Arrangements for Wed 5th Dec

As the Eaglesham walk was called off ,it was agreed that we should do it on the 5th Dec. Arrangements exactly as per the previous week.

Arrangements changed for Wed 28 Nov.

Forecast for tomorrow is very poor with rain all day accompanied by very strong winds . WALK CANCELLED . Meet in the Kilmarnock Weatherspoons at 12.30.p.m. Food and strong/ soft drinks for all and sundry without getting absolutely soaked through to your undies.

Calendars

The cost this year is confirmed at £5.They will be distributed  over the next couple of weeks.

Benwhat (and Benbeoch) 21 November

Alan, Allan, Davie C, Dougie, Ian, Jim, Jimmy, Johnny, Kenny T, Malcolm, Paul, Rex, Robert

We experienced the first real wintry morning of the season as we met at the entrance to Chalmerston, so we were well wrapped up against the chill breeze as we set off. On cue it started to rain, but only very lightly and for no time at all, meaning progress was good up the mine road. Jimmy, Rex and Robert were well in front even at this stage and the rest were baffled to see them veer right when they should have gone straight on. They were out of earshot so Kenny the Younger was sent after them to ascertain their intentions. On his return it became apparent that they were going to do Benbeoch, so we left them to it, and the remaining ten headed up and to the left towards Benwhat. The going underfoot was good and, with the wind behind us, the wee memorial stone to Benwhat was reached without alarm. In the past we have taken coffee here, but it was too exposed today so, after inspecting the visitors’ book, well protected in a plastic case, six of us took to the path on the old railway line and headed for Lethanhill. Dougie, Ian, Kenny and Paul decided to go up to the war memorial, agreeing to meet up further along.

The main party stopped briefly for coffee in the shelter of a wee escarpment and could see the others reach the monument and then head back down. It was a day to keep moving so the ten moved off at a modest pace to let the rest catch up. Barbed wire fences and broken bridges were obstacles to overcome but we managed and the track up to the war memorial to the fallen from Lethanhill and Burnfoothill was reached just after midday. Being not long after Remembrance Day (one hundred years on from the end of WW1), it was good to see that the local councillor had laid a wreath and, when the remaining four caught up with us five minutes later, they reported that two wreaths had been left up at Benwhat.
Lunch was taken before setting off down the track towards Waterside and Dunaskin. By this time contact had been made with Robert & Co who indicated that they were walking along the railway line to meet us. They had reached the top of Benbeoch by eleven o’clock and then had gone down the back to continue their walk amongst the old workings. Meeting up at the far end of Dunaskin we exchanged ‘pleasantries’ and set off back down the line. This is the worst part of this walk as the ballast makes for difficult walking and the sleepers are slippy, ask Davie. Nevertheless, we ploughed on and were relieved to come to the road which took us back down to our parked cars, reaching them four hours and ten minutes after having set off. Paul’s technology said he had done 9.6 miles, a good step out!FRT was taken at a very cosy and warm Dalmellington Inn, where we were offered, and gratefully accepted, cups of chicken soup, not to mention the biscuits with our coffee. With hospitality like that, we will be back.

Benwhat used to be here

The others are somewhere over there

Not a day to hang around

The visitors' book

Four at the Benwhat War Memorial

The Lethanhill and Burnfoothill Memorial

A set of old buffers

Arrangements for Wed 28 Nov.

Meet halfway down the hill on the left side of the Eaglesham village green area at 10.00.a.m. The walk will be back up the hill on the road to the Ballageich hill. Progress over the hill towards the reservoir and eventually circle round past Bonnyton golf course back to the starting point in Eaglesham

Ayr & Pool 14 November

Alan, Allan, Davie C, Dougie, Gus, Ian, Jim, Johnny, Kenny T, Malcolm, Paul, Rex, Robert

The walk had been changed given the poor weather forecast, and it was not wrong. After a coffee at Rex’s we decided to venture out and go for a walk. The rain was not too bad to begin with as we made our way into Rozelle Park, where our first stop was the Art Gallery. But this was closed to allow a new exhibition to be set up, so we spent time in the main building looking at the exhibits there.

The rain had got a bit heavier as we moved on and stayed that way for the remainder of the outing. We followed a trail through Rozelle, one that we have used before, and stopped for a few minutes at the wooden sculptures commemorating the soldiers of WW1, and then moved on up to cross The Loaning and regained the path adjacent to Slaphouse Burn, before emerging on to Maybole Road. We then found the cycle track which took us down to Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. From there we walked up to Burns Cottage and back up to Rex’s. Four of our number stopped off at the wee Post Office to buy some beers for the afternoon and were offered and accepted a free dram! One drouthy Ooter had two, not like him at all!
We were well soaked, but dry clothes cheered us up and after our lunch the pool started. Suffice it to say that the contest was keenly contested with a wide variety of skills and encouraging? comments, and probably a record number of foul shots. Malcolm and Ian contested the final which, remarkably, had a lot of good shots and the game went one way, then the other. Just as we thought Malcolm might win, Ian came back with a flourish to be crowned this year’s champion. Well done!
By the time we left Rex’s in late afternoon the rain had stopped but no-one regretted the change of plans for the day. Many thanks to Rex for hosting us at such short notice and for the coffee and biscuits. An excellent host as usual.
For the record, we walked 5km and were out for about an hour and three-quarters.

The finalists

Arrangements for Wed 21st Nov

Meet in the car park on the left as you approach Dalmellington at 10.00.a.m. The walk will be as for the  14 th Nov.

Change of walk due to very poor forecast.

Meet at Rex's place about 10.00.am. for coffee. Help Rex set up the pool table then go for a shortened walk . Return to Rex's place to consume your packed lunch followed by a game or two of pool . Beer etc can be purchased locally .

Images from Glasgow Mural Trail, Peoples Palace / Winter Gardens

Arrangements for 14 November

The lost villages (Benwhat, Lethanhill, Burnfoothill)
Meet at the entrance to Chalmerston opencast, (just shy of Dalmellington), at 10a.m. This is a four and a half hour walk.

Glasgow Murals, Winter Gardens, People's Palace 7 November

Alan, Allan, Davie C, Dougie, Gus, Ian, Jim, Jimmy, Johnny, Kenny R, Kenny T, Paul, Peter, Rex

The forecast had been for rain and it was raining as we headed for our assembly point at the Counting House in George Square. By half past ten we had had our coffee, and with the rain now off (it was to remain off for the rest of the day), we set off on our walk. Peter however was going to do something different. His intention was to go to the Art Gallery to see the WW1 exhibition and then go for a curry, so we said ‘cheerio’ and we headed down towards Mitchell Street to see the first of the murals. Heading down to Clyde Street we made our way along the riverside path and past the Clutha, taking time to try to identify the characters on the mural there, before entering Glasgow Green and walking up to the Winter Gardens. The original intention of the walk had been to have a last look at the Gardens before they close at the end of the year for renovation (hopefully!). Moving in to the People’s Palace, the time passed quickly as we reacquainted ourselves with the exhibits, and before we knew it, it was time to head up to the Drygate Brewery for lunch. Kenny R took his leave of us as at this point as he had to be back home for childminding.

The Brewery was reached in no time and we enjoyed some fine food and craft beers before we left about quarter to three. Taking in some more murals on the way back in to the city, some made their way to the bus station whilst others headed for the train.
An excellent day out!
Images of the murals are available online by searching 'Glasgow Murals'.
Today’s hero was Jim, who manged to get himself photographed outside the Celtic shop, although he did refrain from going in to the Hoops Bar.

Today’s trivia answers:

Noddy’s girlfriend was Tessie Bear. (The mind boggles at where our conversations lead).
‘Dirty Old Town’ was written by Ewan MacColl about Salford and was made famous by the Dubliners. It has been recorded by a whole host of artists, including Roger Whittaker. Well done, Davie!

Some from the Falls of Clyde walk

Wednesday 7th November

The Drygate Brewery has been booked for lunch at 1p.m.

Falls of Clyde 31 October

Allan, Davie C, Dougie, Gus, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Kenny R, Kenny T, Malcolm, Rex, Robert

It was Hallowe'en so Davie went out as the Michelin man

The journey through to Kirkfieldbank saw us encounter quite a bit of rain and threatening skies but it was dry when we set off and the weather quickly improved giving us a bright and mainly sunny day for our walk up to the Falls of Clyde.

We went anti-clockwise for a change and followed the track. Those in front continued to follow the track failing to notice the cut-off to the left that would take us on to the accustomed route, but since they were well ahead of the back markers, they were allowed to continue on their way with the rest deciding to follow on. Not for the first time recently have we missed Holly's sense of direction! It was assumed that the path would eventually join up with the one we should have been on but, as we progressed, we seemed to be getting further away from the river. A couple of signposts pointed to a castle, which we assumed to be Corra, but as we were beginning to wonder about where we were going, Jimmy spotted another sign pointing back towards the river. This wee track took us to an information board which confirmed that we weren’t lost after all. Ten minutes later and we were able to join the path that we wanted to be on all the time, and for the first time we were able to see the river and the falls, just shy of the dam. As it turned out the way we had come up was straightforward with the only disadvantage being the lack of proximity to the Clyde.
Being Hallowe’en, we had wondered whether the falls would offer us a trickle or a treat, and we were disappointed to find that the water was just a trickle. Crossing the dam, we made our way down to a couple of benches overlooking the river for coffee. We could now get good views of the autumn colours in splendid sunshine, meaning that many a photo was taken. Pushing on, we soon passed the power station and were in New Lanark before we knew it.
It was too soon after coffee to stop for lunch, so we continued up the road to find the riverside path. Our leader who shall remain nameless, but has a history in New Lanark, took us down the wrong one to start off with. Most of us realised this and climbed back up to the road, to find the correct one a hundred yards further up. As we entered this path we could see the bold Jimmy in front of us, he had found his way on to the proper path from the last one. As we made our way up the steepish path at the end of this section Rex was delighted to show us a picture he had just taken of a woodpecker. Other ciders are available!
Lunch was taken at the wooden sculptures in the wee park before heading back to the cars. About seven miles in three and a quarter hours was today’s count. We had won a watch with the weather and made our way to the Black Bull in Darvel for FRT where the banter was, as usual, entertaining.