Cumnock to Ochitree 10 October

Alan, Allan, Dan, Davie C, Dougie, Gus, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Kenny T, Malcolm, Paul, Peter, Robert

The forecast was for a lovely summer’s day – in October – and it didn’t disappoint. Although there was a wee breeze as we left the car park, it wasn’t long before shirt sleeves were the order of the day. It was good to see Jimmy, having recovered enough to join us again, and young Dan, making his second appearance of the year.

The skeleton of the new school was soon well behind us as we followed the riverside path, and before we knew it, we were in the grounds of Dumfries House. Dougie, Jimmy, Kenny and Peter opted for coffee at the café whilst the rest of us made for the shelter in the arboretum, as we do!

Kenny and Dougie, both not feeling 100%, returned to the cars from here, whilst the rest of us walked through the walled garden before finding the path that would take us to the A-frame. Some of the autumn colours in the estate had been wonderful but would be even better in a couple of weeks, especially if we got some frosts.
Underfoot conditions up to our lunch spot were not as muddy as we had anticipated and nowhere near as bad as we have encountered in the past, so progress was easy and straightforward, and for once, there was no mad dash to get a seat in the wee shelter. The picnic tables in the sun gave us the opportunity to have a relaxing twenty minutes.
But we had a bus to catch, so we retraced our steps until we found the cut-off to Ochitree. Or did we? And did I say it was good to have Jimmy back? Unwittingly, we passed by the correct turn-off and turned right further on. Where’s Holly when you need her?  After a few minutes it became obvious that we had taken the wrong path, but, undeterred, Jimmy led us through some rough stuff in search of the right one, before coming to a near vertical twenty-five feet climb. “The path’s up there”, declared James, and so we followed him up, holding on to anything we could to stop us slipping back. What a scramble! But, we made it, as we normally do, and all was forgiven.
The problem now was we had lost some time and there was that bus to catch at one twenty-nine. The pace from there to the bus stop at Ochiltree was brisk and we made the bus by about two minutes. It is worth pointing out that the path we had followed was obviously under-used and was becoming narrower and overgrown. Maintenance was also required on the wooden walkways and bridges. We won’t hold our breath.  One bonus was that we caught a glimpse of an otter on the far side of the river. Thanks to Jimmy for pointing it out. We knew he was good for something.
No FRT today as we would be going out in the evening but, for the record, the walk had taken three and a half hours and was seven miles in length.

Alan McQ (the worker) and Davie Mc (still repairing) joined us at the Taj in Prestwick in the evening for a curry. This went down well, and a special award goes to the silver-tongued Alan for coaxing the establishment into giving us a liqueur on the house. Most then ventured to Wetherspoon’s where we were treated to a drink by Davie C, one of the birthday boys.