Ardwall Island

Had planned to head along the Carrick and Borgue coast but with a strong northerly wind against an incoming tide making things a bit lively I settled for a trip to Ardwall Island.   Had a wander around, visiting the old house on the south side of the island and had a look for the remains of the old 5th/6th century chapel and burial ground.  The latter was under gorse and bracken so really not much to see.  What a great wee island though - really peaceful and unspoilt.

Ardwall Island from Carrick coast;

Cambret Moor

Cambret Moor, on the hills above Creetown, has a fair number of prehistoric archeological sites - cairns, stone circles, cup and ring marked rocks etc.  I headed up to have a look and more specifically to find something else I'd failed to find in the past - a cup and ring marked rock incised with seven rings.  Given my lack of success with Billy marshall's cave the chances were low, but I was determined ...... and what do you know, I found it.  Here's the proof;

If you look closely you can see the rings - honest.

Close by, on the other side of the Cauldside Burn, is a large cairn with a cist and an incomplete stone circle.  Interestingly all three are aligned and point towards another ancient cairn on the top of Cairnharrow about a mile away.

Lots of interesting bog plants in the area including this orchid (?).

Carsluith to Newton Stewart and back via Kirroughtree

Took the cycle route from Carsluith into Newton Stewart via Creetown and the Mines Hill.  On the way back popped into Kirroughtree Forest and followed a few of the bike trails.  Hadn't been up to Glenamour Loch for a while.  Here are a few shots.

Glenamour Loch;

NCR millenium marker near Creetown;

Loch of Cree

Alongside the Wood of Cree the river broadens and turns into an area of slow moving water, reed beds and marshes known as the Loch of Cree.  I'd always wanted to paddle this and had looked out for a 'put in' place when I came along this way on the bike a few days ago.  So, today I dropped the kayak off at a spot I'd identified, on the river bank just opposite Pennighame House, and parked in the new RSPB car park at Barclye - part of the newly acquired extension to the Wood of Cree RSPB reserve.  I knew this as the site of an old lead mine and was happy to see when I looked behind the undrgrowth and bushes that the old adits heading into the hillside were still there.  Back at the kayak I set off upstream through wooded banks to cover the half mile or so to the loch.  The river was low and caused trouble with grounding on the numerous small rapids - I seemed to spend more time out of the kayak hauling than actually in paddling. 

Taking the direct route around Cut Island (through the Cut) I emerged into the broad loch through a swathe of reeds to a different landscape of broad deep waters, reeds and water lilies.

 As you would expect with a bird reserve there was plenty wildlife about - ducks, swans, sand martins, roe deer etc.  I knew there were otters in the area and kept my eyes peeled for a sighting without any luck.  Although I was paddling against the flow I had a good tailwind pushing me along and made good progress to the end of the loch about four miles upstream.

 I continued to the junction of the Cree and the Minnoch, with the Cree surprisingly being the significantly smaller of the two rivers at this point.  It the does make you wonder why the lower river wasn't named after the Minnoch. 

The return trip was hard work!  With the wind in my face I had to work all the way - deciding to take out in the Cut to avoid the shallow section and walk back to the car.

   

Cairnsmore

A bit of a trip down memory lane this one.  Cairnsmore Estate is where my dad was brought up, my grandfather being an estate gamekeeper, and as kids he often brought us up here.  I remember the trips to gather conkers, the walk over to the motte on the moor, the stories of the night the Heinkel  bomber crashed on the hill during WWII and of numerous other trips and tales.  They lived in one of the houses near the stables at the home farm for a time before moving to Bogue Cottage on the banks of the Palnure Burn.   Carinsmore is also the hill that dominates Newton Stewart and Wigtown Bay - and can be seen from my mum's kitchen window in Newton Stewart.  This was to be a run/walk and also a chance to explore familiar terrain.   It had been more than fifteen years since I last had been on the hill and immediately noticed a few changes.  I'd been used to driving up the estate road to Cairnsmore House and the farm, parking just before the hill path began.  Now I had to park in a new car park outside the 'big house' grounds and walk in.  There were well marked paths but the number of 'private' signs around was annoying particularly as the new walkers path took me away from stables, which were also 'private'.  The initial stages of the climb were covered in a slow jog up until the deil's dike, just clear of the forest line.  Thereafter a steady walk took me to the summit plateau.  I didn't head straight for the summit but went over to the other side of the hill to sit above the Clints of the Spout and take in the view of the Knee of Cairnsmore and the National Nature Reserve below - an area I'd cycled through on my NCR7 trip a few days ago. Apart from the view I did have another reaon for coming this way.  About thirty years ago I had approached the hill through the Door of Cairnsmore and climbed up the back via the Clints and found an aircraft crash site - I'd been hoping to relocate it but couldn't find a trace.  Heading over to the summit, the memorial there was a reminder of the number of aircraft crashes that have taken place on the hill - eight in total, mostly during the second world war with the last being a USAF plane in 1979.    From the summit I made down the NW ridge towards Eastman's Cairn with the aim of looking for Billy Marshall's cave.  I remember a few of us looking for it many year's ago without any luck, unfortunately the outcome was to be the same on this occasion.  The OS map is little help as 'Billy Marshall's Cave' is written on a crag on the map which covers a fair amout of hillside on the actual ground.  After looking at nearly every rock outcrop I thought I'd found it, without the iron bar that is said to mark the spot, but with a couple of old cairns leading to a small cave in a rockfall.   On checking the internet back in the caravan though, I realised that I was well off the mark - a few hundred metres out, but not as bad as the OS map though which indicates the cave to be about a quarter of a km to the east of its actual location .   Should have checked the grid reference (NX 494 679) before I left!  The trip down the ridge wasn't in vain as there was plenty of wildlife around - a mountain hare that shot off from a few metres in front of me, a herd of wild goats and a couple of what I think were merlin.  I must have been getting close to the merlins' nest as they started calling and one of them tried to distract me away by landing and calling from about 20m away. I made my way back down over Blairbuies Hill through rough terrain of heather, loose rocks and tussocky grass and eventually, after fighting through some forestry, onto a forest road.  A quick run along the road took me close to the Cairnmore Motte hill and eventually  back to the car.  A long day, over six hours on the hill, sore feet and scratched and bloodied legs  - but I'll still need to go back up and find that cave!

View from the Deil's Dike

The Knee of Cairnsmore.

Cairnsmore summit.

Eastman's Cairn.

Not Billy Marshall's cave.

Cairnsmore Motte.

Murray's Isles, Fleet Bay

I'd been looking over to Murray's Isles in the middle of Fleet Bay for a few days planning to head over when the wind and tides were just right.  This morning was perfect - sunny and calm.  Setting off a couple of hours before high tide  I covered the mile or so to the islands in just under twenty minutes.  What a great place, the islands are a breeding ground for gulls and also house a resident cormorant colony  - so there are birds everywhere along with the constant noise of them squaking.  I did a full round of the islands, taking my time and enjoying the antics of the birds.  I spotted a couple of seals - well, one spotted me and dropped under when I spied him.  The other had his back to me and seemed intent on taking a bit of sun whilst watching a small fishing dinghy.  He dropped under just as I was sneaking up on him.

• One of two ruined buildings on the island.  This is the more substantial of the two and sits towards the west side of the main island.

• ...and this is the other building on the main island.  Smaller and sitting over towards the east coast.
• Looking back towards Mossyard. 

• The cormorant colony. 

NCR7 - the Galloway loop

I've been planing to do this one for a while.  National Cycle Route 7 splits at Glentrool with a road based route going down through Newton Stewart and Creetown, and an off road route going via Clatteringshaws and Loch Grannock.  Both routes come back together at the old Gatehouse of Fleet station - which incidentally is seven miles from Gatehouse! My plan was to cycle the full loop from Gatehouse station in an anticlockwise direction - around 50 miles.  In the end I added on an extra little loop going over the Risk road from Minnigaff and down Bargaly Glen rather than taking the more direct route from Minnigaff through Blackcraig. I have my CX bike with me and this proved to be perfect for the mix of on and off road sections. The initial stage from Gatehouse to Clatteringshaws was tough going as the forest road had been relaid with very rough loose stones.  The rest of the route was fairly straightforward with good on and off road surfaces and steady gradients (apart from the 20% haul from the Buchan Burn up to Bruce's Stone in Glentrool).  Here are a few shots from the Gatehouse to Glentrool section.

• Lock Grannock looking towards Cairnsmore of Fleet.

• Garries crag just behind Craigencallie lodge.  There are a couple of climbers on the crag - you really need to zoom in to spot them.  They seemed oblivious to a peregrine who was buzzing about trying to warn them off.  I'm sure I've read somewhere about climbing being banned on this crag during the bird breeding season.

• Loch Dee - and an NCR marker

• White Laggan bothy - on the path over from the Penkiln valley.

•  The three way marker - on or off road?

Cardoness shore

High tide, and Fleet Bay was looking inviting so a short trip up the bay alongside Cardoness estate was in order.  The northerly wind made the trip up the bay harder than I expected but with the tide turning and the wind behind me I fairly flew back to Mossyard.  Highlight and key feature of the trip was Cardoness Chapel (where I turned to go back).   I hadn't expected to find this little chapel sitting beside the sea - I suppose the name of the bay on the map, Chapel Bay,  might have been a clue! 

Cardoness Chapel - built in 1768 by Sir David Maxwell as a 'sanctuary of prayer and contemplation.

• The view north from the chapel. 

Kayak to Ravenshall

Having arrived at Mossyard yesterday I've been sitting looking out at the sea and thinking of where I should head on my first kayak trip.  Without really answering that question, first thing this morning I was out and heading along the coast towards Auchenlarie and Ravenshall Point.  I'd no fixed plans and was just glad to be out on the water as the sun was out and the sea calm.  I'd headed out on the ebb tide so going into Wigtown Bay meant that I'd have to work on the way out but should have an easy ride back.    In the end I went passed Ravenhall Point as far as Dirk Hatteraick's Cave. Overall an interesting bit of coastline with plenty of rock and cliff scenery.   Here are a few of the highlights.

• Ringdoo Point - at the head of Mossyard Bay.  Rock scenery populated with a few cormorants
• Sandy bay at western end of Auchenlarie Holiday Camp.  Interesting cliffs, covered in vegetation and ivy higher up.  There is also a Motte and Bailey fort above here, but I couldn't see anything due to the tree cover.  Crystal clear waters. 

• The Brothers - lots of rocks and inlets.  Great place for pottering about with the kayak
• Corbies Cove - higher cliffs, a cliff waterfall and a cave.  The shore here is a mix of sand and large round rocks.  I was harassed by what appeared to me to be a peregrine - going by the noise it was making and its agitated flight.  Probably nesting in the cliffs above.
• Ravenhall Point - plenty of cormorants and a jumble of rocks and cliffs.  Just passed the point there is a cave above the high water mark and also a small sea arch.