Ayr and District ramblers.Short walk and barbeque at Doonfoot. June 2015

Some new sculptures are displayed in Rozelle park.

The deerstalker found someone to talk to.

Sitting in our back garden

enjoying the barbeque.

Mr and Mrs Chef

and with my sister from Canada.

Todays group at the Burns Centre.

Yesterday Saturday June 27 ADRC had a short local walk followed by a barbeque in my garden in Doonfoot. 19 of us set off on a glorious sunny morning to walk to Alloway where we had our first stop at the Burns centre to enjoy morning coffee. Continuing on the dis- used railway line we arrived at Rozelle House where we had another stop to view the art gallery. The deerstalker now took over as leader to allow me to return home to light the barbie and prepare the burgers. The group soon arrived and enjoyed a lovely barbeque in the afternoon sunshine. Thanks to Anne for all her help in making this another successful day without her it would not be possible.

Cunninghame ramblers. Falkirk wheel to the Kelpies. July 2015

Falkirk wheel

See text

Madam chair

Me and Madam chair at the sundial.

 Teacher arriving at the Kelpies

Impressive structures

You feel he is watching you.

Family of swans looking for lunch

Todays group at the Kelpies

The man who co-ordinated the whole day.

Yesterday Saturday June 20 Cunninghame ramblers travelled to the Falkirk Wheel for an 11 mile circular walk along canal towpaths to the the Kelpies.17 of us left the wheel on a cloudy warm morning to walk to the Kelpies which in a very short time has become one of Scotlands top visitor attractions. It was a lovely walk by the canal passing all the locks that the boats have to navigate through to take them eventually to the open sea.On our route we passed a rather strange object that has been created on the flight path to Edinburgh airport which when viewed fron height is supposed to resemble a pair of lips.. At ground level you require some imagination. Arriving at the Kelpies it is a very impressive sight they are a lot taller than I had been led to believe almost like a giant meccano set or lego for our younger readers.Had our lunch break there watching all the tourists taking photos from all different angles you can understand what an asset the place is to the local economy. The last 4 miles of our walk back to the wheel was very pleasant passing lots of familys out enjoying the canal with all its visitor attractions along the way. Arriving back at the start ice creams and coffee were the order of the day whilst watching the wheel taking the boats from one canal to the other, an excellent day out with thanks to our leader for working out an interesting walk in this part of Central Scotland.

Cunninghame ramblers. Alloway walk/barbeque at Doonfoot. June 2015

Walkers at the bridge over the river.

Todays birthday girl with her cakes

We needed two barbies today

Enjoying their lunch

We had morning coffee here

I was the chef.

Today cunninghame ramblers had a barbeque in our garden at Doonfoot. 17 of us set off in the morning on a dry breezy day with the promise of sunshine later to walk to our first stop at the Robert Burns Museum in Alloway.After we were all suitably refreshed we carried on up the old railway line to Maybole Road to the track that took us into Rozelle Park.At this point the deerstalker took over as walk leader to allow me to go and help Anne prepare the barbeque. Once all the group  arrived back at Doonfoot the usual burgers and chicken cooked on the grill were enjoyed by all.One of the walkers was celebrating her ?? birthday today so her husband supplied all the group with some nice small cakes to celebrate the occasion. Another successful barbie completed with thanks to Anne for all her hard work in making the day possible.
Thanks also the traffic commissioner for helping out with car sharing in Irvine and also for some photographs of the day.

Ruby wedding,Ardrossan. June 2015

Laurieston Hotel

Secretary and Madam Chair.

Anne and I were very honoured last night to be invited to the ruby wedding celebrations of the senior office bearers of Cunninghame Ramblers group at the Laurieston Hotel in Ardrossan. On a lovely summers evening we were treated to an evening of dancing,eating and a few wee refreshments amid the hosts family and friends.A most enjoyable time was had by all ,a big thank you to you both for allowing us to share your special day.

Cunninghame ramblers. Mochrum Hill circular. June 2015

Climbing Mochrum hill

On the summit

Yesterday Wednesday June 2nd Cunninghame ramblers were programmed to climb the Merrick the highest hill in South West Scotland with myself and the deerstalker as leaders. Unfortunately mother nature had her say ,winds to gust to 60MPH meant that for safety reasons we had to cancel the climb and instead head for the Maidens to do Mochrum Hill via Culzean estate. We were due to start around 9.30AM but due to one of the days management team sleeping in it was nearer 10.00AM before we finally got underway.I was the leader with the deerstalker as back marker 8 of us left the car park on a clear cool windy day to first of all walk the old railway line through Culzean estate before we climbed up to the summit of Mochrum. It was blowing a bit of a hooley so we quickly descended into the estate back to Holm Farm where we had our lunch stop. The last part of the walk was along the cliffs down onto the shore back to the start. A good blowy day out on a walk that offers different types of terrain on this 9 mile circular walk.

Holday in Hammamet,Tunisia. May 2015.

Hotel pool

Salad bar

Lobby of hotel we visited

and their pool

Hammamet promenade road

Hannibal and his elephants.

Pre dinner drinks.

Honest it is orange juice

local bazaar

on a visit to the marina

a unusual design of hotel

Another of the larger hotels

Our hotel restaurant

Also at the marina

Having a beer in the shade.

Last week the teacher and I flew from Glasgow to Hammamet in North Africa for 7 days in the sun staying in a hotel on an all inclusive basis. The above is a small selection of photos I took giving the reader some idea of the conditions we had to put up with. E.G. Sunshine ,good food and all the booze we could drink made it a wee bit of a tiring experience but least to say we managed OK.We did a lot of walking exploring the town interspersed with several refreshment stops to compare the different beers on offer at under £1.50 a pint on the odd occasions when we actually bought a drink. Good week and now we are back in Scotland to rain and wind on the official first day of summer

PS A blog of Wigtonshire ramblers week in Northumberland will appear shortly when  Scoop provides me with the photos.