Alan Mc, Alan St, Davie
C, Davie Mc, Doogie, Gus, Ian, Jimmy, Kenny T, Paul & Robert
It has been on the cards for a wee while
now but various things have conspired to prevent us carrying it through. In
fact, Doogie, who has been with us now for a few years, reckons it hasn’t been
done in his time. The wet summer of last year had us abandon attempts in favour
of softer walks for it is not a walk for bad weather and notions of previous
years have led us elsewhere. But the weather recently has been dry, sunny and
warm and the inclination was for a bit of hill walking so today the walk on
Glen Afton’s four tops was on.
Eleven of us made the journey to the
fisher’s car park at the head of Glen Afton and at five past ten we set off for
our hill walk. Not up the hill as you might expect but back down the road we
had just driven up. Why? Because that mile and a half of road would take us to
the track by Blackcraig Farm to the shoulder of Blackcraig Hill, the first of
the four tops.
Beyond
the farm the old pony track over to Nithsdale started to climb the side of the
glen and we climbed with it. But only as far as the sheep bucht high on the
glen side. ‘Why are we stopping here? It’s too early for a stop.’ said one of
our number. ‘We always stop here’ was the reply. (Who says we are creatures of
habit?) Stop we did but not for long, just enough time for a refreshing drink
for the day was warming nicely. Then, suitably refreshed, we started up again.
The
land-rover track which we were on since the farm gave way but the old pony
track continued. The old track is reverting to nature again and is usually wet
in places but today it was bone dry thanks to the continuing spell of
Mediterranean weather we have been experiencing this summer. And the old track
took us up to Quinten’s Cairn on the flank of Blackcraig. Now we left the track
and took to the first real climb of the day up beside a fence on the steep
shoulder of the hill.
What a view we now got down the glen to
the Ayrshire plain with Cumnock and Auchinleck the main focal points though one
did say we should be able to see the Burns Monument in Mauchline. But we had
little time for the view for the hill rose steeply in front of us.
As the climb eased on to the flat summit
of the hill we stopped to gather the group together again. But Jimmy, near the
coo’s tail, walked past saying that we would catch him up shortly. And catch
him up we did but by this time he was stopped with his finger to his lips
indicting silence. And the cause of this? Just over a wee grassy rise was a
flock of twenty-five to thirty golden plover standing face into the strengthening
breeze. A great spot J.
We
left the birds to themselves and walked on over the flat, rock-strewn summit of
Blackcraig to the trig point where lunch was called for the clock was saying it
was mid-day and for some it was a long time since breakfast.
After lunch came a drop down the broad,
grassy flank of Blackcraig followed by a long drag up the equally broad and
grassy flank of Blacklorg. A pad is now being established by footfall and this
eased the slope considerably. And there was time to admire the view for this is
a better viewpoint than the previous top. To the east of us was Cairn Table at
Muirkirk, Tinto near Biggar, the Lowther hills across Nithsdale with the ‘golf
ball’ showing through the summer haze, the Durisdeer hills and Queensberry. To
the west beyond the growing wind farm the bulk of Cairnsmore of Carsphairn rose
and beyond this the high Galloways with Merrick just visible. And Arran showed
itself as a silhouette in the blue distance. Superb. And the view kept changing
as we climbed to the wee cairn that marks the summit of our second top,
Blacklorg Hill. Again, we waited to assemble the group.
Now it was down again, for our third top,
Cannock Hill, lies way below the level of the first two. But this wee top has a
sting in its tail for, just as you think you are nearing the top, the hill
steepens and tests tiring legs. The top was gained, easily for some, harder for
others. Time for another drink stop. From our stop we looked directly down on
the Afton reservoir looking deep blue in the summer sunshine. Pity the view
from this wee top was spoilt on the west side of the reservoir by the massive
wind farm and associated paraphernalia, roads scarring the hillside. And new
electric pylons and road heading toward lower Nithsdale. Yet, some of our
number, the cyclists, saw this as an opportunity for a new route to be wheeled.
There’s nae accounting for folk.
From our third top our course lay downward
yet again. At the coll between Cannock and the rigg of Craigbraneoch that leads
up to Steyamara some of our number opted to wimp out of the last hill and head
directly down to the reservoir leaving seven of us to complete the four tops.
This one was reached without too much trouble, Bob, oldest of the group today,
reaching it first. What a superb viewpoint this wee top is. The glen lies deep
below and runs down toward New Cumnock where it opens on to the Ayrshire plain
and its settlements. Today the view was ‘fabulous’.
All that was left now was the quick
descent to the dam of the reservoir and the walk down the road to the cars. We
arrived some ten to fifteen minutes after the wimps.
A
great walk was finish off with FRT in the Black Bull in Mauchline. Let’s hope
that it will not be too long before we are back on the four tops.
