1 June No, Not Ailsa Craig – Annbank to Ayr

Allan, Davie, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Malcolm, Peter, Paul & Robert

Weather-wise the month of May has been a disappointment; surely the month of June will be better. Not so today, though, for, even though the overnight rain had gone by the morning, the trip to Ailsa Craig was cancelled due to high winds in the Firth. So it was back to an old favourite for our walk today – that stretch of the River Ayr Way from Annbank to Ayr.

Despite the overcast conditions, nine of us gathered at the bowling green in Annbank. It was good to see Holly out with us again after such a long absence looking after her mistress with the broken ankle. And she seemed just as delighted to see us as we were to see her, running from one to another of us to announce her presence and fetching empty plastic bottles for us to kick across the car park. It would be pleasure to fling sticks in the river for her again.

Oh, and Davie was back as well.

We had a choice of routes to start the walk; we could go directly to Auchincruive by the woodland path, go down to the river at Privick Mill, or turn back on ourselves and go down to Gadgirth Brig and pick up the path from there. It was the middle option that was chosen simply because that’s the way that Robert and Johnny sauntered off.

The route has been travelled many times before (22/12/2010, 2/06/2010 et al) so needs no further description here, being very familiar to us all. Well, when I say familiar to all I mean to most of us. Johnny, who has travelled this way with us before couldn’t remember any of it. So for Johnny’s sake the first part of the route will be described. (Please commit to memory, Mr. Matthews.)

We followed Johnny and Robert south-westward along Weston Avenue for they obviously knew where they were going. But it would seem that Johnny wasn’t alone in not remembering the route. When we came to Braeside and the turn-off for Mill Road, both he and Robert were for walking on. But, considerate souls that we are, we called them back after a few minutes and pointed them in the right direction. Now, with the errant twosome back with us, we came down Mill Road and took the track down towards the Privick Mill and the River Ayr Way. Even when we reached the fishery, Johnny couldn’t remember ever having come this way. When we reminded him of the last time we had come this way in December 2009 when the road was covered in treacherous wet ice, a vague memory began to stir. But it was not until we turned off the road and came down to the river at the fisher’s hole called Millhole that a switch turned on in his brain and a full recollection dawned. Welcome back into the world Mr. Matthews.

The rest of the walk went by without great incident. We followed the River Ayr Way for the rest of it.

Coffee was taken overlooking another fishing pool called Big Beth. Peter left us at Tarholm Bridge for he had errands to run. Lunch was taken at the Leglen Wood Monument at Auchincruive. It was not until we were on the road by Mainholm Smallholdings that the next notable thing happened. We were split into two groups – the speedsters to the front and the sensible to the rear – when we heard a car approaching from the front. The first group stepped aside to let it the Range Rover pass and were acknowledged by the driver. At the coo’s-tail group the Rover pulled to a halt, the driver opened the window and asked ‘Are you the Early Ooters?’ Fame at last! ‘Ye-e-e-s’ we said, cautiously. It turned out that the driver of the Rover was a regular reader of this blog and was delighted to meet us in person. We were delighted to find out that we had a fan. So delighted in fact that we were remiss; we forgot to get our fan’s name so that we could give him a mention. So if you were that driver of that silver Range Rover please make a comment below and leave your name with us so that we can give you a mention in future.

The first group followed the road to the bypass and over the bridge; the tail-enders took a short cut over the stepping stones. The two groups came together on the south side of the river at the stepping stones. How different the conditions were from the last time we were here back in December. Then the river was chock-full with slabs of ice; today it flowed deep, slow and dark. Anglers fished it at various places between the steppies and the town. A cormorant fished it at the Dam then perched itself on a rock, shook the water from its wings and spread them wide to dry in the breeze. All this was noted as we came on down the river into the town.

The Annbank bus was due ten minutes after we arrived at the bus station and it duly arrived on time. It took it fully half hour to make the journey back to Annbank and a welcome FRT in The Tap O’ The Brae.