Wigtownshire Ramblers-Corsewall April 2009

It' Saturday the 5th of April,and i'm at the Breastworks Car Park in Stranraer to join my fellow ramblers for today's walk.
The weather's really miserable,but the general consensus is that it'll improve.
As usual we do our bit for the environment by car sharing,and we head up to the car park at Wig Bay on Loch Ryan.
The weather doesn't look like improving,and the original walk,which would have been a linear is abandoned.The original plan was to walk from Corsewall Point to Wig Bay,but the recce had taken 7 hours,so this had been shortened to Lady Bay.Now even that was decidedly too much in these wet conditions,so it was decided we go to the Lighthouse at Corsewall,and only walk until we'd had enough.

There are thirteen suitably dressed walkers...

as we leave behind the lighthouse.
As if on cue,the Stena HSS was passing to see us setting off.

Were heading easterly and north easterly,and there is a coastal path of sorts.It's obviously used more by creatures with four legs rather than two.There's mud everywhere.

It's difficult even to pick this out.According to the map,this is St Columba's Well.We seem to have been walking for ages,but the lighthouse behind us isn't getting any smaller.

But we're eventually through the mire,and the going's easier.

The worst of mud's behind us now...
...as can be seen in this picture.Yes it's not just water!



Continuing on it seems that every inlet and point we pass has a name.There's Well Isle,Ochley Point,then Portclearys,followed by Carrickadoyn,Port Mullin and Port Leen.

Here at Port Leen lie the remains of what was probably a fishermans cottage.The remnants of boat mooring's are in evidence.

If you take all the inlets into account,I think we must have one of the longest coastline anywhere in the UK.This really is rugged country.There's a yacht braving the bad weather,and there's always a ferry.

Rounding Dundream(Where's that name come from?)we reach the bay at Burnfoot where we stop to lunch in the shelter of the rocks.The clouds seem to be breaking,things are looking up.

Lunch over,and our route now is beyond this interesting sign.

It's a bit of a scramble,but we're soon back on a level footing.

There isn't a defined path now,but our four legged friends usually have an instinct of where to tread,and we did spot some Roe deer before reaching here.

Now as we reach Boak Port,across the bay from us is the most northerly point on the Rhins-This is Milleur Point.
Now we're going to head back inland,and road walk back to Corsewall.

Primroses have been in abundance along the cliff tops,now back inland the daffodils are still blooming well.

The road takes us south via East Balscalloch and Craignawachel,until reaching the junction at Knockoudie to turn westward again.

An interesting piece of agricultural machinery stands at North Park farm...

...while there's a good mix of animals at Barnhills.Were nearly back and the weather's cleared up nicely...

...as we walk the last little stretch of road.
It seems that by making it a circular,we've probably walked further than the linear walk would have been.In the words of one of our walk leaders,we ended up having a proper walk.
I and a few other ramblers weren't too enthusiastic to begin with,but in the end,it's turned out to be quite a satisfying and eventually enjoyable walk.