The Wigtownshire Ramblers Silver Rig Circular January 2015

Saturday's walk was roughly over the same route as our walk last March.

March 2013 Walk

Twenty eight of us set out.

Our walk leader was the 'Weaver'

Through Low Camer Wood

Silver Rig Burn which flows into the Ballocharus Burn

The wee dog is called Midge

Our back up leader got his woodcraft badge for making our passage easier.

Approaching the Silver Rig mine

A not so good macro attempt of rain drops.

The water wheel housing remains.

The mine store and office ruins.

Looking over the Silver Rig loch.

The outlet (can you see the monster's eyes looking out at you ?)

Another burn crossing with strange camera effects

Old forest road over the Rig of Larg

Lunchtime by the waterfalls of the Pulniskie Burn

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

The waterfalls

Back on the move and the forest road to Borgan

There were no leaves on this tree so I gave it some

More of Midge.

The Roman Bridge

(our intrepid duo who ventured onto the bridge soon found out it was slippery, they took great care coming off)

The beautiful Water of Minnoch, my favourite river.

(Not to be confused with my favourite burns which are the Penkiln and the Palnure)

We stopped to say hello

Horned sheep at Borgan

Path through High Camer Wood back to the cars and the end of another excellent walk.

On our return to Newton Stewart we gathered in the Cinnamon Cafe for our excellent after walk refreshments.

Here's a selection of pictures from 

Scoop

The Weavers report will follow these pictures.

Here's the Weavers walk report

Silver Rig mine walk report. January 3rd 2015

A sunny day greeted the New Year turn out of the Ramblers on Saturday. Twenty eight walkers met at High Camer Wood picnic site for a circular walk through the woods and visiting the old lead mine known as a silver mine, though very little silver was ever extracted from the lead here.

Along the road the path through Low Camer Wood was taken. This has been restored and managed by the Cree Valley Community Woodland trust, together with High Camer Wood, where the cars were parked. At this time of year there is little growth but the beauty of clear winter skies seen through the old oak tree branches is a glorious sight that disappears later when green leaf covers the bare bones of the wood.

Next site to be visited was the mine, approached by an overgrown and indistinct path from Cordocan. The mine itself is well fenced but still in need of clearing, with undergrowth preventing a good sight of the main features, which are still well preserved. It was in use periodically from the seventeenth century to the mid nineteenth century. The water wheel housing and the filled in main shaft, said to have been about 90 feet deep, were examined by the walkers. The site was surveyed in 2002 by CFA Archeology Ltd and a good report is available of this on the internet.

From the mine store and office ruins, a tussocky, wet, and forested area was crossed to Silver Rig Loch, which is a man-made reservoir built for the mine. At the outfall there is still wood surviving from its use by the mine, now over 150 years old, though the loch is well silted up, with just small open water areas along its length. When built it obviously was a very large water store.

An even harder ramble across more tussocks, slippery rocks and ridges ensued, all the while encumbered by clumps of trees which sometimes denied onward progress. At last, a stone dyke was reached and the going got easier until an old forest road led between felled forest debris to the designated lunch spot

Old sheep pens gave quick access to the delightful Pulniskie Burn, where waterfalls roared and splashed down alongside grassy banks, providing a beautiful sunny resting place for hardy walkers. It was a leisurely stop with many photographic opportunities for the camera enthusiasts.

Forest roads now took the company to a fork, where the party divided, some opting to continue the easy route by forest road, to Borgan bridge, whilst others deviated to the Roman Bridge on the Water of Minnoch, and reached the public road by a riverside walk. Rains and weather have demolished the former well-kept fisherman’s path which now is undermined in places and in danger of disappearing altogether in others.

Once the group was reunited, High Camer wood was the last area to be explored, after a short road walk. Up a small hill and into the woods, a narrow path led over soft decomposing oak leaves to High Camer Farm, now quite ruinous. A coppice of young trees was sidestepped by entering another older part of the wood, where an enormous badger set was revealed on a steep sloping site, with recent digging and gathering of bedding clearly in evidence.

At last the Picnic site and cars were reached by joining a newly laid path, which should hopefully help these beautiful woods to become more widely known and used by the public. The walkers now adjourned to Cinnamon, in Newton Stewart, for well-deserved refreshments and an enjoyable end to a great start to the ramblers New Year.

Next week’s walk is a circular coast and countryside 9 mile ramble around Portpatrick. Meet for car sharing 9.15 am Riverside, Newton Stewart, 9.30am Breastworks, Stranraer, or 10 am in Portpatrick south car park. NW 999 540. New walkers are most welcome but please phone walk leader to get further instructions. 01581 200256

The Wigtownshire Ramblers Silver Rig March 2013

Saturday the 2nd of March.

Today's walk is a circular taking in the Silver Rig Mine.

Here's the link to my last visit here.

September 2011

Today's leader is the 'Weaver' and her report will appear below.

There are twenty nine walkers today.

After parking up at High Camer we head south through Low Camer Wood.................

................where there are lots of new information boards

From Cordorcan heading east a track leads to the Silver Rig Mine

We've a few guests among the walkers today.

For the technically minded there's a P.D.F from the PDMHS concerning the Silver Rig, Pibble and Woodhead Mines

Down to the 'Wheel Pit'

Looking around the Water Wheel Housing

The Silver Rig Loch (Source of the water to drive the wheel)

Tussocks!................

.....................and burns

Lunchtime on the Pulniskie Burn

Fabulous waterfalls

I must try and get back here in the summer

After lunch and back on the move, the increase in forestry activity is evident.

All due to Phytophthora Ramorum apparently

A group picture under Black Doon

The Water of Minnoch

The Old Bridge of Minnoch also known as the Roman Bridge. Here's what Canmore say's about it.

"A 17th or 18th century pack horse bridge locally alleged to be Roman".

I'm of the opinion of others who believe the name came from the gypsies (Romanies)

  

Following the Water of Minnoch south

Fishing pegs.

I do believe Robert the Bruce came this way for the Battle of Glentrool

Look here ..Wikisource.org

Minnoch Bridge near Borgan

Forest track then path to Camer woods

Camer ruins and two petrified heads atop a drystane wall

Walk finish.

It's off to Cinnamon for scones now.

Apart from the odd moment of 'Mizzle', the weather stayed fine.

A very enjoyable walk.

The 'Weaver's' report will appear here when I have it.

.............and here it is.........
Ramblers report Silver Rig mine March 2nd 2013

The beautiful weather in the week must have encouraged an exceptional number of ramblers to turn out for the Saturday walk when 29 walkers assembled at High Camer Picnic Site. As the ground here was quite soft, it was with grateful thanks that the offer of hard standing in a neighbour’s garden was taken up by many drivers.

Four guest walkers/potential members were welcomed to the group.

The walk headed off south down the road, for a path leading through Low Camer woods. The restoration of these ancient oak woodlands is managed by the Cree Valley Community Woodland Trust, a local charity which is a partnership of expert representatives from official interested bodies. Set up in 1998 with a vision of managing the habitats of woodlands bordering the Cree ‘from source to sea’, in this wood it has provided interpretation boards which tell of the flowers, insects, and birds to be seen. Bird boxes and squirrel feeders were much in evidence, but the undergrowth had not yet started to show through the dead grasses. The splendour of the winter woodlands depended on views of the River Cree seen through a screen of gnarled and muted colours provided by the sleeping trees.

Next an indistinct track was followed leading to the Silver Rig Lead Mine. A report by CFA Archeology LTD in 2002 contained a plan and interpretation of the mine which was thought to relate to three distinct phases. With this plan it was easy to see the open cast features from the eighteenth century; the following underground mining of the nineteenth century and the later technical innovations which included the remains of a waterwheel pit and its attendant lade system. The group spent some time exploring the remains before moving on over tussocky ground to Silver Rig Loch, a man made, earth banked reservoir, which supplied water for the mine wheel.

The loch was much silted with a boggy surface and only patches of open water, but the original outflow with remains of a wooden sluice system was found before the party moved on around the banks and once more into tussocky ground interspersed with woodland. After some rough walking, trying to keep to open grassland, a dyke was reached which now could be followed to a forest road.

It is sad to see how many larch trees are being felled because of phytophthora ramorum, the fungus like disease which is now spreading rapidly, causing resin bleed and eventually a dying off of branches and then whole trees.  A slight compensation means that the lie of the countryside is much easier to see; crags and hills have been revealed where previous views were negated by overshadowing trees.  The green forest road had been ploughed up by heavy vehicles transporting timber, but the open path made rapid walking to a lunch spot by the Pulniskie burn.

Former use of these upland pastures were demonstrated by ruined sheep pens set in particularly beautiful surroundings, with a series of waterfalls making delightful company for the ramblers at rest. Deep pools, water gliding over large flat rocks, tumbling along series of jagged outcrops and cascading down from higher falls delighted the photographers and made the lunch stop a rather protracted one.

Back on the forest road the walk then led westwards to the river Minnoch and the Roman Bridge, a photogenic pack horse bridge which once took long forgotten tracks across the river. Here the damage caused by the flooded river during the winter was plain to see. The path alongside the bridge is undercut, river pebbles are strewn for long distances beside the banks and debris is scattered far and wide. This storm damage continued to be remarked upon as the company walked the east bank of the Minnoch back to Borgan Bridge and the road.

The last section of the walk took once more to the Cree Valley Woodlands, High Camer Woods. An exploratory stop was made at the old farm steading of Camer, hidden amongst hazel saplings, dead bracken and brambles. From here it was a small step to the cars, but first an enormous badger set with numerous sandy openings was sought out, though no badgers were in evidence in the daylight and with noisy company nearby.

Although the walk was only six miles long, it was tiring terrain and the ramblers were glad to retire to ‘Cinnamon’ in Newton Stewart, for a warm welcome and delicious refreshments.

Next week’s walk is an 8½ mile ‘B’ walk in the upper Fleet Valley. Meet for car sharing at Breastworks, Stranraer, 9am. Riverside, Newton Stewart, 9.30am, or SNH Dromore Car Park, NX 555 638, for walk start at 10am. New walkers must phone walk leader for further information 01776 870441. All are welcome.