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2011 Archive Stories and pics from |
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2011 Archive Stories and pics from |
October Day Trip to the Ayrshire Coastal Path (Section 1)
Would the lazy dawn herald another balmy Sunday in sunny Scotland? Or would it, unusually, bring grey skies and p****ng rain .. after all, there were 19 walkers heading for the first section of the Ayrshire Coastal Path? You guessed .. it was the latter. And it bucketed down all the way to the tearoom at the Craigiemains Garden Centre at Ballantrae where the group assembled in good time for tea and scones before catching the 1136 bus to Glenapp Church .. and the start of the Ayrshire Coastal Path.
After a group photo beside the Path notice board, we began the long but gentle ascent on a LandRover track from 60m up to 190m below Sandloch Hill. We had some reasonable views over Loch Ryan, with one of the Irish ferries leaving from Cairnryan, and as we began the gentle but muddy descent the weather began to clear, and views down to the Corsewall Lighthouse and across to Ireland opened up. The pace was fairly fast on the good track and old road, and as we arrived at the narrow track by the Shallochwreck Burn we were loudly regaled by the resident cattle as we disturbed their tranquillity. We were soon down at sea level at Currarie Port, and we all settled down for a lunchtime break.
Just as we were sinking our teeth into our sandwiches, the rain decided to descend again, and a hurried lunch was followed by a short steep ascent to the cliff tops, where the rain abated and a glimpse of brightness brought Ailsa Craig into view. The 2km stroll along the tops to Downan Hill was the most pleasant section, with views opening up across to the Mull of Kintyre, northwards to Arran and the Holy Isle, and ahead to the village of Ballantrae. At Downan there's an easy track round the east side of the hill, but new signage directs walkers round the west side, where the signage all but disappears and the way becomes a little unclear. However, a very muddy farm track was soon reached and the remaining 3km back to Ballantrae on a minor road from Downan Farm was covered at a fast pace as the light was fading at the end of the afternoon.
Most of the group re-assembled in Soutar Johnnie's in the village of Kirkoswald for the usual refreshment, this time accompanied by the warmth from a roaring log fire. Section 2 for the next ramble anyone .... ?
AMcG
Beinn an Oir .. the Hill of Gold. Jura's Jewel in the Crown. The centrepiece of the Triumvirate of Paps. Accessible (to those living in Glasgow) only by a 2½-hour car journey to Kennacraig, a 2-hour ferry crossing to Islay, a 5-minute ferry crossing to Jura, a 20-minute bumpy bus run to Craighouse, an evening of mirth and merriment at the Jura Hotel, a fortunate 20-minute car run to the start point, followed by a 3-hour walk-in and ascent .. and that's only to reach its 785m summit! The whole thing's got to be done in reverse to get home again .. ! But no gold for us on Saturday 22 October .. more like Beinn a'Gaoith Báisteach, or Hill of the Blowing Gale and Pi***ng Rain. Or a Báisteach of a hill depending on your point of view. And speaking of views, I understand there's a great one to be had from that golden summit. Ah well, maybe another day .....
On Friday 21st, I picked up Gordon and Bob, while Willie picked up Allan B and Allan H for the trip to Kennacraig .. leaving around 9.30am to be in good time for the 1300 ferry to Port Askaig on Islay. Steven, Hilary and Heidi were catching the later ferry at 1800 after a morning's toil at the coal face. Traffic was fairly light on the drive, which gave Gordon, Bob and I enough time for tea and scones at the CaDora Cafe in Tarbet before arriving at Kennacraig at 1230. Willie and the Allans had already arrived, so we paid our £16.50 return fare, boarded the old ferry " Hebridean Isles" and settled down to wait for the lunch service to begin. As the ferry pulled away from the pier, some of us were tucking in to fish and chips, with the huge fish hanging off the plates .. and others with other delicacies from the extensive menu. As we sailed up the Sound of Islay, most of us braved the outside air at the sharp end to watch us cruise into Port Askaig. On disembarking, it was just a short 30m stroll to the Jura Ferry for the short crossing to Feolin for the princely sum of £3 each return. We booked our return trip with the ferrymaster for 0835 on Sunday morning, then boarded the minibus for Craighouse and the Jura Hotel .. us oldies with bus passes getting this stage for free ...
(To be continued)
AMcG
