Galawhistle Wind Farm

Alan S, Davie Mc, Doogie, Gus, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Kenny T, Malcolm, Paul, Robert & Rex

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare

We were warned. We were well warned. Jimmy warned us that the first mile was uphill, steeply uphill from Glenbuck Loch to the top of Harehill and we were ready for this. But what we weren’t warned about was how quickly Davie would set about this steep climb. Off he went, head down, the rest of us trailing on behind, never stopping for a breather or to take in the view. Not that there was any view to be had anyway for the mizzle had clamped down on the surrounding hills and the dampness was blown into us on a stiff breeze. Jimmy had promised to post his pictures from the last time he did this walk so there was no reason to stop to get the cameras out. Just slog on upward, ever upwards. By the time the slope eased towards the top, the party was split - Davie leading the bulk of the group with Jimmy, Johnny and Malcolm bringing up a distant rear.

                When the slope eased off Davie led us away to the east. At a fence crossing the hill we decide to wait for the tardy trio only to see them away to the left and making for a different top. We hailed them to show them the error of their way but when Jimmy indicated the way-marker on the top of their rise, we learned the error of our – well Davie’s – way. We decided to ignore Davie’s direction and join Jimmy’s group. We came together at the information board on the top of Hareshaw Hill.

                Now we were into the Galawhistle wind farm with the first of the giant turbines just to the right and the service road leading us downward. The going was now easy, the mizzle, or what was left of it, was on our backs and a good crack was had as we walked down the road. Not too far down coffee was called and in the lea of one of the turbines we sat and re-caffeinated. The drizzle went at this point and the sky was brightening. We anticipated a pleasant afternoon.

                Taking the track along the old railway we had seen from our coffee stop, we came past the wind farm offices. No halt here but onward yet. A brief halt was called on the top of a slope to look down on the old farm of Monkshill. Then it was on again. While the rest of us walked on, Alan, Jimmy, Kenny and Paul took a detour to a viewpoint on Arrarat Hill. Despite Kenny’s hill naming phone app, the hills, apart from Tinto, remained unidentified. We were sat having lunch when the foursome re-joined us.

What a pleasant place for lunch: We looked across the moor, listened to the skylark singing and delighted in the approaching sunshine.

Post lunch we still followed the service road down to its junction with the A70. Despite this being marked as a walking route, there was no pedestrian egress from the service road. And the only gate was locked. We had no option but to climb over it much to the consternation of some. Then we crossed the road and found the track of the old Ayr-Edinburgh railway.  We were to follow this back to Glenbuck Loch.

The way was now level and generally easy but some obstacles had to be negotiated. Old rusty gates and fences had to be climbed. At one point the track was overgrown with saughs and we had to take to a wee path through the trees. But on the whole the going was easy and level.  At Parish Holm we left the old track, crossed the road and found the path round the North side of Glenbuck Loch. The sun was now warm and the going was good and we wandered around the loch and back to the cars.

The walk started in mizzle and finished in sunshine taking just over four hours to complete the circuit.

FRT was taken in our usual howff in Muirkirk, The Empire Bar.