Greenock Cut 17 June

Allan, Davie C, Davie Mc, Gus, Ian, Jimmy, Johnny, Malcolm, Paul

There was no film crew to greet us at Cornalees on this occasion, only unseasonal damp, cold and dreich weather. As we assembled, a bus pulled up and disgorged primary kids for their day out, nae luck with the Scottish summer!

Gus was the leader today and decided that we would walk in a clockwise direction which would allow us to consider his extension (the mind boggles). This proved to be a good call as the wind and the showers at the start of the walk were behind us. In the distance we could see the clouds breaking and areas of Argyll bathed in sunshine, but, such was the nature of the day, these views were short-lived. Four seasons in one day could be aptly applied to today.

Walking up the Old Largs Road

By the time we stopped for coffee, at our usual lunch stop!, jackets had been on and off a couple of times, but so far so good. The next brief stop was at the point where we would normally turn right to go back over the hill to Loch Thom and back to Gornalees. Gus produced his map and showed that we could go straight on to add a bit extra to the walk. So we walked on until we came to the Old Largs Road where we turned right and followed it up past Whinhill Golf Course until lunch was called for in the shelter of dry stane dyke in a field housing sheep. The weather from coffee to lunch had been OK, but we didn’t delay too long as the clouds were closing in again.

Walking on up the road, we amended the original plan which had been to walk past loch Thom and then take the road back down to Cornalees i.e. the road you would take coming to Cornalees from the Largs direction, when we came to a signpost showing a track off to the right which would take us back to the cars quicker. Gus checked his map again and this route met with approval as it would take us off the tarmac. The track took us to Killochend and followed the reservoir until it petered out within sight of the Greenock Cut track. There was a path over the open ground though and ten minutes later we had climbed up to the track. By this time the drizzle had arrived and persisted for the twenty-five minutes or so back to the Visitors Centre where the weans were still out enjoying? their day.

By this time the weather had closed in again

All in all, the weather had been O.K., the walk had taken about three and a half hours, and the FRT at the Village Inn in Fairlie was convivial.

P.S. Well done to Gus for getting us through the walk without invading anyone’s curtilage!