Glenbuck and Hareshaw Hill 25 August

 

Allan, Davie Mc, Dougie, Gus, Iain, Jimmy, Kenny R, Malcolm, Paul, Rex, Robert

Thankfully, the A70 was shut for re-surfacing just beyond the cut-off for Glenbuck, so we all made it to the Heritage Village Centre in good time on a beautiful August morning. Most had packed extra water as the temperature was expected to climb well into the low to middle twenties, but, at least, we didn’t have to pack wet weather gear or jackets.

The Glenbuck Cherrypickers

Bill Shankly's memorial

A gentle climb to begin with

Moving through the Centre and passing Bill Shankly’s memorial (now repositioned at the Centre) we walked steadily up into the remains of the opencast, thankful that all the roads had dried out and there was no mud to negotiate. Reaching `the big hole in the ground’ (now a settling pond) we could remember a previous visit when we walked down into its base from the opposite end from where we were now, passing huge tractor tyres and taking in the geology of the sides of the man-made canyon. After stopping for photos to be taken, we moved on until we stopped for coffee at about quarter to eleven.

Davie opts out of diving in

The relentless haul up the hill

At the top

And he's off!

Hareshaw Hill (467m, 1532ft) was now in sight and the route to its top was made ‘easier’ (comparatively) by the well-constructed wind farm road which we followed at a fair rate of knots until the summit was reached and a much-needed breather was called for. Some wondered about having lunch there, but a decision had been made to move on, and since Waspy aka Robert (more about this later) had ants in his pants, the stop was shorter than expected even although the views all-round were brilliant.

The descent was the steeper cross-country route down to Glenbuck Loch and, thirty-five minutes after leaving the top, we were settled by the side of the loch having lunch. Gus, having to be home early, made his way back to his car from here whilst the rest extended the walk by continuing round the loch, with the far side gloriously in the shade. Walking back up the road to Glenbuck, Davie quizzed us on our local knowledge regarding the old iron works and its association with Laigh Milton (ask Davie for the answer) before the cars were finally reached at twenty past one, three hours and twenty-five minutes after setting off, and with a distance covered of about six and a half miles.

Coming down the hill

Glenbuck Loch

Reflections on a good day

A much-needed bout of FRT was taken in the beer garden at the Black Bull in Mauchline where apprentice kitty man, Dougie, showed promising signs, although his fees were a bit steep. The only flies in the ointment were some wasps, determined to have some of the beer. They paid no attention to cries of ‘Get on your bike!’ but hadn’t, however, bargained with Robert’s prowess in dispatching them, and by the time we were ready to leave, there was a pile of dead ones beside his chair*. It may have been a coincidence but the music channel playing in the background was playing tracks by Sting, the Bee Gees, Midge Ure and Jake Bugg. Or maybe your scribe had just spent too long in the sun.

A very pleasant and relaxing end to an excellent day out.

*Anyone wishing to hire Waspy can get him at wekillanywasp.com.