Eaglesham in the sun

I am a country chappie,

AndI’m servin’ at Polnoon,

A ferm near tae Eaglsham,

That fine auld-fashioned toon,

And wi the milk each morning

A wee bit efter three,

We tak the road richt cheerily

The auld grey horse and me.

One of us said ‘By the law of averages we are due a decent day’. This was it. The sun shone from a clear blue sky and, though the ice crystals still rimed the grasses and dead leaves where it hadn’t reached, there was a certain warmth in the late November sun. It was still cool though when we gathered in the shade of the trees on the common in Eaglesham.

Ten o’clock and Bob had us off up through the trees that line the Banks of the Eaglesham Burn and on to the B764. A few hundred yards of this and we were turning right onto a quieter road by the new housing estate of Polnoon and on towards Bonnyton Gold Course. The sun was now on our backs warming us nicely as we walked past the golf course, left the tarmac behind and followed the farm road for East Moorhouse Farm and on through south Moorhouse Farm.

From the rising ground we had magnificent views over the Clyde valley to the mountains of the southern Highlands. Ben Lomond was easy to pick out: Then came Ben Ime, the Cobbler and the Arrochar hills: The gap of Strathblane  was to the right of the high Ben and through this the hills of the Trossachs: There were more, many more still to be identified tops to the left and right and all gleaming white under their blanket of snow. We thought ourselves lucky to be out here on such a day.

Just beyond the farm, advantage was taken of a few boulders, the remains of a dry-stane dyke, to have coffee. We were just beginning to enjoy sitting in the sun when He-of-the-itchy-feet decided it was time to move on.  So move on we did.

As we approached  the Bennan Reservoir the view was enhanced by the appearance of the snow cover alpine-like peaks of Arran to the south-west. We stopped for a few minutes on the reservoir dam to take in the views. Now we had sight of our goal for today - Ballageich Hill rising steeply in front of us.

We left what had been easy walking on road and track and took to the rough hillside. The going was now tough through great tussocks and deep hollows but we all made it to the top and across the rough top to our goal. Just behind a wee crag overlooking a panoramic landscape of wind turbines of and on the leeward side of the hill, we settled down for a longish lunch break. During this the hills of the south were identified from Cairn Table at Muirkirk through the Cumnock hills to the higher summits of Galloway, all seen through the whirling blades of hundreds of wind turbines.

But all good things must come to an end and we decided, somewhat reluctantly in some cases, to move on. A few hundred yards of steepish slope brought us back to tarmac on the B764. Now it was just a matter of following this back to our starting point in Eaglesham.

An eight and half miles of leisurely (well mostly leisurely) stroll was enough for the day.

We returned to Kilmarnock to take advantage of Wetherspoons  for FRT today.

Ballageich Hill 30 November

Allan, Davie C, Dougie, Gus, Ian, Jim, Jimmy, Johnny, Kenny T, Malcolm, Paul, Robert & Davie Mc

As we drove into Eaglesham on a cold November morning your scribe could not help but wondering why we were parking at the bottom of the hill that is Polnoon Street rather than the top. “To add a wee bit to the walk”, was the reason offered.

Suitably clad with gloves, hats, et alia, we set off back up to the top of the hill, passing through the parkland rather than following the pavement, and then made our way back up the Eaglesham Moor road until we reached the steep path which took us to the top of Ballageich Hill.

Coffee was called for, and whilst we sat and looked out towards Glasgow, Jimmy produced his binoculars to identify the distant landmarks. The day was getting duller and there was a slight suggestion of moisture in the air so we didn’t delay and set off over the hill before descending by a rather steep slope to Brennan Loch. Thankfully, all made it down in one piece and we took the path between this loch and Lochcraig Reservoir to South Moorhouse farm.
On the previous occasion this walk was done, we turned right here and took the track back towards Eaglesham, but this time we decided to continue down Muirshield Road and on to Langlee Road. (By the way, we hope that the two guys digging the hole for the telegraph pole have made it by this time!) Langlee Road takes you to Eastwood Golf Club but we turned right and went up past North Moorhouse Cottage and into North Moorhouse Farm. Our leaders were following a route on their map and we saw a sign for the footpath on the side of one of the farm buildings, but we took advantage, or so we thought, of local knowledge when we spotted the farmer who was only to keen to talk to us. He advised those at the front which way to go and so we thanked him and moved on. However, after a couple of minutes, there seemed to be something lost in the translation as we debated exactly which direction to take. Kenny went one way but was quickly recalled by the others who made their way up to a field gate and into a field bounded by barbed wire. Carefully climbing this wire at the far side of the field, it was then a matter of ‘where are we and why are we here?’  In truth, once we had our bearings and headed off in approximately the right direction, it wasn’t too long before we spotted a track which took us up to where Kirkton Moor Road and Bonnyton Moor Road met. We took shelter at the side of the road, out of the breeze and the smir, and partook of lunch.
The last leg was down the road past Bonnyton Golf Club towards the new estate at Polnoon. As we walked down Polnoon Road your scribe asked again, “Why didn’t we park at the top of the hill?”
The walk had taken four hours and, for some, it felt like it. Those who had donned gaiters had felt the benefit when negotiating the boggy sections but, all in all, it had been a good step out, and the weather had not been an issue.
FRT was taken at the Kings in Fenwick where Derval Davie joined us after having been at the doctor’s with a …… sair fit.
Footnote
Kenny’s path was probably the right one.