coffee whilst I caught the bus home via Girvan Thanks to Scoop for her photographic contribution and also our infamous leader who obviously enjoyed himself yesterday showing off his town  to all his rambling colleagues.
 In conclusion this is not my last walk with Wigtown ramblers you may not see me so often but rest assured I will pop up when logistics allow me to join you but I will no longer be a walk leader for the group.Thanks to you all for tolerating me both as a member and a walk leader I have really enjoyed your company and wish you all well for the future.

A selfie from yesterdays walk at Dailly. August 2014

Selfies are in fashion just now.

Cunninghame ramblers . Recce for Hadyard Hill walk by Dailly. August 2014

The deerstalker with teacher on Hadyard Hill.

Today Thursday August 7 I met the deerstalker and teacher to carry out a recce for my forthcoming walk at Dailly in South Ayrshire for Cunninghame ramblers next Wednesday. As usual as it is only a recce a full post will appear after the walk, however on a clear warm sunny morning the three of us made our way up Hadyard Hill and for those of you that know the area a lot improvements have been made to the path particularly the cutting down and removal of some very prickly gorse bushes. Once on the summit the views out over the Clyde were to say the least stunning before we dropped downhill onto  windfarm roads that took us through all the large turbines before making our way back to Dailly.Approximately 9 mile walk with quite a steep climb at the start to take us up the hill onto the ridge high above the village, definitely in the grade "B" category.

Rain stopped play blog. August 2014

No walk this weekend as I was down to go out with Cunninghame ramblers to Dalmellington but  were told on Friday evening that this had to be cancelled as the proposed route took us fairly close to the Ospreys nest at Loch Doon ,this area is now out of bounds to all walkers until the two chicks fledge. Alternatively our leader was organising a local walk on Saturday morning around Irvine however when I arrived at the start the rain began to fall only lightly but did not show any sign of letting up. After some thought as to what I should do and went through all the different options guess what J.D.Wetherspoons won and I went for a full monty breakfast at the new pub called the Auld Brig.Very good and even managed to do a recce with the manager for future events involving Cunninghame ramblers so the day was not a complete waste!!.