Saturday the 8th of December 2012.
Having been on antibiotics recovering from a chest infection, I was never sure that I'd be leading today's walk. However since it's quite an easy ramble I was sure I'd be OK.
The report will follow the pictures.
This was the picture from my front door as I was getting ready for today.
"Red sky in the morning,
Shepherd's warning"
Myself, Shorty and the Teacher had reccied this walk a week last Thursday on a bright frosty day.
I'll be using some of the photos I took on the recce in this post.
Bright weather on the recce
Crossing over the Fleet
Stile into the Boreland Hills
Pictish Rock carvings
The top of Trusty's Hill as the mist and drizzle closes in
A boggy crossing
Recce
Not so sunny today
Recce views
Ministers Monument
Rutherfords Monument
More rock carvings and more drizzle
Anwoth
Frosty puddles and Rutherfords Well
(I'd kept cleaning the lens on my camera to keep taking pictures, but prolonged exposure to the damp seemed to penetrate inside the camera hence a batch of hazy pictures)
More from the recce
Feeding bulls
Robin Redbreast
Mill on the Fleet
Recce lunch break
The camera dried out enough by now to get this white throated dipper on the river
Bridge in the Cally estate
Cally school for girls
Palace view recce
Palace view walk
Shorty and the Teacher
From Cally Avenue to the Cow Park Plantation
Cally Motte
Mill Lade
The Town Hall
A couple of acceptable pictures of me sent by another regular rambler who I'll call Roy.
She'll understand why !
Wigtownshire Ramblers
Report for Saturday the 8th of December 2012.
A bright morning which would soon deteriorate saw eleven ramblers
meet at the main car park in Gatehouse of Fleet for the walk.
The walk began by crossing the 18th Century stone
bridge over the Fleet, passing the Ship Inn where Dorothy. L. Sayers wrote Five
Red Herrings, then along Fleet Street to where the main road bends left. Leaving
the main road, the minor road of Planetree Park was taken. A stop was taken at the
Brickworks Community Nature Reserve. Unfortunately this habitat of Great
Crested Newts has been sorely neglected and the group soon resumed a steady
climb along Planetree Park.
Reaching a gate and
cattle grid where the lane ended, a small gate led through the bottom of a
private garden before crossing a high stone stile over a wall. The next section
of the walk was a mixture of bracken and broom over the rolling Boreland hills.
With enough frost still in the ground the muddy sections remained firm. Strategically
placed waymarkers showed the way.
Now the path wound round the base of Trusty's Hill passing a
very healthy looking ash tree. After rounding its left flank the path doubled
back uphill to where an iron railing was seen encasing a rock. The railing is
there to protect the ancient Pictish carvings which could be clearly made out.
It is rare to find Pictish carvings so far from the main homeland of the Picts
in northeast Scotland. The top of Trusty's Hill, once thought to be an iron age
settlement was accessed, but by now the fine views of the Fleet valley and
Gatehouse were beginning to get lost in the mist and drizzle that was
enveloping the area.
A tricky descent led down to a wet area of bog and gorse
that required very careful navigation to traverse. A successful crossing led to
the base of the highest of the Boreland hills at 84 mtrs. After a short steep
climb the trig point was reached.
Close to the trig point was a circular stone clad monument
topped with a cross commemorating all the ministers of Anwoth and Girthon who succeeded
Samuel Rutherford.
From here a short drop and climb led to the prominent
granite obelisk that is Rutherford's Monument. The Reverend Samuel Rutherford
who later became a professor of divinity at St Andrews University was minister
here from 1627 to 1636. A well-educated man at a time of upheaval in the
government and church the authorities burned his political book Lex, Rex and
cited him for high treason. His death intervened before the charge could be
tried. Built in 1842, as well as extolling the virtues of Rutherford a further
inscription states that the monument was hit by lightning in 1845 and repaired
in 1850.
Now an undulating and sometimes frosty track led to the hill
above Anwoth. A very careful descent due to the original path being obliterated
by wood cutting operations led to a field behind Anwoth Old Church.
Close by was Rutherford's Well. Cone-shaped and made from
whinstone it is still used today, with the well's water being used for baptism.
After crossing a slippery wooden bridge the road through
Anwoth was reached. After a short break at the old church gates, the road was
now taken back to Gatehouse. Passing the intriguingly named Luckie Harg’s
cottage, the main Gatehouse station road was reached. A variety of birds and a
couple of feeding bulls knee deep in mud were points of interest on this
section.
Back into Gatehouse the bridge was taken over the Fleet into
the Mill on the Fleet. Here photographs were taken of the giant wooden bird
watcher looking towards the river with his binoculars.
Crossing the main road to the picnic area on the edge of
Garries Wood, a lunch break was taken. Alongside stood a wildlife sculpture,
carved from a 200 year old piece of oak to commemorate the Queen's Golden
Jubilee. A white throated dipper flitted about on the Fleet bank.
As the group began the second half of this figure of eight
walk, the sky was still dull with occasional mist and drizzle. Entering Garries
Wood, a winding path led to an ornate white painted stone bridge. Crossing the
bridge and walking alongside the Cally golf course led to the building shell
that was Cally Old School. An information board explained how Lady Anne Murray
had established this school for girls in the early 19th century.
Continuing along paths still bordering the golf course they
arrived at the 13th tee, appropriately called Palace View. Across
Cally Lake, the group had their first look at the magnificent Cally Palace. Now
a hotel, the Cally Palace dates back to 1763, when James Murray, owner of the
Cally Estate, chose this setting overlooking the Galloway hills to build his
country mansion.
After crossing Cally Avenue, a winding undulating woodland
path through the Cow Park plantation led to Cally Motte, a well preserved 12th-century
earthwork. Here is the earliest evidence of
people living at Cally. This was the location of a wooden castle on the
summit of a five metre high artificial
mound, which would once have had a commanding defensive position overlooking
the Fleet Estuary.
After re crossing Cally Avenue the track led to Garries Park
from where the rear of remodelled Town Hall, now a walk through garden, was
accessed.
Back at the walk start point walking accessories were stowed
away in the cars. The nearby Galloway Lodge provided the tea and scones to
finish an interesting and enjoyable ramble.
The next walk, on Saturday the 15th of December is a 9.5
mile section of the Mull of Galloway Trail from Drummore to Sandhead. Meet for car sharing at the Riverside, Newton
Stewart, 8.30am or at the Breastworks, Stranraer at 8.45am to catch the bus at
9.15 from Sandhead (NX 097 498) to Drummore (bring your bus pass if you have
one).
If going straight to Sandhead please phone the walk leader
01776 840254. New members are always welcome.
The dipper photo is excellent,the reflection in the water is captured really well. I have told you before the quality is worthy of an entry in the Herald newspaper or a magazine competition.Usual 10%of course!!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like my kind of walk Jim.Loads of variety round each new corner...interesting mix of history and landscapes.If I,m down that way I'll remember that walk.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be a private school for wayward girls in Glasgow.Always wanted to pay it a visit it in my hasty youth:)
Now here's a walk I've done most of myself. The Pictish stone carvings are great - rare for the area and really quite a long way outside Pictland.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the Cally Mote - I'll have to go and find that at some point.
Anworth is the setting for many of the scenes in the Wickerman.