Cunninghame ramblers mid walk to Loudoun Hill from Darvel September 2011

Walkers met at the Ranoldcoup Car Park in Darvel.

Old railway line from Darvel to Strathaven in Lanarkshire.

One of many fine bridges on this stretch of line.

Loudoun Hill (316M)

A view from the summit down the Irvine Valley.

"William Wallace Monument"

This householder collected old parts of electric power lines.

Including this fine railway lampost.

Today's group .

This fine 79 year old retired policeman was our leader.

Today Tuesday September 27 I once again joined up with the Cunninghame group of ramblers on their mid-week walk from the old lace town of Darvel to Loudounhill which lies a few miles  east of the town.17 of us set off on a cloudy windy but dry day along an old railway line that once ran to Strathaven and probably onto Hamilton to join up with the lines to the South. Our leader told us that it closed in the early fifties when he was a police constable in the area at this time.(He became a detective chief inspector later on in his career)The line is fairly overgrown with a few patches of nettles to negotiate which two of our group found a wee bit difficult as they were wearing short trousers. When will they learn to dress properly for the conditions.Arriving at Loudounhill it was a short very steep climb to the summit with its wonderful views down what is known as the Irvine valley. Coming down the hill was fun with a few of us slipping on the wet grass before we made our way to an unusual monument to William Wallace. The leader gave us a brief talk on the history of the Battle of Loudoun in 1307 which was very interesting. Crossing over the A71 we had a mile of road walking before entering a moorland area where we stopped for lunch. Passing down a river path we arrived back at the cars to end an 8 mile walk with lots of local history stories from the leader including some with a poacher element in them that kept us all amused. Many thanks once again to everyone who was out today for allowing me to join such a fine body of ramblers.