Alan, Allan,
Davie C, Davie Mc, Gus, Jimmy, Johnny, Malcolm, Paul, Peter, Rex, Robert
We were to
be well fed today. On arrival at Alan’s house coffee and bacon rolls were
served up and when the walk was completed Johnny provided us with bread, soup,
pies and beer. Gus also chipped in with some of his home-made bread to complete
the gastronomic delights. A big thank you to all the guys for their work and
hospitality!
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| Looking up from the viaduct to the bridge in use today |
The walk
itself was one we have done before but Alan suggested adding a bit on to it
by heading towards Caprington and following the river from there. Those of us
who had come prepared for a tarmac walk were a bit sceptical when he said there
were a couple of muddy bits but he had done this walk recently and recommended
it. And so we headed out of the Grange estate and made our way towards
Dundonald Road. It was as we left the access road to Mount Village that a
grumpy motorist informed us that this was a private road. He received short
shrift and we proceeded across the main road and up past Gargieston P.S.
heading towards Holmes Road which took us under the by-pass and up towards
Bridge Lodge. We turned off the track before reaching the Lodge and followed
the path by the River Irvine all the way down to Gatehead. There were indeed a
couple of rather muddy sections but thankfully they were soon negotiated by
those with boots, not so soon for those in trainers!
As we
approached Gatehead, those who knew described the history of the area including
the remains of the mining village of Old Rome. (It is worthwhile taking a look
on Wikipedia at the history of Gatehead, Old Rome etc.).
Our next
target was Laigh Milton Mill and there was an option to take the road past the
Cochrane Inn or go back down towards the river and ‘attack’ the mill via the
restored Laigh Milton viaduct. Robert, Davie C and Johnny took the dry option
and the rest of us took the riverside path once more.
As we took
this route we had a great view of Fairlie House – or Fairlie Five Lums - across
the river. Named on account of its five chimneys, the estate was the workplace
of Willam Burnes, Robert Burns’ father, for two years before he moved to
Alloway,
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| The mill is looking very sad |
As we
approached the viaduct the temperature was rising and jackets started to come
off. Having inspected the bridge and checked out its history, we had to
negotiate the muddiest part of the walk, only perhaps ten to fifteen yards but
enough to cause an issue for the company. Soon however we were on our way and made
Laigh Milton in no time at all to be greeted by ‘What kept you?’ The mill itself is in a sorry state of
disrepair and would be an ideal candidate for ‘Grand Designs’.
Coffee was
called for by some, but the rest decided to walk on down past the entrance to
the Craig House estate and on towards Springside where they waited for the rest
to catch up. The cycle path was taken from there down past Dreghorn and
Bourtreehill and emerging at Park’s garage. At this point we encountered pupils
from Greenwood Academy out for their lunch and some were keen to know where we
were going. ‘Edinburgh’ was the reply which was met with gasps of respect. Pity
the pupils couldn’t respect their environment a bit more as the pathway was strewn
with the remains of polystyrene carry-out boxes and general litter. One of the
disappointing things about the day – the only disappointing thing –was again
seeing the amount of rubbish that had been dropped or dumped beside the paths.
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| Approaching the viaduct |
As part of
the après-walk festivities we discovered a new challenge to add to our
initiation ceremonies for potential new Ooters. Not only have they got to complete
the normal tasks – too secret to divulge here - but they have to be drinking a
pint of gooseberry cider at the same time!
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