Wigtownshire Ramblers
30 April Girvan - Tormitchell
On Saturday 30th April a
mixed group of 26 Ramblers from Wigtownshire and visitors from Kilmarnock and
Cunninghame groups met at the south car park Girvan to walk a 9 mile circular
route in brilliant sunshine. Irene,
Frances, Duncan, Audrey, Allan, Lily, Margaret, Mary Mitchell, Christine Sloan,
Jacqui, Allan Topping, Leslie, Peter, Ken, Carl, Debbie and her friend, Rosie,
with dog Roxy and Gordon made up the Wigtownshire contingency. Gordon, who was leading the walk, introduced
us to some members of the other groups and then we set off at a good pace. Some of the Ayrshire group were fast walkers
and soon left us behind, with Gordon’s permission, but many of them walked at
our pace, happy not to have to keep up with them.
On leaving the car park we headed towards the Shallochpark
roundabout crossing over onto Coalpots Road where, after about 200 yards, a
signpost said ‘Girvan to Barr hill track 7.5 miles’. This is the start of the southern part of the
Carrick Way and also the track that the quarrymen from Girvan walked everyday
to and from work at Tormitchell Quarry in the earlier part of this century when
it was owned by the Mitchell brothers from Girvan hence the name Tor meaning
‘hill of the Mitchells’.
Great respect for this hardy bunch of
men was quietly paid, as the group puffed their way up the hill track through
Wood Hill onto the open pastures where a force 40/50mph gale was blowing down
from the top of Dowhill. From this
vantage point there is one of the finest views of the Firth of Clyde. On a clear day you can see the Antrim coast
of Northern Ireland, the island of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre to the north
and west, and about 9miles out to sea the distinctive cone shaped outline of
the Ailsa Craig.
We started to make our
way downwards, soon losing sight of the group ahead of us but got down well,
catching up with them as they sat by the side of a gully, taking in more
refreshments. The quicker group had
already headed off and we saw no more of them.
Dropping down onto the hill track
again, away from the wind, a short stop was taken before the ‘high levellers’
ascended to Troweir Hill (296m) and the ‘lower levellers’ stayed on the track
passing some of the many disused quarries meeting up again at the ruins of
Barbae Farm.
From here we could see
into the bowels of Tormitchell Quarry with its many facets and since the early
1980’s now owned by Barr of Barrhill. A short traverse through a wooded area
and down onto the road from Pinmore brought us to Tormitchell Farm where we were greeted by two
Lamas. Fortunately the farmer’s wife
and young daughter were there who explained that her Dad had wanted the Lamas’
for 21 years but only got them 2 years ago whereupon her Mum’s reply was
priceless quote ‘well what do you buy a farmer who has everything?’
This was the turning point of the circular route when the
group headed back along the road passing the noisy Hadyard Hill wind farm on
the right accessed from the Dailly to Barr road. After about 1 mile a left turn was taken onto
a hill track on the north slope of Troweir Hill where a sheltered spot for
lunch was found. I sat with Jacqui to have my lunch and when I got up I decided that I
could not go on without putting a plaster on the blister I had on my big toe! Jacqui stayed back with me but we soon caught
up with the others and we eventually came to the top of the ridge from where we
started to get wonderful views of the sea and the surrounding area. The
aerial on the way to the summit of Saugh Hill (293m) was our next marker and
avoiding some boggy areas we all made it to the trig
point where a group photo was taken and a discussion on the recent news that
the Ailsa Craig was up for sale.
Evidently, according to the Hamburg
based Vladi Private Islands website, 55 year old Charles Kennedy, the 8th
Marquis of Ailsa is seeking offers in the region of £2.5 to £2.75 million. The Ailsa Craig is over 1100ft high and is a
volcanic plug from a long extinct volcano believed to be over 500 million years
old. It has a varied history and people
lived on it until the early 1950’s when the Girvan family owned a tearoom
there. Nowadays it is more famous as a
bird sanctuary and for its curling stones.
As we traversed the ridge from the
trig point, the panoramic views again over the Firth of Clyde on our right side
were breathtaking and with the sun going down behind the Ailsa Craig we got a
unique view of this craggy isle projecting it forward belying its true distance
from Girvan.
After the exertion of
going down this very steep section it was really good to have another rest and
take in more fluid Our more energetic
and fitter companions were long gone!
Descending the steep slope towards
Fauldribbon Cottage and down the track into Girvan under the railway bridge on
the Old Dailly by-pass, the last weary mile along Coalpots Road took us back to
the cars and a welcome ice cream at the busy car park.
Jacqui, Allan, Leslie,
Mary Sloan, Irene, Duncan, Audrey, Debbie, Rosie (and Roxy) and Frances shared
a couple of tables close by and enjoyed tea, cakes, ice creams etc. and one
another’s company for half an hour or more before heading back home.
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