Present: Davie C, Gus, Peter, Davie McM and Rex
Five of us assembled at the waterworks at the head of Glen Afton on a glorious sunny autumn September morning. Having waited in vain for some considerable time for the Irvine contingent (where were you, guys?) and being pestered by the midges we eventually set off to make our ascent of Windy Standard (698m). We walked in our usual direction to the Afton dam, the water of which was gleaming in the morning sun and proceeded on our path which eventually led us to our first coffee stop at the wee bridge at the Water of Deuch. Peter had to return at this point as he had an appointment. Having suppled us all with chocolate eclairs he set off with a spring in his step, buoyed up by the knowledge we would soon be having another curry night in October to celebrate Davie C's 60th birthday.
The climb up through the firebreak in the trees onto Jedburgh Knees proved to be a rather wetting experience due to the length of the grass and the overnight rain but before long we emerged onto the wind turbine road above the trees which would take us straight onto Windy Standard.
Lunch was taken leaning up against one of the "windmills" and we enjoyed the expansive views on a wonderful day when the visibility was excellent: the Lake District hills to the south, the Rhinns of Kells, Arran and Ailsa Craig to the west and the Lowthers, Tinto, Queensberry, Culter Fell hills to the east. Compared with last week's walk at Dalry this was proving a worthwhile day to be up high enjoying the sunshine and the views.
After lunch, we set off down the fence towards the Afton Water and the south-east corner of Glen Afton reservoir. Davie McM suggested taking the east path back to the reservoir steps; unfortunately he hadn't done this walk for some time and discovered that very little maintenance has been done to this path (so what's new?); the fir trees on either side of the path were closing in on each other and deep pools of water ensured that progress without getting wet feet was somewhat difficult. Other than that, the walk under Cannock Hill and Craigbranneoch Rig was still extremely pleasant. We arrived back at the cars rough;y 4 and half hours after setting out, not a bad time for a bunch of old codgers!
FRT was taken at the Black Bull in Mauchline.
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