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| Todays very large group |
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| Our leader with his camera. |
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| Making our way up Cairnharrow(456M) |
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| Everyone took a well earned rest at the summit. |
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| Looks like a serious conversation. |
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| Lunch on a stone circle. |
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| Our charismatic walk leader. |
Some extra photos have arrived from Scoop .
Walk Report
Thirty one walkers assembled
at the Robert Adam designed 18th century bridge at Kirkdale for the
walk.Unfortunately a short way into the walk, one of our seasoned
members turned back when she realized that the viral infection she was
carrying wouldn't get her over the hills.
The first section took us past the 18th century Kirkdale water driven sawmill, one of only a few left in Scotland.
A
steady incline on the tarmac road took us past the entrance gate to
Barholm Castle, a onetime stronghold of the McCulloch Clan,and a hiding
place of the reformist John Knox.
Just beyond Barholm we
turned north. With Cairnholy Glen below us to the west we continued
along the potholed road leading to Claughreid.
A holiday cottage belonging to the actor Martin Shaw was
pointed out.
After road walking almost two kilometres we
gained softer ground entering the lower slopes between Barholm Hill and
Cairnharrow. Now the incline became steeper and we were soon gaining
height.
Behind and below us Wigtown Bay and Fleet Bay would occasionally stand out in the patchy sunshine.
A
zig zag climb on sheep and quad bike tracks eventually got us to the
1500 ft summit of Cairnharrow. With low lying cloud over the Galloway
hills views were in limited supply, but across Wigtown Bay landmarks in
the Machars and the South Rhins could be identified.
We
took a short sweetie break at the summit of Cairnharrow before making a
careful descent to the col between Cairnharrow and Cambret.
During
the descent we disturbed quite a number of black grouse. A full sized
red deer was also spotted running away. Bright purple heather was in
full bloom.
At the remains
of a stone circle and a large round Neolithic burial tomb cairn we stopped for lunch. The cairn made for great seating.
After
lunch we crossed the Cauldside Burn, barely noticeable because of the
lack of rain, a drystone dyke and a barbed wire fence.
On the
lower slopes of Cambret Hill we viewed the cup and ring marks on a slab
of rock. The markings were barely perceptible until a ray of sunshine
highlighted the the rings.
A steep climb took us up to the masts and satellite dishes atop Cambret where we regrouped ready for a length of road-walking.
Now
we descended to the Corse of Slakes road. Harebells and Grass of
Parnassus were among the wild flowers spotted on the verges.
Now
a fair distance of road walking took us across the Englishman's and
Billy Diamond Bridges passing the extensive plantations of the Garrocher
Christmas tree farm.
At Garrocher ponds we paused to look at
the wooden
roundhouse and the wire man, Creebaby. It was created in 2011 by
sculptor Alex Rigg and originally had roses and clematis climbing the
frame. It's bare now, but is still an impressive sculpture.
Our route now took us through Balloch Wood where various fungi grew in abundance.
We
emerged from the woods at Creehenge, the stone circle featuring seven
large illustrated blocks of granite. Here we took a moment to read some
of the inscribed Haiku verses compiled by the pupils of Creetown Primary
School under the guidance of the Galloway born poet Lucy Burnett.
Now a short walk through Creetown brought us to the Gem Rock Museum and the walk finish.
After
car drivers had been ferried back to collect their vehicles, we
gathered in the Gem Rock cafe for after walk tea, coffee, scones and
other delights. A fitting end to a cracking walk.
The next walk, on Saturday the 27th of September will be
a 7 mile, C+ linear walk from Finnarts Bay to Cairnryan.
Meet at the Riverside car park Newton Stewart at 8.45 am, the Breastworks, Stranraer at 9.15 am for car sharing, or at Cairnryan for the bus (NX 060 697) at 9.45 am. Remember to bring your bus pass.
New
members are always welcome, for more information or if going to the bus
stop in Cairnryan, contact the walk leader on 01581 200256
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| the gruesome twosome |
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| This is scoop. |
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| Awaiting our turn to cross the dyke. |
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| A barbed wire fence |
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| Looking back to Cairnharrow. |
