Wigtownshire Ramblers-Newton Stewart Circular August 09

The lack of activity on my blog is mainly due to me being pre-occupied with visiting family including two of my adorable grandkids(watch this space).

Saturday the 22nd of August and todays walk is one we did back in April.
April Walk

I'm going to cheat a little here today.Since i've been landed the task of sending the walk report to the local papers,i'm going to paste it here and only caption the uploaded pictures.


Heron

Wigtownshire Ramblers Report for Saturday the 22nd of August.


Due to unforseen circumstances the Wigtownshire Ramblers scheduled walk of Meikle and Little Millyea had to be cancelled.As an alternative at short notice, it was decided to repeat a walk from April.A circular walk round the edge of Newton Stewart.
A nice sunny morning saw twelve members crossing the Cree at Sparling Bridge,and following the river up to Creebridge.At the weir,the ever present heron stood patiently waiting for a passing snack.
Kirroughtree House

The group then made their way through Minnigaff to Kirroughtree House,where some of its history and association with Robert Burns and the Heron family were read out.


Newton Stewart Golf Course

They then walked round the northern perimeter of the golf course and into Bower Wood, the Bluebells now being long gone.


The 10th Tee

Bower Woods

Emerging from the woods on the Old Edinburgh road,they made their way to the Queen Mary bridge.Here attempts were made to secure a wish by cleanly dropping pebbles into the wishing pot,a gleeful shout usually accompanied a successful drop.
Monnigaff Parish Church

The next stop was at Monnigaff Parish Church and graveyard,where the 900 year old Yew tree and the listed Heron memorial were among the many points of interest.



Banks of the Cree

The group then recrossed the Cree at the King George V Suspension Bridge.Using the riverside picnic tables and benches,a leisurely lunch in glorious sunshine followed.
Old Hall Farm


After lunch they then headed up to the Girvan road at Douglas Terrace before turning left up the hill at Duncree.
Crossing the old coach road which originally went from Old Hall Farm to House O' Hill, open views to Penninghame and the Galloway hills were enjoyed .


Above Old Hall Farm

A change of direction via drystane stiles then took the group over Hill of Old Hall with views over Douglas Ewart High School and the town.Blue Faced Leicesters and Scottish Black Faced sheep eyed the group cautiously.

They then made their way to the Barnkirk road via Doonhill Woods and Blairmount Park,where preparations for the afternoon football match were underway.

Lots of rabbits were spotted in a field at the junction with the A75.A large domestic cat was mistakenly identified as a fox by several walkers.

Teasel

After a careful crossing of the major euro route the group then made their way to Barbuchany where the Teasel was in full bloom.



Barrhill Woods and Phone Mast
The mobile phone mast above Barrhill woods was the groups next target, where a short break was taken to enjoy the outstanding views over Newton Stewart.




The area of Barr and the Cree Valley

The descent eastwards via the route of the old railway line,rewarded the group with brilliant views of a high tide along the meandering Cree Valley.


Alongside the Cree

Crossing the A714 they completed the walk back to the riverside via the new cycle and pedestrian path alongside the river.

The majority of todays walkers missed doing this walk in April,and the fact that we enjoyed such good weather made this a really worthwhile and pleasurable walk.

Thanks also to my fellow rambling photographers for allowing me the use of their pictures