After an enjoyable weekend with my son, I drove to Largs on the west coast to be reunited with K for our few days in Galloway. For the last few miles, my windscreen wipers worked constantly, setting the theme for the rest of the week.
Fish and Chips
By the time I arrived at the accommodation the rain had stopped, but the clouds weighed heavily above as we walked to the pier to buy fish and chips at a highly recommended chippie. We took our meal back to the accommodation where we tucked into a delicious dinner.
An uneventful, wet day
Before leaving for our ultimate destination, Whithorn, I had time for a haircut at a local barber and a short walk up Largs main street. On the way to our overnight stop, we managed to break our journey at Eglinton Country Park without getting wet. We had a pleasant walk past a Dovecot, along the river side and around a ruined castle, before sitting in a courtyard for morning tea. Our next stop was the supermarket in Ayr and a quick snack at Ayr docks.
We arrived early at the motel and managed to settle in before the rain started. As we were in the country at the side of a main road, there was not much more to do than relax in our very comfortable suite.
Whithorn
We woke the next day to rain, thwarting our plans. Arriving in Stranraer, we parked up at the harbour and read our books for a while before more supermarket shopping. Despite the rain we took a short detour to Glenwham Gardens, where we had planned to explore. However, it was pouring, so, feeling sorry for the tea room staff, we ordered tea and cakes. We managed to negotiate an early check in to our three day accommodation, so we arrived in time for lunch.
This is another place where we stayed that deserves special mention. Called ‘The Pend’, this 16th century house was the gatehouse to the priory. During that period, Whithorn and surrounds was a destination for Christian pilgrims. Rather write about it, please check it out at this link: https://www.pendholidays.com/pend-house/, it is a highly unusual place to stay.
We found a personal laundry service in town, operated by Tracey. We dropped off our washing, which was later delivered, neatly folded, to the Pend.
Wood of Cree
Our main activity the next day was a drive to Wood of Cree, the attraction being an RSPB otter hide. Not surprisingly the otters didn’t put in an appearance. However, there was a walking track across the road which we decided to explore. This was a delightful steady climb up a track alongside a creek with many waterfalls. One of the striking features was the moss that covered everything.
Threave Gardens and Castle
Next on the list was Threave Gardens near Castle Douglas, where we had a pleasant walk through the gardens, the greenhouse and to the hide on the nature walk (where there was nothing to be seen). A welcome ice cream back at the café was small consolation for the lack of birds.
On the other side of the main road there was the promise of Ospreys on the Threave Castle nature walk. Unfortunately, there was not much to see at the Osprey hide. It started to rain for our return to the car, dampening our spirits even further, and our drive back to The Pend for the evening.
St Ninians Cave
A short drive from Whithorn, St Ninians Cave was a place of retreat for the saint, who is said to have been active in Dumfries and Galloway in the late AD 300s. The first part of the walk was a pleasant stroll along a tree lined track, but the last quarter of a mile was a tortuous stumble across a foreshore of small rounded stones into a gale-force head wind. The cave was hugely disappointing. It was fenced off and the left side was clad in white painted timber sheets to prevent access, the term ‘eye sore’ was a good description of what we saw. At least the return walk was enjoyable. Before returning to the Pend for lunch, we stopped to explore the Isle of Whithorn.
More RSPB
Crook of Baldoon is a straight exposed track along the side of Wigton Bay towards the mouth of River Bladnoch. The cattle that graze along the side of the bay use the track making it pitted from their hooves and therefore difficult to walk on. As it was not looking promising and the wind was relentless, we turned back before the track end. The highlight for me was the slight pink tinge to Wigton bay created by the shallow depth and angle of the sun (yes, for once, it was shining, in between clouds).
Wigton Bird Hide, located on the other side of the river, was our next stop. I stayed in the car for a short nap while K visited the hide, another disappointing visit.
One more night
Our original plan was to drive back to Edinburgh the next day, but we decided on another stop on the way – a farm property north of Dumfries. This allowed us a more leisurely journey back, starting with a stop at Kirkcudbright for a wander and the bakery for a cream bun for morning tea.
Further along the coast we stopped at RSPB Mersehead and walked to two hides. We had a chat with an RSPB volunteer at the second – he explained that the water levels were very low, hence the reason for the lack of birds. However, we caught sight of a Roe Deer and a Marsh Harrier.
After driving through Southerness, which is nothing more than a massive holiday park, we parked at Dumfries to find a bank for cash and Marks and Spencer for dinner provisions.
Our accommodation was rather quirky with a four-poster bed that had curtains that could be drawn to keep out the light from a roof light.
Back to Edinburgh
We had planned a morning walk, but the weather was against us – very wet and drizzling. So, after a short wander down one of the farm tracks we set off. We stopped to visit the Moffat Woolen Mill for K to look around while I sat in the café with a hot chocolate.
Lunch on the way was at Loch of Lowes where we watched a few brave paddle boarders venturing out in the rain while we sat in the car. Although there were a few other possible points of interest, we didn’t stop on account of the weather until we reached Edinburgh.
Another boat trip
We had one more final activity to look forward to – a boat trip to the Isle of May. The weather forecast was not looking great, so we were not sure if our third attempt at a boat trip would work out. I will let you know in the next and final post, coming soon.