3 August Muirkirk to Kirkconnel

Allan, Davie, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Paul

5 Ooters met at Cumnock bus station for the 9.45 bus to Muirkirk where we would meet up with Davie who was cutting the walk short by getting Kay to run him up to Kames. We were not to let him forget about this transgression.

A recurring feature of this walk was to be the inaccuracies of the signage. As we left Kames on the Sanquhar road the first sign said Sanquhar 12 miles – aye right! As usual the progress was brisk, after all we had a bus to catch at Kirkconnel and Jimmy assured us that we could catch the 3.45. We were lucky with the weather having the last good day before it was scheduled to break on the Thursday and so we marched on through familiar territory until we deviated from the more often used Cairn Table route and followed the Sanquhar coach road. A mix of underfoot conditions from the very dry to the boggy was encountered until we reached ‘the gate’ where a coffee stop was made.

A suggestion to do a ‘wee’ detour to take in the ‘Deil’s back door’ met with the response it deserved and so we marched on. The forest we were heading for soon came in to view and was eventually made with Davie warning us that the road through it would be the worst bit of the walk. Fortunately, although wet, It was not as bad as anticipated, and didn’t delay us at all. We were heartened to see the sign for Sanquhar saying 7 miles. 40 minutes later we encountered another one saying exactly the same!

Lunch was called for just after 1 o’clock. The spot was not very comfortable and we didn’t wait long before setting off again heading towards Fingland. Route markers were now being treated with disdain as we eventually reached the tarmac road and made our way up the incline and on to the point where the path to Kirkconnel deviated to the right. (We were not following the road to Sanquhar because 1. Jimmy said the long walk on tarmac was sore on the feet, and 2. Jimmy said it was shorter). By this time Johnny was suffering; his boots were hurting his heels again and he was generally feeling sore all over.

But we had a bus to catch and so we followed the path up and over the hill and saw what we thought was Sanquhar away to our left. Unfortunately it was Kirkconnel that we saw and it confirmed that we still had quite a trek in front of us. The descent down the hill towards Kirkland was done in good time and Jimmy pointed out - to some of us- the remains of St Connel’s Church . The tarmac road into Kirkconnel was to prove to be the straw that nearly broke the camel’s back as it seemed to go on and on. Light relief was had by watching Johnny jogging, jigging, bouncing his way down the long hill. He was so knackered that he hadn’t the power to slow himself down so he felt it easier to go with the flow.

Kirkconnel was reached at 3.35 and the bus stop thankfully was close by. As we confirmed on the noticeboard that the bus would be here at 3.45, lo and behold it pulled up 10 minutes early and six weary Ooters got on, went upstairs and had a well-deserved seat. How was that for timing? Mind you if we had got there at 3.40 and missed it, we wouldn’t have been so happy. Cumnock was reached at 4 o’clock and we made our way up to the Sun for FRT only to find our bus driver in for a pint, or two, or three. He was still there when we left despite this again for the Ooters being a three pint day.

Was the walk to Kirkconnel any easier or shorter than going on to Sanquhar? Jimmy assures us that it was and, since he’s always right, we’ll go along with him, this time anyway. One thing for sure is that the walk was longer than the signposts indicated. Hopefully Paul will be able to suss out the exact mileage.