3 November Falls of Clyde

                Superlatives are often overused now-a-days particularly by our popular media. This blog may well follow that trend of being filled with superlatives for this was a day for such. Last week we decided to venture into the Clyde Valley for some autumn colour. We were not to be disappointed. After a night’s frost the air was clear, the sun was bright and the trees held the autumnal hues that we had hoped for. All that we wanted for the day was coming together as we, all fourteen of us, assembled on the old bridge at Kirkfiedbank for our usual trip around the Falls of Clyde. Even before we started our walk, we were treated to one of nature’s marvels as the trees on the opposite side glowed in the early November sun in a pallet of yellows, browns and greens. Superb.

               Around ten thirty we crossed the bridge to the right bank of the Clyde only to be stopped temporarily by the chap with the camera. Jimmy had already spoken to him. He had been photographing the kingfisher that had just streaked off down the river and he was pleased to show us the results of his endeavours.

               Now we followed the Clydeside walkway. The short drop to the side of the river was followed by a pulse-raising climb to the outskirts of Lanark and Castlebank Park. Whoever thinks that riverside walking is level wants to follow the Clydeside walkway. From the park the pathway drops steeply in a series of zig-zags to the riverside again. We dropped with the path and for a short time it ran flat through sun-dappled woodland. An enjoyable section. Then came another climb, a steep climb, a step assisted climb, a lung-burning climb to a viewpoint high above the river looking out to New Lanark. Here we halted, partly to recover from the latest climb and partly to take in the view. And what a view it was. From high above the river, we could look upstream to see the low sun light up the sandstone walls of New Lanark and the autumn tinted trees surrounding them. Magnificent.

A short drop and a short climb brought us into the village itself. Here we halted once more - this time for a seat and refreshment. We dallied longer then usual over coffee for it was a day for such things and it was a peaceful place to sit.  Nothing could be heard but the roaring of the river as it surged through the gorge. And, of course, the blether of the Ooters. But needs must and we dragged ourselves away from New Lanark and entered the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Falls of Clyde Reserve.

       For the next quarter of a mile the walk was through more dappled woodland and then on boardwalk beside the full river. At the power station the path climbed again into the wood, eventually topping out at a viewpoint overlooking Corra Linn. Now the cameras and camera phones were out in earnest for this was sight to behold. The full force of the spating river crashed its way through tree covered banks in full autumn glory before hurtling itself over the linn into the gorge twenty metres below. Breath-taking magnificence. Ten minutes of trying to capture such a grand scene on a variety of devices and we were off again.

               Up though the autumn woodland again and the next photo opportunity came at the next waterfall, Bonnington Linn. Another ten-minute halt for some. We crossed the river by the barrage above the linn and came back down the other side of it. We sopped for lunch at the viewpoint looking back to the falls. More photo opportunities. Again, we sat longer than usual for who would want to rush away from the glory of the scene. Never have we, as a group, seen the river in such a spate nor seen the falls in such magnificent raw power. So we sat and absorbed the scene before us. Spectacular.

               The rest of the walk was through sun dappled, autumn tinted trees down the river by Corra Castle. Though this section was just as long as the first part and was excellent in its own way, it couldn’t compete with the sights we had already seen and it was a steady walk back down the riverside to the finishing point at Kirkfieldbank.

 

Only one word can be used for today’s walk – FABULOUS.

 

FRT was taken in the Black Bull in Darvel.

              

              

Falls of Clyde 23 October

Alan, Allan, Davie Mc, Dougie, Gus, Hugh, Iain, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Malcolm, Paul, Rex, Robert

Careful, Jimmy! (The boys from Ayr had not yet caught up)

It was a dry and reasonably mild morning as we awaited the arrival of our Ayr/Prestwick contingent, only to be informed that they had taken the wrong road (too busy blethering, no doubt – they really should not be let out on their own) and would be late. The plan, therefore, was for us to leave Kirkfieldbank and walk up to New Lanark and wait for the guys to catch up whilst we took coffee.

The walk up to our customary coffee stop was straightforward, although Jimmy, with us again after a good number of weeks, was taking things gingerly due to his continuing back issues. We didn’t have too long to wait before the lost boys caught up with tales of seeing parts of the countryside unknown to man.

As we moved up past the power station towards our next wee stop at a viewpoint, we enjoyed great views of the Clyde crashing down over the various falls and, with a background of autumn colours, cameras were working overtime. It was at this point that Jimmy decided that discretion was the best part of valour and decided to retrace his steps back to his car. We wished him well and continued up to the dam, our highest point today, crossed over, and took lunch, overlooking the falls, a few minutes down the path. Johnny, however, decided to forego lunch and walk on slowly as his leg was giving him some discomfort.

As we had anticipated, the track on the last part of our walk, prove to be a bit muddy in places, but not as bad as we had encountered before, and nowhere as bad as last week, and it was not until very close to Kirkfieldbank that we caught up with Johnny.

The walk, about seven miles, had taken three hours and twenty minutes in total, and had been done in good conditions. FRT was taken in the Black Bull in Darvel where our second round was bought for us by Geoff, a regular, who had recently benefited from a tax rebate. Thanks, Geoff! We reciprocated by buying him a drink. And, in case anyone was wondering, Johnny was revived by his hour in the pub!

Falls of Clyde by DM

Falls of Clyde 5 June

Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Hugh, Iain, Ian, Johnny, Kenny R, Malcolm, Paul, Rex, Robert

Like last week, we travelled through some wet weather to get to our starting point but, similarly, on arrival, it was much drier. Kirkfieldbank is our starting point for this walk and as we awaited the Kilmarnock charabanc to arrive, most decided to don their wet weather gear, just to be safe. Let us record the fact that the Killie boys were seven minutes late, and also the fact that the rest of us were sympathetic and waited for them!

Before long, as we made our way up towards New Lanark, layers were being removed as the skies brightened and the temperature rose, and we were not to see any more rain until we got back to the cars. We did not venture up to see the wooden sculptures but continued at a steady pace, following the Clyde Walkway, up to the village. There was a suggestion that we might buy a coffee in the café, but as the weather was now very pleasant, we took coffee at our usual spot i.e. at the benches.
Ten minutes later and we were off again reaching the dam just before midday. The recent rains meant that there was plenty of water in the river making the views (and the sound) spectacular. Having crossed over we followed our preferred path down to our customary lunch stop just beyond Corra Castle. The last leg down to the cars had some muddy bits bit, in truth, it was better than we had anticipated.
The walk of seven miles had taken us three hours in surprisingly dry and warm conditions, and FRT was taken at the Black Bull in Darvel, where we were well received!

Entering New Lanark

Coffee stop

Impressive!

Lunch spot

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Falls of Clyde 7 June

Allan, Davie C, Dougie, Ian, Jim, Johnny, Kenny R, Kenny T, Rex, Robert

When this walk was mooted last week, there was a suggestion that there would be little water coming over the falls at this time of the year. Well, what a difference a week makes! After some heavy rain, the views were spectacular. If only the water had been blue rather than brown. The amount of soil washed off the land must have been considerable.

The walk is very familiar so little need for lots of detail in what follows.

The rhodie to nowhere?

 

We took the clockwise route from Kirkfieldbank stopping for photos at the wood carvings and further up at the Memorial Garden. From here we took a path down to join the Clyde Walkway up to New Lanark where we took coffee in the warm sunshine beside the water wheel. Although there had been a stiff breeze, the walk so far had been sheltered and continued to be so as we progressed up the walkway. Robert, as is his want, stopped a couple to ask, in his best Kilmarnock, about the peregrine falcons. Unbeknown to oor Bob, the couple were not of these parts and exclaimed that they could not understand him. We all agreed that this was something that we had to live with, and moved on. The sights and sounds of the falls were most impressive and as many photo opportunities had arisen, we took time at the top to regroup. It was decided not to take lunch there but to start our return journey, and hence lunch was taken further down at the ‘usual’ view stop.

The rest of the walk was straightforward, although a little muddy in places, arriving back in civilisation in just under four hours. The final 150m or so out of the wood saw an access road being constructed. For what reason? Maybe we’ll find out on our next visit.
A good walk in excellent conditions!
FRT was taken at the Riverside in Newmilns, where a jovial hour was had.

Falls of Clyde 2 March

Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Gus, Ian, Jim, Malcolm, Paul

We enjoyed Kay and Davie’s hospitality in Darvel, many thanks again folks, before setting out for Kirkfieldbank. A particular delight was Davie’s ‘homemade’ biscuits. So good were they that we decided that he would be the sole nominee for this year’s Earlyooters Masterbaker Award!

The weather was dry and reasonably bright as we set off in, wait for it, an anticlockwise direction, with the intention of getting the muddy bit done first. It was indeed muddy but never to the extent it was an issue and good progress was made. The recent rains meant that we anticipated some spectacular scenes as the Clyde passed over the falls and we were not disappointed. Stopping for coffee at the wee viewpoint overlooking the river, time was taken for many a photo. And as we progressed up the path there were frequent stops for views and photos.

The guys receive a blessing!

The dug

We didn’t stop at the dam but made our way back down to New Lanark for lunch. Disappointingly, light rain had begun to fall spoiling what had been an otherwise cracking morning. The final part of the walk down the Clyde Walkway was made without delay, other than Derval Davie taking Jim up to the log sculptures to show him his etchings, allegedly! The rest of us, having seen these before, waited, patiently on the path.
As we reached the cars, the rain got slightly heavier, so little time was lost in getting changed and on our way. The walk had taken three and a half hours, give or take, and as luck would have it, the weather dried up as we were leaving Kirkfieldbank.
We stopped for FRT at the Loudoun Hill Inn but it did not possess a drinks licence, although it had been applied for apparently. Next stop was the Railway in Darvel, but it was shut. Hence we had to settle for the Crown in Newmilns for drinks.

Onwards and upwards

How many photos do we need to take?

A mist of spray blankets the falls

Falls of Clyde - 2 March

13 days apart

Cora Linn near New Lanark

2 November

15  November

Falls of Clyde 7 October

Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Ian, Jimmy, Kenny T, Malcolm, Paul, Rex

Given the probability of meeting rain on Culter Fell, the alternative of the Falls of Clyde was agreed as we enjoyed Kay and Davie’s hospitality. Thanks again folks! Davie’s home baking skills are coming on a treat!

At the court of King James. Jimmy describes how it only took him half an hour with a pen knife.

Setting off from Kirkfieldbank, we crossed the bridge and made our way on to the Clyde Walkway which would take us up to New Lanark. The weather was dry, although grey, and as we went through the park we were delighted to see a new addition to the landscape i.e. some fallen trees and stumps had been brilliantly sculpted to produce a sort of fairy glen. After many a photo had been taken, steady progress was made up to the village where coffee was taken.

Remember the day we got lost!

Underfoot conditions were good as we then made our way up to the dam and crossed over to the opposite bank for the return journey. We did not stop for lunch here but continued down the path for another half hour or so until Davie, the biologist, spotted a sheep in a neighbouring field which had got its head stuck in a wire fence. With Rex for support and advice, apparently Rex has some experience of approaching a sheep from behind, Davie managed to free the beast and let it go, not, of course, before getting its name and telephone number.

The Cosy Corner cafe

A leisurely lunch was taken in one of the viewpoints overlooking the falls before continuing down to the cars. The last mile saw some light rain falling but, under the cover of the trees, we were not affected by it. The walk had taken three and a half hours and, as we made our way back to Ayrshire, the weather improved to the extent that it was a sunny Darvel that greeted us for FRT. Discretion being the better part of valour, The Railway Inn was chosen for our après walk banter and it served our purpose very well indeed.

Thanks to Davie C for buying the first round to celebrate his imminent 60^th. We commiserated with him on his news that he was soon to go on the wagon for a period of time on health grounds, but as usual, any sympathy was short-lived and soon replaced by mickey-taking. Enjoy Dublin, Davie!