ADRC Kendoon circular April 2011

Walk start using the grass verges as a car park.

Trudging along in the rain.

Coffee break .

An unusual bridge. (See text)

Newly built large house by Kendoon Loch.

View up the loch towards a fish farm.

The Drookit ramblers.

Todays walk was supposed to start at  the dam at the bottom of Kendoon Loch but unfortunately the authorities had  closed the suspension bridge we were going to walk over. Our astute walk leader had noticed this  on the internet last night so was able to re -route us before we left Ayr. It was a grey dreich morning in Ayr and as we travelled South the skies got heavier and so did the rain. We parked at Kendoon Youth Hostel and 23 ramblers started the walk up  Black Water until we reached a stretch of the Southern Upland Way (SUW). A brief coffee stop was taken before we had a gentle climb up Culmarc Hill and dropped down to a bridge over the River of Ken. The bridge was constructed using large diameter concrete pipes and filling in the gaps. Very clever and would be quite cost effective in this rather remote location.Lunch was taken at an old derilict cottage which had been constructed using the same type of stone for building the dry stoned dykes. It might not have been very windproof but it was home to someone perhaps over 100 years ago.Now we had reached Loch Kendoon which we walked alongside until we reached a very narrow road bridge known as High Water of Ken. Following a trail down to the power station dam we were being watched by a shepherd and his dogs who were tending their flock of new born lambs. Very carefully avoiding the sheep we arrived at the dam and followed a concrete structure that looked like a canal until we reached the sluice gates. This was the end of our walk which unfortunately had been taken in fairly wet conditions hence the lack of any good photography.Thanks again to our walk leader today who coincidentally was the same one that took us on that memorable walk through the "Striding Arches" several walkers today have asked him to repeat it again sometime so I think he got the hint. Watch this space.