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| At the war memorial |
Alan McQ, Allan, Davie C, Dougie, Gus, Hugh, Paul, Rex,
Robert
STOP PRESS : Ooters make sensible decision
It was to be a blistering hot summer’s day so there was
little dissent when we decided that eleven miles and three hills would not be
appropriate today. Alan was asked if he could amend the walk accordingly, so we
set off heading for Kildoon Hill, making a wee detour up to the War Memorial
adjacent to the nine-hole golf course. Halfway up the path to Kildoon Hill we
stopped to take on fluids, the first of many stops today, before reaching the
top and then making our way across to the Fergusson Monument where
coffee/water/exploding juice (see Robert for details) was taken.
There was a nice wee breeze here, but it was time to move on
and so we made our way down the far side of the hill and across a grassy field
until tarmac was reached. Turning left and then right at Lower Burncrooks we
then followed the road up to Lochspouts where Alan found us a nice, shaded area
for lunch.
We then retraced our steps towards Lower Burncrooks, but on
the way there Alan met up with his pal, a farmer, who was driving a large
tractor delivering topsoil to one of his fields and stopped to chat to him. The
next thing we knew was that Alan was getting a hurl in the tractor back down
the road, before eventually getting off. A quick meeting of the committee decided
that this constituted a breach of our regulations and that he would not be
credited for doing the whole walk. As further punishment he was condemned to
return to work next month!
At Lower Burncrooks we took a right and followed the road
round Kildoon Hill rather than climbing over it again, but just beyond Spring
Garden farm and cottage we made a wee detour off the road down to a shaded area
next to a mini waterfall at the burn. We stopped for ten minutes or so before
rejoining the road for the last leg back to the cars in Maybole. About eight
miles in three hours forty minutes were today’s numbers.
Whilst getting changed, Rex proclaimed that he had lost his
phone on the walk and was not a happy chappy. He certainly didn’t get any
volunteers to join him in retracing his steps. Just as he was getting resigned
to its loss, eagle-eyed Davie said, ‘What’s that on the roof of your car, Rex?’
A delighted Rex would have kissed Davie had it not been for social distancing,
say no more! Rex had put the phone there whilst getting ready for the walk and
had not taken it on the walk at all, and was lucky that it was still there when
he got back. Mind you the colour of his phone cover matched his car so that it
was difficult to notice.
FRT was taken at the refurbished Greenside, and what a
transformation! A lot of money has been spent both inside and outside turning
this into a very desirable bar/restaurant. A most enjoyable hour was spent in
the suntrap which was the outdoor area.
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| At the Greenside |
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| Lochspouts |
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| Lunch |
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| Mochrum Hill in the background |
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| At the Fergusson Monument |
