Belhaven Bay.East of Eden.

Alex had family commitments,or maybe he just didnt fancy walking into the howling gale
raging outside.Maybe he thought it would rain!
So. Me solo,but this is a good un today!
Watched weather.BBC girl promised sun by 10:00am out past Edinburgh way.I,ve always believed what girls tell me so off I headed to the lands east of eden with trusting heart in the rusting but faithful sunmobile.As a starting point I parked at Belhaven Bay.(See dots on map.)
This is my favourite beach in Scotland as good as anything in the far north.I,ve seen huge rollers here during storms that you could hear crashing on the sands over a mile away.Today it was very windy,close to a full on gale but the tide was going out so no big waves.It was perfect though for my brand new sport of sand cycling.Never seen anyone else doing this on my travels.I discovered this almost by accident a few years ago and was immediately hooked.Such great fun.Skimming along close to the waves on the hard packed sand with the retreating sea giving me bags of room to jump across dips and puddles.On a good beach like this one its as fast as racing on smooth tarmac.You can cover miles in a very short space of time.Today with the constant wind it was even more exciting as I had to lean into it at a tight angle to stay in the saddle.
I quickly cycled out to the Tyne mouth where that deep river pours into the sea.This area has some serious quicksand close to the riverbanks so I kept my distance this time.(who says an old dog cant learn!) Although windy it was sunny and just right.Not too cold or hot .I was able to spend the whole day in my ten year old vintage tee shirt.(its a legend kids! Heh oldies,(over 40) ever noticed how anything thats over ten years old is a legend nowadays to the young!)And it can act better than most hollywood actresses given a stiff wind.No more botox or tattoos please girls!They cant replace emotions. Not yet anyway.
The great thing about this beach,being vast, is that it rarely feels crowded yet there is always something interesting going on.Surfers,Beachcasters(big rod fishermen) Stunt kite fliers,model gliders.Today it was horseriders
and sand yachts.
It was while watching the horse riders that I picked my next target.Doon hill with what looked like a handy ramp line leading up left to the summit.
Note the dotted line. As I knew it was fun along the cliffs on a day like this I headed for the bridge that would lead me round the coastline clifftop path to Dunbar
Where I could follow minor yellow roads(os map 67) to Doon(running across the busy A1 with bike).As I,d done some cycling here before my intention was to go onto the even more minor white roads on the map.A real adventure as you never quite know what your getting with these.Anything from a good landrover track to a knee deep boulder laden muddy ditch.From a distance it looked as if it would be no trouble to find this easy ramp line but once I was underneath it this proved difficult as several abortive thrashings in near jungle testified.
Undaunted I decided to head along the bottom track instead towards more open but steeper ground up to the summit.At this point Alex would have said "No way Bob ,are you****** crazy!" but left to my own devices I discover things like sand cycling.He,s far too sensible and would probably say it would damage the bike.Ha!
Being a nutter of long standing I lashed the bike onto my back using elastic cords(which I carry for just such an occasion) and proceeded straight up the hill.It wasnt too bad,the rucksack weighed far more than the bike.Imagine carrying that lot up a 19 story block of flats and you get the picture.New york firemen do a lot more than that some days.No big deal really.I have a much harder time at work.
As everyone knows the secret is to go slow and steady.Unfortunately all the clegs in christendom lay in wait out the wind in the waist high bracken ahead.I made excellent time therefore spurred on by these flying******** piranha.Nature being fair I hope something equally nasty, big and vicious chows mightly down on their wee bodies and balls with equal vigor during the long hot summer nights!
On the top of Doon hill stood a trig.And on that trig stood me.Just thought youd like to see what you missed Alex, you not being up one for a while.Ha ha.
The surprise was not the view but a long lost settlement which was wrongly down on the map as a castle.Wandered over to this and studied the info board but you,ll have to go there yourself to see what it said.From here I walked bike over fields and fences to the next white road leading round Pinkerton hill to the house known as the Brunt.I was really enjoying this and it was about to get better.What a wonderous section this is.I could have cycled this but it just felt right to walk. It was not really a bike route as such and I didnt want to antagonise the local farmer shooting nearby.
I was glad I did this as I hit a 3 kilometer lucky streak where all the things that normally run away stayed put right up to within touching distance in some cases.
First it was a score of painted lady butterflies, exhausted, resting on the path out the wind.I could have touched these but didnt.If I was knackered I wouldnt fancy anyone taking a poke at my ribs.They have a hard enough life.Poor little buggers.
The wind at this point was so strong it was tearing small branches off the trees and I got hit on the head with a detached clump of spiky horse chestnuts which was pretty sore!
The sheep were acting out of character too coming up really close with intent stares as I passed then following on behind like a collective pet pooch.Weird stuff.
Next what I think were young partridge proceeded to come out the hedge and walk in two unhurried lines just in front of the bike.It was spooky.I felt like the pied piper!
In all my hill days I,ve never had a run like this.
Swallows came next ,dozens of them sheltering in a dip,taking turns to play on a gate like trained budgies in a show.They too let me get really close before they flew off.
The spell was broken when I opened said gate leading down to beautiful wild country and eventually the next yellow road where I finally returned to the saddle.
Soon great rollercoaster downhills followed past the village of Spott then Little Spott with another gem of the varied and interesting history of the area uncovered.

I arrived back at the car around 6.30 pm hardly out of breath.Not a lot of miles covered but a nice breezy adventure in the always entertaining lands east of Eden.Scotlands very own riviera.
A very special day that will live long in the memory.Roll on harvest time in this my cherished golden realm.Wheat, barley,poppies and sunflowers in the fields.Squash,pumpkins, christmas turkeys( over in fife. yes folks... polytunnel turkeys! Free range!Its only humans that are stupid enough to want to stay out of doors when its pouring with rain. Given a choice us sensible birds know better!) and watermelons bursting out from the polytunnels.Its real lush hereabouts. Another world from the damp drab west coast
Bring it on.I can hardly wait.

Tour of the Machars.

With a sunny forecast in the offing it was down to the Machars for a day trip today.Repeated last weeks drive down via Girvan and then across the Girvan to Newton Stewart road.Stopped in Barrhill for 10 minutes to have a walk around another disused church. The stained glass windows were in immaculate condition and look as if they have been cleaned up recently.I`m guessing that someone bought it to do a conversion on it and it has been put on hold as there was no signs of any activity through the vegetated path leading up to it.An unusual frontage to it and the tower itself has a slightly lopsided look at the top .

Nice colourful pub in the village as well…...

A brief stop in Newton Stewart for the Guardian and a quick bite to eat and it was on to Garlieston....

It had been a long time since I had been here…..can`t honestly remember when to be honest. The only difference that jumped out was the new “sympathetic development” at the harbour itself.The place was a building site and to my eye there was nothing sympathetic at all about it. You can see the builders publicity blurb here….

Garlieston Harbour development

Notice that the nice Flash panorama of the harbour stops short of the "development" :) No time for a pint in the Harbour Inn this trip alas inviting though it looked.

Set out on the path heading south from the harbour and along the coast towards Rigg Bay.This is a fantastic little beach,totally protected from the wind on all sides apart from the East.It was busy today,maybe 15 folk,mainly locals, enjoying the school holidays.There were a few remains of the Mulberry and PLUTO testing site hidden away in the trees behind the beach..According to Wikipedia I was a couple of years too late ….

History of the Mulberry

Couple of pics of Rigg Bay,also know as Cruggleton Bay...

A cracking little “hidden” beach and I`ll be back again.

Back to the car and next stop Isle of Whithorn....

Would you believe it, another development is underway here as well..! More holiday lets by the look of it.It was soon out of sight however as we headed out to the remains of St.Ninian`s Chapel for a snoop around and then over to the Cairn,the white tower on the headland for a spot of sunbathing.

A wee walk along the coast a bit…

St Ninian`s Chapel…

A boat passes by the window of St.Ninian`s Chapel…

It was possible to see the telecom structures on the top of Snaefell on the Isle of Man in the distance.There were a couple of modern memorials in amongst all the early Christian stuff namely two to the crew of the Solway Harvester which was sunk off the Isle of Man a few years back. One of the memorials to the crew of the Solway Harvester.Just look at their ages.....

More detailed information on this tragedy is available here…

Solway Harvester disaster.

Spotted this house with a view over the harbour on the way back to the car.Maybe I should take a leaf out of Bob`s book and buy a lottery ticket myself..!

There is further reading on the Isle of Whithorn website…...

Isle of Whithorn website

Next stop St.Ninians Cave.There is a good car park at NX 431 366 from where a well signposted path leads past a farm and on down to the beach in just over a mile or so.

The path leads downhill through a tunnel of trees and rhodedendrons…keep an eye open for a beautiful eucalyptus tree on the left after going through a gate It opens out a few hundred yards before the beach at which there is a signpost pointing you to the right.

Arriving at the Port Castle Bay....

As a cave enthusiast I must admit to being a bit disappointed in St.Ninians,It doesn`t stretch very far into the cliff maybe 10 or 15 feet at most..It`s certainly popular with religious folk though.All around are stones with messages on them and hand made wooden crosses etc; I particulary liked the one taking centre stage which said “Smudge,the best cat who ever lived “ :-)

There were a few old carved crosses and one engraved name from 1718.Another visitor told me that there had been a rockfall and all the early stuff had been taken away and is on display in Whithorn nearby.

View out from the cave.....

I scrambled up the cliff for the view….

I had intended to stop at Monreith for a walk along the beach to the headland with the otter memorial to Gavin Maxwell,who grew up in this area, and various other things but the sun had taken it`s toll on my enthusiasm,not too mention my bald head,and time was also running out. The Port William area was suffering from the stink of decaying seaweed so Barsalloch hill fort was left for another day also..So,it was back of to Glasgow stopping every now and again for some pics.I`ll sign off with an old scanned slide taken at Gavin Maxwell`s old house in the Highlands.

Sunset looking over to skye from Camusfearna south of Glenelg....

PS: Having a look a the map again I`ve just noticed a place named St.Helena Island on the OS map.Shall maybe bag that along with Galloway`s own Lake Superior at a later date………could make for an interesting conversation if somebody was to ask what I was up to yesterday..!

Coran of Portmark, Rhinns of Kells

Down to Galloway again today.It`s one of my favourite hillwalking areas in Scotland.It`s not as striking as Assynt or Fisherfield for example.....

Old scanned photo from Bob of John B.in Assynt....



Old slide of mine with Big George in Fisherfield with An Teallach in the distance..



It`s hard to describe exactly..it`s just "diferent". The Loch Enoch and Awful Hand areas are every bit as good as anything in the Highlands and you can still find solitude here.Very few paths,fantastic hill lochs with sandy beaches,great granite pavements littered with erratics and some of the weirdest names in Scotland.
Rig of the Jarkness,the Wolf Slock,Rig of Munshalloch,Little Spear and Neive of the Spit.The only other place that I can think of offhand that comes close is Pendicles of Collymoon.Google it and see where it is :)

We usually go out on a Sunday as this gives Bob all day Saturday to recover from his hard graft as an electrician during the week.the forecast for Sunday however was dire so Saturday it had to be.I had fancied the long walk in to Mulwharchar via Loch Enoch but Bob didn`t really fancy an early start so it was agreed I`d be picked up at 9am.This meant that we would have to find a shorter hill day probably in the northern Galloway area.I had 4 Donalds to tidy up in the northern Rhinns of Kells starting with Coran of Portmark and finishing with Cairnsgarroch and that made a nice circular walk that would fit the bill.

Parked the car at Green Well of Scotland,the usual jumping of point for the nearby Corbett of Cairnsmore of Carsphairn.A word of warning for access to Cairnsmore of Carsphairn here.There were access problems in the past which seem to have been resolved.The path after the farmyard though has been covered in 6 inch deep mud for a substantial length on two previous visits.I wonder why :)

Today however we took the road west to past Holm of Daltallochan and on to the old lead mines at Garryhorn.



There are substantial remains of the old mine buildings here but I was surprised to read that it was home in the past to 300 people,complete with it`s own school.



From the ruins we headed up an ATV track which snaked it`s way up to the col between Knockower and our first hill of the day,Coran of Portmark.We spied a cairn of to the north that looked like it would give a better view over Loch Doon and this proved to be the case.A fine spot for lunch.



Although a bit hazy the views to the north and west were excellent.The Arran hills and Holy Island,Cowal,Arrochar,Ben Lomond and various other hills of the southern highlands,the Ochils and surprisingly,The Lomond Hills in Fife.I had to take a bearing on them check when I got back home to confirm this.The usual culprit,Criffel,was prominent to the south and in the background the Lake District looked as if it also was enjoying a bit of sunshine.Off along the ridge we quickly passed over the second hill of the day,Bow.Carried on with a momentary stop to bag the summit cairn and continued south towards the days high point of Meaul.

Bob heading up Meaul with the Merrick as a backdrop...



For only the second time this year we met someone else on the hill,a father and daughter from Ayr who also expressed their surprise at meeting other folk on these hills.I hadn`t looked at the map all day so I had a great big smile on my face when a nice trig point was waiting on the summit to greet me.Only my second one this month but the 66th of the year so far.Still hoping to hit a 100 new ones before the end of the year :)



We hung around looking over to the inner sanctum of Galloway and back up to Loch Doon....



Gavin is the only person I know to have done a rock route in the heart of these hills and it was an epic day both in terms of hours out and route finding :) The Silver Flowe,a man eating bog,exists in the fold between these two ridges.It`s a listed UNESCO site of scientific interest and home to some rare butterflies and dragonflies.Golden Eagles are usually seen here as well hence the rock climbing ban during the nesting season.Didn`t see one today however,just ravens kawking all day.There is a hilarious photo of a couple of guys negotiating the tussocks and bogs on the excellent John Biggar`s Galloway rock climbing site.Scroll down to the last photo on the page...believe me,it`s worth it :)

Click here for Tussock fest


We pushed off eastwards for the days last summit of Cairnsgarroch......





..... which seemed to be a party venue for all the flies in Galloway....just the stupid annoying type of fly.We didn`t pause at the summit but continued down the surprisingly steep nose aiming for the Garryhorn Burn and the ruined mine.Mistake..! The lower section and the continuation to the mine was some of the worst going underfoot we have experienced and we`ve had a lot of experience..! Real ankle snapping territory,waist high vegetation concealing deep holes,awkward tussocks and hidden streams and bogs.Not only that, but to add insult to injury, the clegs had now zeroed in on us drawing blood .It might be better to continue over the outlier of Craighit if you venture this way although it looked just as bad thereabouts albeit for a shorter distance.I`d ran out of swearwords long before reaching the mine.We had a root around the old mine spoil heap looking for some examples of galena but if there ever had been any decent ones they had been taken a long time ago.We found the old adits.I would have expected them to have collapsed by now but they had just been covered in old logs and branches.I didn`t have the energy left to lift them and see alas.Back along the road to the car with the sun now beating down strongly :)



Bob wanted to climb the old pit bing outside Dalmellington on the way home.If you think I`m mad bagging trig points...he bags pit bings :) Must admit having done the odd one myself they do have good views.! We compromised and settled on the Scottish Wildlife Trust`s Knockshinnoch Lagoons near New Cumnock.If this is New Cumnock I`d hate to see what Old Cumnock looked like...! ( that`s this entries gratuitous insult folks :) ). We wandered round to the hide but with no binoculars we were reduced to guessing mostly as to what was what.



Arrived home at 7.00pm just in time to cap off an excellent day by watching the penultimate stage of the Tour de France and the awesome Mount Ventoux.The Tour has got to be the finest sporting spectacle on the planet....an estimated 700,000 people lining the slopes today..!

Edit: Some pics just in from Bob.

Myself approaching Meaul with Loch doon in the background....


The road back out to the car....Cairnsmore of Carsphairn ahead..




Reaching the car with 3 of the 4 hills in the background....


Coming off Cairnsgarroch.....

Blackhope Scar.

I was going to miss out on posting this trip because it was the first time I`ve ever been bored on a hill and I couldn`t think of anything positive to write on it.Usually there`s always some plus factor about this pastime, even if it`s only the masochistic pleasure of being up high in foul weather.


As usual it started of with a phone call from Bob and,as always,he had a "plan". I still haven`t got back into the routine after my holiday and needed a bit of cajoling from the man."I`ll just pick you up" he says, "you`ll enjoy it". I couldn`t be bothered arguing.... :)


A wee bit later than usual he pulls up."Bring your binoculars and get in the car" the order rang out. Once on the M8 heading east the "plan" was revealed.Apparently we were heading to Benarty Hill in Fife.Bob wanted to see some of the bands playing T in the Park and decided that we could watch them for free from the summit with the aid of binoculars :) I breathed a secret sigh of relief when the Fife hills appeared over to the north shrouded in cloud. I`m more of an acoustic music fan so I was grateful that the weather Gods had intervened and saved me from having to listen to Death by Tinnitus and Massive Eardrum Assault and rubbish of that order :)


A 90 degree turn was quickly executed when Bob spotted a patch of blue sky to the south hanging over the Moorfoots.This is one of Bob`s favourite cycling spots and as we drove through the back roads I could see why.Another one of these areas that look boring on the map but in reality are quite delightful.Nice quiet roads with little in the way of traffic,secluded houses,old stone walls from a bygone age and lots of native woodland.


Gladstone reservoir was our destination and we parked at NT 291 528 on the southern fringes of the loch.Blackhope Scar had to wait a half hour or so as we sat out a couple of squalls and passed the time swapping sections of the newspaper and having an early lunch.You can`t put it off for ever though and as soon as there was a weather gap we headed off towards Moorfoot farm.Passing through the farmyard ( dog free ) we headed southwards up the glen towards the path that heads up the Kipps.

Track heading south from the farm....




It was drizzling on and off but nothing that required a jacket.We made our way up to the plateau and it was all downhill from there so to speak.The rain came on quite heavily.I put on my trusty Rab overtrousers ( best money I have ever spent on a piece of hill gear apart from a Thermarest ) whilst Bob annnounced that he was not one to be intimidated by the Scottish weather and was "going commando".Two sheep and myself put on a sprint at this moment :)

As we usually do,we split up and meandered uphill each finding our own different lines and met up at the summit.Thankfully Bob had donned a mid thigh length goretex jacket by this time :)There were views over the Firth of Forth to Fife and out east to Bass Rock but the going underfoot had been dreadful.Deep heather,hidden tussocks,spongy sphagnum moss and bogs.I`d so lost interest that I took one desultory photo and that was it.

Desultory zoomed photo showing Arthur`s Seat and Salisbury Crags.Firth of Forth and Kirkcaldy in the background seemingly the only sunny place in Scotland that day.Still wouldn`t park my car there for more than a few minutes though :)



Bob wanted to head back in the same direction and continue along the escarpment to Torfichen Hill.I did not fancy repeating the route.Browbeat Hill wasn`t far away to the west and at least there was a trace of a path in that direction.It was also a Donald tick for meself,albeit one that had been desecrated by a windfarm.We toddled off and it soon became apparent that neither of us were enjoying this at all.A quick stop for something to eat at the col and Bob headed northwards down the glen and I continued on to bag the summit.

View on the way back down the ridge...




We met up just before the hut marked on the map having disturbed a peregrine on the way down.After that we took our time walking down the glen back to the car.Loads of bird life in the glen today,wheatears,pippits,wagtails,skylarks etc;



Anyway,that was that.Bob has promised some decent pics and I`ll bung them up when I get them and take these down.
On a brighter bagging note Blackhope Scar is a Graham,Donald,Marilyn,Hump and had a nice trig for me to bag also :)

Rock climbing at Loudon Hill.

I spent a nice relaxing day at Loudon Hill in Ayrshire yesterday while poor old Bob was at work.

I made my own way down to meet up with Gavin and a colleague of his.Arrived at the crag at lunch time just as they were finishing Pulpit Arete on the pinnacle.Fraser,Gavin`s colleague,only had time for one more route.As he`s young, and has only ever climbed outdoors a few times, we thought it would only be proper to introduce him to the classic climb of the crag...the Edge.
Here`s a grainy old scan of the route taken by Bob years ago....





We soloed up the easy first pitch with Gavin leading the way.Ha...we had landed on the wrong side of the flake :) Not being in the least faint hearted,Gavin offered to try a new variation start.He traversed out left trying to get onto the bottom of the flake but gave up reluctantly after a fruitless 5 minutes.Here he is trying to lead us all to our doom...



That left two other options for our escape upwards.The Splits at E1 5b and Foxglove Chimney at Severe. I`m old enough to know that any route in which the word "chimney" appears is bound to be a desperate thrutch.However as Gavin was leading, it was his choice and we were doomed to grunt and curse upwards in the confines of Foxglove Chimney.It`s a lovely name for a climb and you would expect at least one redeeming feature.I suppose reaching the top would count as one :)
No pictures I`m afraid as I took my camera off my harness for safety`s sake and planted it deep inside the bowels of Fraser`s rucksack :) Interesting guy is Fraser.He composes music for a living and was rushing home to meet a deadline for the musical score for a documentary about puffins..

Anyway,when the young buck Fraser headed off,Gavin and I wandered up to the summit, myself on wobbly legs as it`s the first route I`d climbed in 3 years or so.It`s a fantastic wee viewpoint and we had lunch and looked over to the Arran peaks and the wonderfully named Distinkhorn.See below if you don`t believe me..!!

Click here for the mighty Distinkhorn


No rest for the wicked though....our pleasant little interlude was rudely interrupted by the arrival of Nicky who had driven down on hearing there was some rock climbing in the offing...and she was keen..!!
Quick thinking on my part to volunteer to take some photos meant that poor Gavin had to get geared up again :) Pulpit Crack,Epitaph and the awkward Cave Crack fell to them whilst I caught up on my tan,took the odd photo and done a bit of birdwatching and generally lazed around :)

Nicky leading Cave Crack...




A couple of videos...Nicky making short work of the overhanging at the top of Cave Crack..




Gavin on the crux move of Epitaph...