Wigtownshire Ramblers Dunskey Circular May 2014

Saturday the 31st of May

Today's walk is in familiar territory. We walked the coastal section back in March.

March Walk.

 The closest walk resembling today's was back in September 2010.

2010 Walk

 Twenty of us meet up at Dunskey Gardens for the walk start.

Shorty is today's report author and following the normal practice of this blog, his report will appear after the pictures.

An excellent selection of images from Scoop will appear after mine.

A shunt of vehicles meant that most of us started the walk at Dunskey Home Farm. We were soon on the move through the top end of Portpatrick.

After passing the Portpatrick Hotel we were on the S.U.W

Solar haze prevented us from seeing the Irish coast, but closer views were perfect.

At long last I got a decent picture of a wild orchid. Maybe there'd be more today!

A regroup above Port Mora........

................then the descent.......

................and round to Port Kale.

Chain assistance is required .

First look at Killantringan Lighthouse.

The descent to the March Howe gate.

I seem to have waited for ever this year for wild orchids. No problem on this walk.

There seems to be semaphore signals from the hill above. Too late !, the Craigantlet ran aground on 26 February 1982.

Time for a breather at Portamaggie.

There's an abundance of wild flowers this year.  These wild orchids are flourishing beautifully.

I got down on my knees for a macro shot.

The House of Knock sits above Killantringan Bay. We turned inland.

An uphill road-walk to the farm.................

..............then a climb up to Killantringan Fell where we have lunch.

A little photographic enhancement to highlight Flush Bracket S8086

On a gorgeous day like this lunch was taken at a leisurely pace.

This is Scottish Airways Flyers G-BVNS overhead.

Anyone interested there are shares available, and current flying rates are £99 per hour.

I wonder if I'm too old to apply for my pilot's licence !

View from the Fell.

After we descended, a stretch of road-walking brought us to Auchenree.

We turned towards Craigenlee Windfarm.

In the top picture above there seemed to be much bleating. I'm led to believe this is 'Weaning' the lambs of their mothers milk. There is a trough in the field that looks to have feed in it.

A hare takes little notice of us.

Approaching the turbines.

A rest while the farmer who's land some of the turbines are on tells us of the development of the windfarm.

We're than shown the remnants of a small 19th century settlement. As Shorty's report states, it must have been tough up here in the 1840's.

Leaving the windfarm..................

..............to reach Upper Dinvin.

That's an interesting piece of scrapped agricultural machinery ! Any ideas folks ?

Molecatching is still an occupation in this part of Galloway.

Back to Dunskey tearooms for refreshments.

It's been a grand walk.

Here's a selection of 

Scoops Pictures 

My favourite.

Thanks Scoop, here's Shorty's report.

Wigtownshire Ramblers Saturday 31 May 2014 – Dunskey Circular

Twenty Ramblers assembled at the Glen Walks car park at Dunskey Estate on a beautiful sunny morning. The skies were an almost unbroken blue though a haze over the sea prevented more distant views.  We set off down the estate track to the main road and then followed the Heugh Road past the busy golf club to join the Southern Upland Way (SUW).  With the brilliantly blue sea on our left and the colourful golfers on our right we followed the cliffs past the mournful abandoned radio stations towards Port Mora.

As we descended to the beach we were enchanted by the antics of an oyster catcher who was enjoying a bath in the wavelets of the incoming tide.  As each wavelet approached it splashed energetically in the water and then stood and waited as it retreated.  This continued for several minutes as we climbed down the cliffs.

We crossed the beach and then took the narrow path round the point to Port Kale where one of our members regaled us with memories of working in the cable station as the undersea telephone cables were repaired.  Apparently this was a regular occurrence.

Some effort had been made to collect the mountains of rubbish which had been scattered over the beach during the winter storms and a large pile was awaiting removal.  It is a shame that so much of this coast is despoiled by the carelessness of others.

We continued along the SUW and climbed up the chains to regain the cliff top on the northern side of the bay.  The path followed the coast northwards towards Killantringan.  There were a few seabirds nesting along the cliffs but less than might have been expected.  Along the way we were delighted to see large swathes of pale purple orchids growing in the turf beside the path.

On reaching the lighthouse at Killantringan we turned inland and followed the road towards the farm with its attractive Simmental calves who regarded us solemnly as we passed.  Once past the farm we turned off the road and climbed towards the trig point on Killantringan Fell where we paused for lunch.  The hill afforded a wonderful view in all directions over the surrounding countryside with the contrast of the spring-green woods around Dunskey House and the paler fields to the south the harsher moors to the east and the blue seas to the west.

After lunch we returned to the SUW and followed the road to its junction with the main road. We then turned south and soon reached the road to Low Auchenree which we followed to the wind farm on the hills to the east.  Along the road we passed a brown hare which, unusually, did not sprint off into the distance but continued to hop around quietly grazing on the lush grass.  There was some speculation that she may have had young hidden nearby which made her reluctant to leave the area.

We soon reached the wind farm. The turbine towers were much more impressive with a close view and the noise confined to a quiet swish as the blades passed by.  Earlier there had been very little breeze and most of the turbines were stationary or turning very slowly.  Now a gentle wind had risen and one by one the turbines reached operating speed.

At the top of the hill we were met by the farmer who explained the extended process needed to develop the windfarm and the work required to satisfy the various conservation and planning bodies.  He said that the windfarm had proved to be an excellent site and that the turbines had exceeded expectations.  More than £5 million worth of electricity were generated each year from the turbines which provided a good return to the venture capitalists who financed the scheme and a useful income to the five local farmers involved.

He then led us to the top of the hill to the site of an old High Auchenree farmstead which seems to have been abandoned in about 1840.  On such a bright sunny day the site was idyllic but little imagination was required to see that this would have been a hard place to scratch a living from the rocky soil.  The “new” High Auchenree was out of sight sheltered in the valley below.  He explained that the site was probably occupied by cotters who would crop the small fields around the house and keep a few cows and sheep but would be required to supply labour to the tenant farmer in the main farm below who in turn would supply labour to the main estate farm when required.  It was interesting to see how these two aspects of land use had developed over the years.

On leaving the farmstead we walked down to the windfarm road and then crossed the moor to Upper Dinvin farm where the farmer had kindly left the gate unlocked.  After locking the gate behind us, we crossed the farm and returned to the Dunskey Estate where the tearoom provided excellent tea and cakes which we enjoyed on the sunny terrace.

Next week’s event will be a strenuous walk along the hills on the north side of Glen App.  Meet at the Riverside Car Park in Newton Stewart at 09:00 or the Breastworks Car Park in Stranraer at 09:30 to share transport.  The walk will start from the Auchencrosh cross roads on the A77 (NX 095 790) at 10:00.  New members are always welcome but please contact the walk leader on 01292 441268 for full details.

Wigtownshire Ramblers Lochans to Dunskey June 2013

Saturday the 8th of June

Twenty one of us meet up at the hall car park at Lochans for this new walk.

It's a nice sunny day. It's not a bad turnout since many of our walkers are away at this time of year.

No coats or gloves needed today. Our leader (centre of picture), gives us the lowdown on the route.

Heading out we see this interesting vehicle in the local agricultural engineers yard. A hybrid of vehicles I'd guess.

We leave Lochans on the Portpatrick road.

A short way out of the village we take a right turn

This takes us up to Duchra Farm

Agricultural Service

PU300HD Self propelled forage harvester

A gradual rise along a farm track

The cattle are unperturbed at our passing. There are a number of calves in this herd.

It's a dusty road.

This bridge carried the now disused Stranraer to Colfin to Portpatrick Railway

There's a few wispy white clouds but it's nice and warm

Our first target comes into view.

Cairn Pat is the highest point in the Rhins of Galloway

The sheep seem to be more interested in our passing than the cattle were.

Time for a sweetie break.......

..........and a natter

As we meet some uneven ground and comments are made, our leader informs us that the rough ground hasn't started yet

The untouched fields are ablaze with colour

Luckily the lack of rain has dried out much of the bog.

We reach Cairn Pat where a short break is taken.

There's a Trig Point complete with Flush Bracket S1816

A prehistoric hillfort, the lines of which can still be made out, also occupied Cairn Pat summit

Views from Cairn Pat.

Although the North Rhins Wind Farm appears close by, it'll take us a while to get there ! 

Leaving Cairn Pat

Now begins an obstacle course.

A number of barbed wire fences, drystane dykes, troughs, ditches and burns had to be crossed.

They're all eventually surmounted and were into open fields.

A lunch break is taken on the slopes of McCormack's Hill

I haven't mentioned the Ayrshire Blogger before now, he's kneeling in the above picture. Regular readers will know of his leg break last November.(I wrote a little ditty in his comments box). I'm glad to report the healing process is going well. Good to see you Gordon. 

He is of course up to his old tricks of keeping everyone on their toes.!

  

Now we descend to what is locally called the 'Old Port Road'

Now we cross the Enoch Bridge under which flows the Pinminnoch burn.

Another gate gets us into the area of the wind farm

We round Billy's Hill........... 

.............and Armstrong's Hill....

.........heading to Low Auchenree Fell........

..........where we access the rough road

This is the turbine alongside Low Auchenree Fell

I climb the fell to take pictures of the group doing a circular tour.

This picture above shows just how big these turbines are. 

Now on the track to Low Auchenree there's a field of daisies.

This is quite an old pump house, but with a new pump. Talking to a resident we learned it pumped water to a large reservoir tank on the top of Dinvin Hill from where it fed the Dunskey Estate. There's a spring marked on the O.S map, so that's probably the reason for it's location

Reaching Bridge End we have a short road walk..........

................before taking to the fields to the west. Our friend from Ayr now heads off to catch a bus just along the road towards Portpatrick. We'll see him again in a couple of weeks, it'll be barbecue time.

A young steer takes a liking to my camera

Now we enter the Dunskey estate

This fisherman on the 'Old Loch' seems content to row his line behind him. I wonder whether he catches fish that way ?

The estate is colour explosion. These are known as Candelabra Primula

The last leg of the walk takes us around the southern end of the 'Old Loch' to reach the tea room and car park.

It's been a great day and a grand walk. Now the drivers are ferried back to Lochans to collect the cars while the rest of us get into the back patio of the cafe to order the scones and tea/coffee.

I thought I'd finish this post with an arty picture taken at Dunskey tearoom. With the Dunskey estate looking like a canvas it's only fitting.

Shorty is the author of this weeks report and it'll appear here.

Wigtownshire Ramblers – Saturday 8 June 2013 – Lochans to Dunskey

Twenty-one ramblers assembled at the Lochans village hall on a beautiful summer’s day.  The sun shone brilliantly from a bright blue sky with a few wispy white clouds moving on the gentle breeze.  The group set off along the Portpatrick road.  Several members were struck by an unusual vehicle in the smithy yard.  It appeared to be a hybrid of various military style trucks and gave rise to much debate.

At the end of the village the group turned up the road to Duchra Farm and skirted the farm yard to follow the track up the hill towards the old railway.  The group were entertained to see the young calves and lambs in the adjacent fields who displayed a mixture of adventure and apprehension as they examined the passing walkers and then retreated hurriedly to their mothers.  The hawthorn in the roadside hedges were struggling into bloom at last and the spring flowers in the verges showed a whole range all flowering at the same time.  They passed a short viaduct on the old railway line and were interested to see the structure of the embankment where it had been quarried for use elsewhere.  In cross section it seemed to be constructed of a series of curved layers reminiscent of the synclines observed in the rocks along the sea cliffs.

The walkers then emerged into open fields and their first objective, the aerial on Cairnpat, came into view.  The route took them over a small burn on to rougher ground as they climbed to the mast.  A short pause was taken on the hill top to admire the views across the Rhins and to investigate the ramparts of the Iron Age hill fort which once stood on the prominence.  The next objective, the Craigenlee Fell WIndarm, stood silently on the skyline.  None of the turbines was operating in the gentle breeze.  Several smaller ones were also stationary but one near Craigenquarroch Farm was spinning happily.

The ramblers crossed several fields and climbed onto McCormack’s Hill where they stopped for lunch.  There were interesting views across the central Rhins and the Old Port Road.  A group of cows in the next field found them very interesting and assembled along the fence to examine the strange looking group.

After lunch the ramblers descended to the Old Port Road at Enoch Bridge.  They crossed the road and climbed over Armstrong’s Hill towards the windfarm.  On reaching the first turbine the size of the structure amazed them.  The blades were now turning gently and silently in the rising breeze.  The group followed the roads between the turbines and down to Low Auchenree and the Portpatrick to Lochnaw road.  They followed the road southwards for a short distance and then crossed the fields towards the Dunskey Woods where bluebells were still showing brightly.  As they rounded the woods the Old Loch came into view with a fisherman rowing slowly over the water trying to tempt the fish, apparently without success.

The ramblers crossed the fields and entered the woods.  A variety of rhododendrons were displaying a range of showy coloured blooms throughout the woods and patches of the extraordinary Candelabra Primulas grew along the streamsides.  A short walk through the woods took them from to the car park and tearooms where excellent tea and scones were enjoyed on the sunny terrace.

Next Saturday’s event will be a moderate 7 mile circular walk in the South Machars from Glasserton Church to the coast and back.  Meet at 09:00 at the Breastworks Car Park in Stranraer or at 09:15 at the Riverside Car Park in Newton Stewart to share transport.  The walk will start at 10:00 from the Glasserton Church Car park (NX 421 381).  New members are always welcome but please contact the walk leader on 01671 403351 for further information.