Island Hopping with the Glebe-Day 1

N.B The following blogs will be fairly short due to limited connectivity.In other words i'll be out of reach.
I'm up nice and early to start my Island hopping trip.
Leaving a rainy and overcast Newton Stewart,i take the New Galloway and Ayr road up to Ardrossan.I'm early enough to see the earlier ferry pull out.
Still that let me go to the Asda cafe near the ferry terminal to have a great breakfast and pot of tea for £2.75.
A quick look along the coast and it's soon time to get the ferry.
Caledonian McBrayne have the franchise in these parts,and todays trip takes 55 minutes.
The weather by now is picking up,and a lot of people take to the top deck...
The views are great.
Goat Fell has a wee cloud around the summit.

After booking in my B & B i head out for a touch of exploration.Here's a different view of Holy Isle than i normally take.
Wouldn't you like to live here...that's a great view of Goat Fell.
Further exploration brings a view of Ailsa Craig and my Galloway home behind.Seals on rocks,waterfalls..is that a dinosaur i see.Rugged rocky outlook...and a sign that says Goat Fell is only three and a half miles.
And this is Blackwaterfoot on the west coast where i;m staying.I'm in the Kinloch Best Western blogging this.It's still daylight and gone eleven,and i'm talking to a couple from Batley and drinking Guiness.Goat Fell here i come.Ah it's a great life.

Wigtownshire Ramblers-New Luce to Castle Kennedy

It's Saturday the 20th of June,and todays walk is part SUW with a bit of diversion from New Luce to Castle Kennedy.
Fourteen walkers gather at New Luce Hall,it's a bit damp and overcast,but the forecast is for it to clear up.
Our first two kilometres are on the minor road towards Glenluce where we join the Southern Upland Way at Cruise.
Now off the road we head through the long grass to the footbridge over the Water of Luce.It bounces well as i reach the middle,and i'm not the heaviest of the group today.
Now we leave the SUW route and keep to the woods between the railway and the Water of Luce.

Our walk leader today was born and bred in these part,and we stop frequently for him to impart some local knowledge.The biggest problem here was the million midges threatening to eat us alive-a couple of sensible walkers produced midge netting.
We continued following the river in a southerly direction over some rough terrain and slippy burns until we were clear of the trees and approaching Craig Farm.

The cattle weren't sure what to make of us,just after i'd taken this picture they did a runner.

Again as our walk leader imparts more history,he insists the sign has nothing to do with what he's saying.

A little further on we come to Craig Crossing.An old cannon stands outside the house here.There's a telephone at the crossing.A notice says for taking cattle or slow agricultural machinery over one needs to ring to make sure it is clear to do so.Another notice then goes on to state that if there's no answer between certain late night hours-use the crossing anyway.(I'm not sure how that works)
Since crossing the railway at Craig we've been travelling in a generally westward direction and we're overlooking the farm and lands known as Airyhemming.This was where todays walk leader was born and raised.To the south we can make out the Mull of Galloway.
Continuing on through harvested forest we come over a ridge where a western outlook opens up...

here we'll lunch,and since the weather's picking up all the time,there's no urgency.

Over to the west stand the new wind turbines at Portpatrick...they're not yet operational.

Back on the move,I investigate this deer hide.It contains one usable and one unusable deckchair.
We pass one of many quarries in the area-and the ruins of some sort of building-probably a sheep pen.

We tread cautiously as we come to ongoing forestry operations.The operator of the bottom machine was just finishing work for the day.We'd see him later changing a punctured tyre on his car.

Now as we're nearly rejoining the SUW,we pass this stretch of water that appears to be called 'Glenwhan Lochs or Lochs of the Eyes' Very odd !
Now we walk a few hundred metres along the Castle Kennedy to Glenluce road before coming back onto farm track.

Hidden away in this picturesque copse of trees and rhodedendrons bushes, are the ruins of a cottage once resided in by two elderly widows or spinsters who used to keep chickens.

Now the industrial sheds near the A75 at Castle Kennedy come into view as we meet two walkers coming in the opposite direction.We impart some knowledge of some of the route to them.Nice rucksacks but their footwear left a lot to be desired-they've a few muddy patches to get through.

Here at Chlenry are the remains of an old corn mill,looking as though it's waiting for the modern age to collapse so it can start up again.

Now back on the Castle Kennedy New Luce road the sun and bikers are out.
There's some sort of light aircraft meeting over on the Cults Airfield.Later after the walk was finished,we were treated to an aerobatic display by one of them.

Now we move into the Castle Kennedy Estate via this view of Black Loch or Loch Crindil...

...and head through the grounds of the estate.

While over the other side of White Loch or Loch of Inch proudly stands the Earl of Stairs residence Lochinch Castle.

After a final group photo by the loch,it's just a short way to the cars to ferry us back to New Luce.
After an uncomfortable start this turned into an enjoyable walk.

Rescue on the River Cree

Returning to Newton Stewart after the Saturday the 13th of June walk with the ramblers,we noticed a helicopter circling the riverside.
It appears an elderly lady had fallen over the wall and broken bones.
Riverside road was closed off and the Royal Navy rescue helicopter from HMS Gannet based at Prestwick was scrambled.I took some pictures and video.
I hope the lady is recovering well.

The video is below,or at
Rescue

River Cree Rescue 13th June 2009

Arriving back in Newton Stewart after walking in the Galloway Hills,me and my fellow walkers noticed a helicopter circling over the river.
It seems an elderly lady had fallen over the riverside wall,and broken bones.
The Royal Navy Rescue Helicopter from HMS Gannet SAR Flight Search and Rescue Flight based at Prestwick was scrambled.
In this clip the injured party is being hoisted into the helicopter.

Wigtownshire Ramblers-Loup of Laggan Millfore Drigmorn from Auchinleck

I'm using pictures from Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th of June on todays blog.
I was deputy walk leader,and the only day myself and the walk leader could do the recce was the day before.
After climbing Cuilcagh on Tuesday,i'm not sure i'm up to two long days in the hills.We'll see...

Walk day is Saturday the 13th of June,and there are ten of us for this ten mile strenuous hike.
We park at the car park by the Penkiln Burn at Auchinleck,and set off north east along forest and farm track towards Drigmorn.Friday was bright sunshine,Saturday there's more cloud.Contented cows and calves graze and laze.There's a set of antlers on the wall at 'The Cottage'

Two kilometres in we reach the now empty Drigmorn Farmhouse.Here we head north over the moor.The rocky outcrop at the centre of this collage was so marked and scarred i wondered whether it was all natural?Could it have been a 'Tally' rock.
The going from here on in is of varying degrees of difficulty,much of it on sheep or animal track.Though there is the remnants of an old drovers road,it's quite stony.

One small shower of rain brought the waterproofs out,but for the best part of the walk it stayed fair.

We're heading up the glen that the Pulnee burn flows through.This glen doesn't appear to have a name,so until someone tells us otherwise our group have called it 'The Forgotten Glen'.
With very little precipitation over the last week,the water in the burn is very low...

...but there's enough to accomodate the numerous 'wee trooties',that are darting from stone to stone.This one's fairly well camouflaged.This is such a picturesque burn.

We continue following the burn with the distant Curleywee still seemingly miles away,and getting no closer.

Now at this sheep pen we find the remains of the drovers road which was apparently used to drive stock to the markets of Ayr.

Looking back it appears we've covered a fair distance...looks can be deceptive,there's a long way to go yet.

I'm dropping back a little as we begin climbing again.I've got company though,so i'm not worried and Curlywee is getting closer.The extra option of skipping up Curleywee isn't taken up by any of the ramblers...i'd have waited for them.


Finally we're at the Loup of the Laggan.This is supposedely the best route to take for climbing Curlywee-I'll maybe try it sometime.From here we'll head eastwards and upwards.

As we gain height,so Loch Dee and beyond opens up.

With good weather and views like this it's without doubt worth all the effort,and if night didn't fall you'd want to stay longer.

We reach White Lochan of Drigmorn...

...a beautiful spot to have lunch...

...and a group photograph.
This was once a well used curling pond,the stone building that once housed the curling stones long since in ruins.One can only assume that they used horses to come curling up here.It'd be a long way to carry a heavy curling stone up.Mind you,folks were more resilient in the old days.

There are lochans all over the Galloway Hills.In this collage in the top right picture with Curleywee and Lamachan in the background,is a small lochan we skirted known as Black Loch.I wish i had a pound for every Black Lock there is.

Refreshed and continuing on we reach the slopes of Millfore...


...while some skip up like gazelles,myself and others plod on.
Once on the ridge connecting the two summits of Millfore,views in all directions open up.On Friday we'd had views of the Lakeland Mountains and the Isle of Man.
Today most walkers opted to head up to the higher summit.Myself and a couple of others strolled over to the lower summit.

I try out my cameras ten second delay as we're eventually joined by some of the the others.
Our 2008 Millfore climb is here.
Millfore Climb

Butterwort,wild orchids and bumble bees have added to todays views as we begin our descent over Drigmorn.

It's a long way down,but we frequently find quad tracks which will assist us.There's a stony shelter for inclement weather-we wont need it today.

At a cairn on an outcrop of cliff,my walking stick lost on the previous day is held triumphantly aloft.

Now the terrain levels out on the lower slopes of Drigmorn...

...and we're back at Drigmorn Farm.Here we take a welcome short break until the midgies start to get the better of us.
Looking back up Drigmorn we can just see Millfore.It's just the two kilometres back to Auchinleck now.That was a fair old walk.
Surely my fitness levels are going up now.
What a brilliant but tiring couple of days.