Glenwhilly Station to Colmonell.

That BFLWM!! “There will be a 48 hour window of dry weather across SW Scotland!”   Well we cant sit by and let it pass, we all met at the lonely Railway Halt of Glenwhilly Station!   The sky didnt look very promising, with dark grey  clouds, with the odd blue bit! A slight breeze caressed the horses tails, as we began the process of tacking up. Gracie as always, stood patiently.

 

The route we had decided to take, is an old metalled road, now unused. Originally built to service the railways, and the farming community, during the 19th century. It winds its way across some of Ayrshires wildest country, and in bad weather, getting lost is easy! But with an intrepid band of eager riders?  What could possibly happen?  The group consisted of Annie, now in her 70`s, Bobby also in his 70`s, Lorna, Lynne, and myself. In the picture below, most of the crew are shown!

 

Getting all of the riders to pose can be an issue of the mightiest proportions! There are those that wish the limelight, and those who do not! If they got any damn closer!  So having started the route, the sun finally came out, and although the temperature was only 48 deg F!  It was to be a very pleasant day. The metalled road is shown below, not a tree in sight, and stretching for miles.

I couldnt decide what was happening here, did he fall off? Or was he pushed?………….Lol!  Turns out he needed a personal break!   One of the main snags of this country is the bogs, serious stuff, it doesnt pay to wander too far off the main route.

Our shy and retiring Annie!  This her crazy horse!  An Arab,  Highland cross, here we are coming down towards views of the Firth of Clyde, the track has deteriorated into a grass covered trail.  this next shot what we saw!  This is the lonely island of Ailsa Craig. Its reputation for the finest Granite Curling Stones, is world wide.

It was such a shame that this hazy shot was the only view we managed all day.  From here it was down hill towards to the lunch spot. needless to say, the sun finally came out!

From this sylvan spot, our route lead off into the distance along the line of trees, shortly after this things began to change!  Although the weather held, spots of rain could be felt now and again.   Once beyond the line of trees, we headed for the village of Colmonell, to get there we needed to traverse Glen Tig. Although no pictures are available for this section of the route, it was here that Annie`s horse decided to take a “flakey!”    It dumped her, and legged it off into the distance!  Fortunately, it couldnt get too far, and Annie was wearing body armour!  So with no injuries, we meandered on. 

I should point out, that a lot of fields with stock in around here are protected by mains supply electric fences. Not always signed! It was while passing through one of these fields, that one horse managed to test the power of these fences. It and the unfortunate rider were last seen training for the Calgary Stampede!  We sailed into Colmonell after our days ride, to find a pleasant field awaiting. Camping out at my age isnt what I remember it to be! 

This was to be a two day ride, but! ………….It was torrential rain the next day, with Gale force winds across the hill tops.  So much for the BFLWM!!!!!!