Tuesday 4 June 2013

15 May The Ness Glen Again

Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Paul, Robert & Ronnie

            A squad of young army cadets, at least one of whom was from Newton Stewart, were feeding their faces at The Roundhouse Café by the dam of Loch Doon when we gathered there for an old favourite, The Ness Glen walk. The weather was much kinder than last week. The sun shone and the morning might have been warm but for the persistent northerly that has been blowing since the week-end. Still, we were undeterred by the chill wind and once in the shelter of the trees above the Ness Glen we were quite comfortable.
Johnny had returned from his sojourn to the antipodes and regaled us - bored us some would say - with his tales of down under. The morning was fair, the woodland a delight, the crack was good and the walk along the top of the gorge passed quickly. There was some talk, when we reached Tracy’s bench*, of a visit to The Dark Sky Observatory but those who know these things suggested it would be better to visit on the return journey so we walked on down to the bridge over the Doon.
Another party of what looked like young army cadets in civvies under the instruction of uniformed adults were preparing for a canoeing adventure on the river just at the bridge. It seems that it was a fine day for the cadets to be out. We didn’t hang about for the usual blether today but walked on down through the glen to the ponds under Bellsbank where coffee was called.

Post coffee, we ambled, well ambled as much as the speedsters would allow, down to The Promised Land #. Here, without stopping we turned along the footpath beside the Muck water. The local scouts and cadets have created a garden along here and new woven statues have been erected. It was just like us to indulge our boyish natures and have our pictures taken doing silly things with these statues. Big weans! Then we walked on along the burn side, turned left on the Straiton road, took another left and came along to Dalcairney Farm and Dalcairnie Linn. Here we stopped for lunch.
What a pleasant spot this is overlooking the gorge of the Dalcairnie Burn with the water dropping like hair into the cauldron below, particularly so this spring day with the sun shining through the fresh green of the beeches that overhang the gorge. But the sun wasn’t to last. As we sat, the sky greyed and just as we were preparing to set off again the first spots of rain were felt. Rain jackets were donned just in time for the shower came quickly.
 But the shower passed just as quickly as it had come and by the time we had climbed to the split in the path, one branch to Knockdon in the Girvan valley and one to Barbeth and Craigengillan, it had gone and the sun was re-appearing. We walked on to the ruins of Barbeth before dispensing with the waterproofs for the day.
This section of the walk over the moor is always a delight especially on a day like this with the sun shining and the rain scudding on the wind down the Doon Valley. We savoured this section until we dropped once more to the valley floor and the wooded policies of Cragengillan.
Just beyond the house itself the road spits, one branch to the bridge at the foot of the Ness glen gorge and the other to climb the ill to the Dark Sky Observatory. As we had promised ourselves earlier, we turned upward to the observatory. At first we thought it was shut but a young woman opened the door and welcomed us in despite muddy boots. The young lady (sorry, we forgot to get your name) gave us an interesting and informative insight into the workings of the observatory and gave us all a leaflet to take away. Some of us promised to return for the evening session some clear night.
Wishing our hostess farewell, we left the observatory and mad our way past Fort Carrick, the wild-west looking log fort built by the local scouts and cadets, and down past Tracy’s bench to foot of the Ness Glen Gorge. How we enjoy the walk in this gorge will be understood by regular followers of this blog. Today was no exception. The water rushed and gushed over the rocks echoing from the rocky walls and drowning out any other sounds, the fresh spring greenery overhung the rock walls and spring flowers showed wherever there was soil enough. We can thoroughly recommend this walk to anybody who hasn’t done it. We savoured it today.
But the gorge comes to a sudden end and we found ourselves in the wee wood below the dam of Loch Doon sooner than we hoped. The cars were still parked by the Round House but the young cadets had departed hours before we arrived back, happy with another days superb walking.

FRT was taken in the usual howff in Dalmellinton. We were entertained today by a party of women who were attending the funeral of a friend. This was not the sober and sad funeral expected now-a-days but the women were determined to see their friend off in the way she would have liked – by having a party. Their laughing and ribald suggestions had us entertained for the hour or so we sat there. Is there ever a dull moment in Dalmellington?
      

*The story of how we came to name this bench should be known only to us. Suffice to say that it stood at the top of a wooded slope providing a view down over Craigengillan Estate. It disappeared some years back and we suspected Tracy might have taken it as a souvenir. However the bench has been reinstated minus the graffito that gave it its name.

# For the story of how this came to be called The Promised Land see the information board at the entrance to Craigengillan Estate on the Ayr road just to the west of Dalmellington.

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