Loudoun Hill 3 July

Alan McQ, Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Gus, Iain, Ian, Johnny, Malcolm, Rex

Many thanks to Davie and Kay for the coffee and scones, and to Holly for cleaning the plates. Much appreciated!

The day was dry with no hint of rain as we made our way to the entrance to Lanfine, but turned left to follow the Long Cairn Walk. It had been a wee while since most of us had done this walk, but it soon came back to us as familiar landmarks were reached. We took a few minutes to talk to a farmer rushing to get his silage in before the forecast rain of tomorrow and tried to convince him that the chances of rain were slim, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Further on, at Saughall (where the wee weather station is), time was taken to speak to Mike Chalton. He is well known to Alan and to Davie Mc and whilst Alan and Mike blethered the rest of us admired his Pinzgauer 6x6 truck.

The spirit of the Ooters

Lunch was taken at the benches close to the Spirit of Scotland sculpture where copious amounts of sweeties appeared for the delectation and sustenance of the assembled company. From there, Allan, Johnny and Malcolm kept Davie C company by going around the base of the hill whilst the rest went up the front before eventually rejoining the four who had been waiting patiently on the road.
Underfoot conditions had been dry, so we didn’t expect any issues on the old railway track back towards Darvel. However, the last mile or so proved to be more difficult than it should have been due to the path being overgrown with nettles, brambles and vegetation in general. How often have we complained in the past about lack of maintenance on publicised walking trails. The guys in shorts had a great time!
Having emerged from the undergrowth, we walked back into Darvel and took the path up to the park, and back to the cars. Four hours and thirty-five minutes was the call for our ten-miler.
FRT was taken at the Black Bull in Darvel, where Davie C and others took the sting out of their day (literally) by making it a three-pint day. All things considered, though, this had been a good day out, and whilst some of us were feeling tired, we thought of Alan, who had cycled to Darvel to join us and was about to cycle back to Ayr. Good effort!

Just like Uluru!