South Ayrshire Ramblers to Craigmawhannal by Loch Doon June 2011

Today's walk start.

Original site of Loch Doon Castle.

Today it stands clear of the water.

Lots of forest tracks on todays walk.

Rhinns of Kells.

Bridge was built circa 2002 (see text)

19 ramblers testing the weight limit!

This was one of todays obstacles.

Guess the name of the gnome.

Lunch by the river.

Large areas of the forest have been felled recently.

One of todays lovely streams.

On a clear sunny day I decided to join South Ayrshire Ramblers on a gentle 7 mile circular walk at Loch Doon encompassing a wee climb up the oddly name hill known as Craigmawhannal(357M) .Our intrepid walk leader was Madam Vice of ADRC fame with whom we are all familiar with she is  normally associated with A grade walks but today has kindly lent her services to lead a C+ graded stroll.Starting off near to Loch Doon Castle circa 1306 we learn that it was originally built on a piece of land which today is an island in the loch.. In 1936 the authorities raised the water level so the castle was moved stone by stone to its present position some 300 yards away.The first part of the walk was along some forest tracks till we got to the base of Craigmawhannal and here we left the comfort of the road onto some tussicky boggy ground which took us to the summit. Coffee break was enjoyed here looking out at the Rhinns of Kells, The Awful Hand range and also the Merrick was visible today.Down we went to the little bridge which was to take us across the Elgin Lane burn. One of todays walkers told us when he worked for the local forestry commission he and a colleague were responsible for the construction of the bridge in 2002.Not every day you walk with the  bridge builder so the walkers all stood on it together and I am pleased to report it supported us all with no deflection being detected in the girders.Maybe they had drunk their "Irn Bru" that day.From here we went through a wooded area that had been damaged in recent storms which meant we had to negotiate some fallen trees.Once the women all managed to get their leg over safely we stopped for lunch at Whitespout Lane burn for a very enjoyable rest in the sunshine.The last part of the walk was back onto forest roads and back down to the cars at the lochside which was quite busy now with people practising their skills at sailing in the water.A most enjoyable walk taken in pleasant sunshine and with no rain at all it was a very welcome change to some of the recent walks we have all done.Thanks must go to Madam Vice for her leadership today her knowledge of the area and  navigation skills were very much appreciated by everyone .