Cunninghame Ramblers. Kirkconnel Circular April 2011

Our goal today is Kirkland Hill.

Remains of St. Conal's churchyard.

View back to Kirkconnel.

Lots of bridges have been built over the burns.

Traditional coffee break.

One of the many information boards.

Walk leader points out all the places of interest.

Seats provided are better suited to one person.

These guys are better known as "the advance party"

Poor light double click to see the train.



Today's ramblers at the top of Kirkland Hill.

 Todays walk is with the Cunninghame Rambling group in the village of Kirkconnel which forms part of Dumfries and Galloway.Our walk leader was brought up in this area and her local knowledge was to prove invaluable as there is a lot of local history in this part of the country. 17 ramblers left the village on a very clear sunny morning which was a great relief to the walkers who were out yesterday and got "drookit" it was a very pleasant change. The first burn we came to was the Polblower Burn known locally as the Bakers Burn as the water from here was used to drive the wheel at the mill to enable the baker to produce the flour for his bread.Kirkconnel Heritage Trust have to be commended for their contribution to today's walk as all the bridges built over the burns were constructed in the village and then transported into position. Our climb today was to the summit of Kirkland Hill (507M) and as we ascended the views started to open up with Solway coast in the South and Arran  in the North.At the top our walk leader pointed out all the various hills and crags which were visible lots of us who were on last weeks walks could look to the Lowther Hills and appreciate them from a different angle.Lunch was taken just off the summit looking down on the open cast coal mine which we were assured will be filled in and returned to it's natural state. One hopes this will happen in our lifetime.Walking down the side of the Glenwharrie Burn we saw the site of the old St Conal's church and as it was Easter it was very befitting for some of the ramblers as this was the closest many of them had been to a church for  years with the exceptions of weddings and funerals.Arriving back at Kirkland farm it was a pleasent walk back down the Bakers Burn passing many young local families out rolling their Easter eggs and generally enjoying the the beautiful countryside on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A super walk made all the more interesting as it was lead by a local lassie who had a wealth of the history of the area. My thanks to her and the group for allowing me to participate in such an interesting walk.Hope to see you all again soon.