Reminders of an industrial past
Ramblers enjoy part of River Ayr Way
Duncanrig Rambling Club did not stray too far from home as they headed to East Ayrshire to walk part of the River Ayr Way.
The River Ayr Way, officially opened in 2006 by Fred Macaulay, is Scotland’s first source-to-sea path network.
It covers a distance of 44 miles and follows the River Ayr from its source at Glenbuck Loch to the sea at Ayr.
The ramblers decided to walk the first part, Glenbuck to Sorn, in reverse or rather the high walkers completed Sorn to Wellwood and the alternate walkers from Wellwood to Glenbuck.
The high walkers started at Sorn (Scottish Gaelic: Sorn, meaning a kiln) and walked along Main Street before entering Dalgainbank Plantation, passing a flooded limestone quarry and the ruins of two limekilns then dropping down to the riverside and following the path into the wooded slopes of Haggis Bank.
Here a path leads away from the river into woodland and the group passed a steep cliff – the drop from the path is vertical at one point, though well protected.
The ramblers crossed the aptly-named Wyndy Burn as it joined the river and continued alongside farmland to the west end of Hole Holm before heading over moorland and along field boundaries then descending once more to Merkland Burn and reascending onto the wooden duckboards encircling steep Castle Hill.
The path then meanders roughly parallel to the river before crossing the mouth of Whitehaugh Water via a footbridge and passes the precarious suspension bridge known locally as Fisherman’s Bridge. Thankfully, there is no need to cross.
From here, the ramblers passed into an enormous bog known as Airds Moss – protected by the RSPB as a valuable habitat for hen harriers, peregrine falcons,merlins and grouse.
The group also passed a memorial to John Lapraik, a poet who lived on a farm in the area until the collapse of a bank in Ayr in 1772 forced him to give up his property; before long the group entered woodland before meeting the coach at Nether Wellwood.
The alternate group started at Nether Wellwood and followed the path through the woods to the river and then followed the river path from Wellwood Bridge. They also passed a fenced martyr’s grave – ‘Adam’s Stone’.
Leaving the woods, the group joined a disused railway and from there headed towards Kames and an area set aside for walking but with information boards explaining the industrial history of the Murikirk area including John Loudon MacAdam’s early experiments with road surfacing and Tibbie (Isobel) Pagan, a poet and contemporary of Robert Burns who ran a small inn nearby.
After leaving Kames, the group continued on the railway, passing the numerous ruins and evidence of the industrial past of the area, with the huge opencast mine on the other side of the road a reminder that Ayrshire is still a major supplier of coal to Scotland and beyond.
The walkers passed the former Glenbuck Station platform before crossing the road and meeting the coach next to the plaque to Bill Shankly, born in Glenbuck and who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool FC.
The next walks are on Sunday, March 4 when the club heads to the Greenock Cut.
Visit www.duncanrig.com for details on all club activities. Visitors welcome.