Croy to Maidens 26 April

 

Alan, Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Dougie, Graham, Gus, Hugh, Jimmy, Johnny, Malcolm, Paul, Rex, Robert

Fourteen Ooters assembled at Croy shore car park for our walk to Maidens. The weather was excellent, bright and sunny, although there was still a slight chill in the breeze, and progress along the beach to Culzean was easy. Forty minutes or so, after having set off, we were sitting having coffee in our usual spot at the benches looking towards the castle. We could have sat in the morning sunshine for longer, but we had still a fair bit to go so we didn’t delay too long and walked up towards the swan pond and then progressed back down to the beach for the walk to Maidens.

Remembering to avoid the swampy bit near the harbour we came off the beach and took to the path next to the grass area for the final leg. The picnic benches were an excellent choice for a very leisurely lunch stop, a stop where Isla was well fed.

We retraced our steps to Culzean but rather than going back up the steps we entered the park by taking to the earlier path and walking back up to the swan pond, albeit the opposite side of the pond. This is where events got fragmented with the Otters somehow manging to split themselves into various groups and making their way back on to the beach in various ways. Some simply went up to the castle and down the first set of steps, some went beyond the café and went down the second set, some stopped off at the book shop, and some went into the walled garden.

Although the tide was coming in, it didn’t hinder our progress, but the Ooters were well-spread along the beach with almost a mile between the first and last. The first group completed the walk in about three hours and fifty minutes for the nine miles or so, and waited for the rest to arrive in dribs and drabs. Most unusually, Gus was last, having hurt his back, but we are not without compassion. Wee Davie had taken Gus’s (or is it Gus’?) rucksack to make it easier for Gus, but on the condition that Malcolm carried his!

Fortunately, Gus seemed to be a bit more comfortable as we made it to The Balgarth for an enjoyable, but relatively expensive, FRT, where Johnny was able to show the guys pictures of the Basil Brush lookalike in his garden. The reaction was something like ‘For fox sake, Johnny!’. Boom! Boom!

The good weather made today’s walk. Let’s hope for some more fine Wednesdays as we move through spring and into summer.