Glentrool Big Country Route

14th July 2015

This is one of those cycling bucket list rides that you think about but never do. So here we go full of enthusiasm. Glentrool Visitor Centre acts as the starting point for this 58 km ride.  

From the visitor centre you should take the tarred road towards Bruce’s Stone. But as I know the area I decided to follow the foot path up behind the visitor centre and make my way over to a waterfall that sits above the tarred road and brings you out at  Culdons which is an old campsite from years ago.

                                                      

                                                                 Waterfall 

Follow the road towards the campsite, go over a bridge and stop at the notice board. At this point you could make a small detour to the  Martyr’s Grave,  which is a grave of a  Covenantor. From the notice board you follow the road up to a junction where you keep right, this takes you up into the hills towards  Ferrach Burn. Follow the forest road up over the hills and you eventually come to the  Wood of Cree road. At this point you can turn right and go to the bridge where if the water is high you can get spectacular photo’s.

                                   View from the highest point overlooking Glentrool

                                          View from the bridge on the Cree road

At the Wood of Cree road turn left and continue on the road for a few miles. You pass a picnic area on the right called the Wood of Cree car park where there is a raised platform, from it you might catch a glimpse of some Otters. The next car park you come to on the left is called Barclye. There is a few forest walks here which you could enjoy if you have time.

                                             Wood of Cree car park / picnic area

                                Poster on the raised platform at the Otter viewing point

                                                   View from the Otter platform 

Eventually you come to a church which is in Minnigaff. Follow the road round the right of the church and down hill to the junction where you turn left. Continue on this section of road till you come to “ Glenhoise Cottage “, watch at this point as there are no signs or waymarkers to inform you of the direction to take. The only sign is a “ No Through Road “. Take the “ No Through Road “ and follow it to the next junction where there is a house called Auckinleck. Turn right at this point onto a forest road. From here right over to Loch Dee the hills get tough as they are long and steep and zap the strength from the legs.

                                                       Church at Minnigaff

At the next junction keep straight then at the waymarker number thirty turn left on to the Old Edinburgh Road. That’s you half way round. WHOOPEE !!!!! the legs are knackered.

                                                         The half way marker

                                                  The Old Edinburgh Road sign

The next section is quite boring with lots of hills and some nice views, as you cycle parallel to the New Galloway Road  ( A712 ). You pass a track that takes you over to Kirroughtree 7 Stanes Black Route and you also pass Murray’s Monument. Eventually as you rise up over one of the many hills you get your first view of Black Loch. As you descend the hill you come to an open area. At this point if you look over to your right you will see some old sheep pens where if you look closely there are stone sculpted heads. (the sheep pens are marked The Quorum on the map)

                                     

                                                  View from the Old Edinburgh Road

                                    

                                             Another view from the Old Edinburgh Road

                                      

                                                      The first sighting of Black Loch

I first heard about the stone heads from my son. He was out hill walking and wild camping in the area and came across them be accident. The information he gave me was that the stones were part of a wall next to the forest road. WELL he tends to exaggerate a bit, as the stones were in fact down a path next to a burn inside the sheep pens. I think he takes that from his mum. Anyway, the stones are worth a visit as they are very interesting. 

                                                             The stone heads

From the Quorum continue down hill to Black Loch which has a sculpture called the Eye. It looks more like an upside down cone than anything else.

                                                              Black Loch

                                                              Black Loch

                                                                 The Eye

After you have taken the obligatory photo’s continue uphill following the side of the loch past Poultrybuie Hill and Munwhul where again there are fantastic views. Don’t turn off this forest road and you will end up at Loch Dee. As you pass Loch Dee there is a Bothy called White Laggan which is basic but alright for a night out in the wild. As you ascend the forest road away from Loch Dee towards Loch Trool you pass one of the 7 Stanes sculptures which is called the Axe Head.

                                                Lunch break where I fell asleep 

                                                    First sighting of Loch Dee

                                                         White Laggan Bothy

                                         View of Loch Dee from the Glentrool side

                            The Axe Head sculpture with Loch Dee in the back ground

From here you follow the waymarkers up through the Glen till you get to Buchan Bridge which is named after the famous writer John Buchan. It’s uphill from here to Bruce’s Stone where you get a good view over Loch Trool. This is where Robert the Bruce fought the English army in 1307.

                                           View of the Glen towards Loch Trool

                                          View of Loch Trool from Bruce's Stone

There are two routes to get back to the visitor centre, one is straight down the tarred road and the other is down the tarred road till you reach a waymarker for a forest walk on your left. Follow this track and you end up back at the notice board next to Culdons campsite. From here head towards the Martyr’s Tomb and the along the river’s edge back to the visitor centre car park.

This route is a full day’s cycling but very enjoyable. If I ever do it again, I will do it in reverse so that I don’t have to go up the hill at Bruce’s Stone.

     

Newcastleton 7 Stanes

9^th July 2015

Newcastleton is the last of the 7 Stanes that I had left to cycle. So the wife, decided to book into a B&B for a two day break.

We stayed at Abbotshaw House B&B which is a working sheep farm. I can highly recommend this as an excellent place to stay. Abbotshaw House is only two miles from the trailhead at Newcastleton and well away from the busy roads.

                                                        Abbotshaw House B&B

We got up to a nice sunny morning and the breakfast was fantastic - we were spoiled for choice with an extensive menu. Could this day get any better!!

We arrived at the trailhead only to discover that it had been moved to the centre of Newcastleton village,  we decided to park at the Priesthill Car Park which is only a few hundred meters from the original trailhead.

Priesthill car park

Once organised, we headed up the forest road past Dykecrofts, to the old trailhead. Just before reaching the top of the hill you turn left and continue uphill, through a gate, which brings you to the skills area. We amused ourselves here for a short time, then followed the purple waymarker route past Castlehill. Following this route for a few kilometres you arrive at the “Border Stane”.

                                                                   Skills area

                                          

The Border Stane is a large granite stone in the shape of an aeroplane tail; it stands approximately 10ft tall by 5 ft wide and 2-3ft thick with a large hole in the centre. The stone has been placed in a way that if you stand on one side of it and look through the hole you see Scotland and the other side England. On the north facing side there is an inscription of “Auld Lang Syne” and the opposite side is an inscription of “Jerusalem”.

                                              The Border Stane with Auld Lang Syne

                                                   The Border Stane with Jerusalem

Continuing left on the forest road you will come to a waymarker and emergency post where you can either continue on the purple route or as we did, follow the single track red route. At the next forest road turn right and continue along the road till you come to another waymarker where you turn left onto a single track red route.

Once you get to the next forest road you turn right and follow the road to the junction where you turn left up the hill. Follow the waymarkers towards “Swarf Hill” and you end up back at the skills area where you can have a break at the wooden seats.

Skills area rest point

Once you have recovered you follow the forest road back down the hill and through the gate and turn right. This takes you uphill through “Dykecrofts Plantation” to a rest point with picnic tables.

                                           Picnic tables at the start  of The Caddrouns

                                                           Foxgloves ( Digitalis )

The next trail is a very nice downhill section called “The Caddrouns” which brings you to another emergency post, where you turn left. Continue along this forest road and you come to the next single track section called “Pouter Lampert”, a very long but enjoyable section. This eventually leads you back to Priesthill Car Park.

                                                   Trail back to Priesthill car park

                                                     Trail back to Priesthill car park

It was at this point that we decided to try the new section of trail that takes you down to Newcastleton Village and the new trailhead. We arrived at Newcastleton village and looked around and saw about eight bikes sitting outside a café called the Copshaw Kitchen. The wife said “would you like something to eat”, to which I replied “married for thirty years and you still ask silly questions like that”. So off we went and had lunch in the café. Lunch consisted of a BLT and coffee for me and macaroni with a twist for the wife. The cyclists that were in the café were doing a charity ride for “Marie Curie”.

After lunch we headed back along the rivers edge and over the new bridge that has been built for the MTB trails, then uphill back to the Priesthill Car Park and an end to a most enjoyable day out.  

                                               New bridge built for the mtb trails

Loch Doon Circuit

Monday 6^th July

I found this route in a book a few months ago and it sounded good, so I decided to give it a try today.

I parked the car at Loch Doon castle and followed the forest drive road over to Loch Riecawr, then on towards Loch Bradan. Just before you reach Loch Bradan you take a narrow path on the right. It was a good job that I was using a GPS as the waymarker sits off the road and out of sight in long grass. It could be very easily missed.

                                                             Loch Doon Castle

                                                      Loch Doon in the distance

                                                              Loch Riecawr

                                            Picnic area overlooking Loch Riecawr

A memorial to a hill walker erected by his friends after he died

From the waymarker you follow the small track uphill for a few meters then you veer left and continue around the side of the hill which brings you to the side of Loch Bradan.

The hill trail to Loch Bradan

The first section of this trail is not difficult but the trail gets more technical the further along the Loch side you go. You get some great views of the Loch and the scenery is fantastic.

As you near the end of Loch Bradan you come to a waymarker at a junction. The waymarker is signed Loch Riecawr – Loch Bradan. Follow this route uphill. This is where the trail starts to get really difficult, with steep and technical sections.

                                                 Loch Finlas -Loch Doon waymarker

                                        View of the trail uphill trail from the waymarker

Once at the top of the hill you are rewarded with views of Loch Bradan behind you. As you cycle across the top of the hill you see “Nick of the Loup” in front of you and Loch Finlas to your left and Loch Doon further on in the distance.

                                     View of Loch Bradan from half way up the hillside  

                                                    View from the top of the hill

Loch Finlas with Loch Doon in the distance

View of Loch Finlas just before the descent 

At this point the trail gets really interesting as you start to descend towards Loch Finlas you have to negotiate some very large rocks and boulders. After a very exciting downhill section you eventually arrive at wooden boardwalk next to a forest area where the track almost disappears. As you go through the opening in the wall you turn left and follow the edge of the trees where you again pick up a well trodden track which eventually opens up into a forest road.

                                              The trail that runs along the tree line

From here you turn right at the next three junctions which takes you parallel to Loch Doon. Continue to the next junction and turn left which brings you back to the parking area at Loch Doon castle.

                                              Coffee break overlooking Loch Doon

                                                                  Loch Doon 

                                     Last section of forest road before the forest drive 

This is a very interesting trail which took me 3 hours 10 min. I would say however that it is not for the novice or even a seasoned trail rider without a map and compass. There is a lot of technical sections on this route and care must be taken. Also the weather in this part of the country can be very changeable without much warning. Never the less it was a great day out to be cycled again in a few years time.       

The Four Lochs

Friday 4^th July

This is another of those rides that I did years ago and thinking about it inspired me to do it again.

The last time I did this trail was with my son Duncan in the winter of 2009, when I was training to become a Trail Cycle Leader. That year the four Lochs were frozen over which was a very memorable sight.

                                                    Duncan aged 17 in 2009

                                                        Loch Lumford in 2009 

                                                 

I parked the car at the forest lodge. As I got out the car I was attacked by midges for the first time this year. It’s the fastest I’ve ever got my gear ready as I was only wearing shorts and a cycle top, not much protection from these little shits.

Following the trail up towards Loch Harrow the midges became a distant memory as they disappeared. They only came back a few times during the ride when I stopped at certain stages to take pictures. As I got to Loch Harrow I was surprised to see the water level a lot lower than it was in 2009. From Loch Harrow I then worked my way over to Loch Lumford, which again was very low on water.

                                                                Loch Harrow

                                                              Loch Lumford

I then made my way round towards Craigmaharb and back towards the forest lodge where I came upon a statue of a Highlander in full Highland dress.

                                          The statue of a Highlander at the forest lodge

Continuing along the forest track I made up hill to Loch Dungeon which has totally changed since my last visit. It now has a new embankment and sluice gates. This is where I had my first coffee break. (no midges)

                                                  Coffee break at Loch Dungeon

                                                               Loch Dungeon

I then decided to continue uphill to a memorial stone that was marked on the map. This memorial is to the memory of Ralph Forlow who was a 17 year old shepherd boy who lost his life in the hills during a storm in 1954.

                                                    The Memorial to Ralph Forlow

                                                   The Dedication to Ralph Forlow

From the memorial I backtracked to Loch Dungeon then on to Loch Minnoch, again the water level was very low. From Loch Minnoch it was mainly down hill and what a fantastic down hill it was. (very fast on loose stones) The down hill section took me back to the forest lodge where I had parked the car.

                                                               Loch Minnoch

The only down side to this ride was the midges. If I do it again I think it would be early April or Winter so that I would miss the midge season.        

Kirroughtree and Glentrool

Wednesday 1^st July

Well……….Two 7 Stanes in one day, sore legs tomorrow.

The weather was overcast but no rain was forecast and the wife wanted out on her bike, who am I to argue.

We drove down to Kirroughtree and did the blue trail which was as usual very enjoyable. As we cycled round “Larg Hill” on a section of straight forest road, the wife decided to head for the ditch. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I think that she was multi-tasking as women do, she just managed to stop as the front wheel started to descend into the ditch. We continued on (after I managed to stop laughing) following the blue trail till we reached the Gem Stane.

The pond at the Gem Stane is very picturesque with all the Lilies floating in it. Once back at the Visitor’s Centre we had bacon rolls and coffee. I sometimes think that the wife only comes with me for the treats at the end off the rides.

                                                              The Gem Stane

The Lilies

The Wife

We then drove over to Glentrool Visitor’s Centre where I did the Blue Trail to see how fast I could get round it as I’m trying to build up my stamina and lose some weight. The wife decided to have a nap in the car or do some après cycling and watch the young bucks instead of going with me, but I think she was disappointed as I looked like the youngest male there.

                                           View of  Loch Trool from Green Torr 

When I got back I was treated to my favourite coffee and toastie at the café. This makes it all worth while.

Castlemaddy Circuit

Monday 29^th June

A few days ago I was thinking about places that I had cycled in the past. My first thought went to an area where I went hill walking and cycling years ago called Castlemaddy.

Castlemaddy is a small bothy that the Nithsdale Scouts used for weekends away. It sits a few miles up a forest road off the A713 between Carsphairn and St Johns Town of Dalry. I first stayed there in the late nineties when I got my arm twisted to volunteer for a weekend to help out a friend who’s wife was a Scout Leader. Since then I have stayed there a few times for hill walking and cycling trips the last being 2001.

There is over 20 km of forest road that you can make into a circuit for a very enjoyable day out. I parked at Polmaddy where there was a community that lived here in the 1800’s. You can still see the remnants of the buildings.

I followed the track up into the forest past a small house called Drumness which the Air Training Corp used as a base for training cadets. I carried on up the track till I got to a bridge where I turned right, this takes you past a house called Braidenoch where it looks like someone has rebuilt and is now living in it. Continuing up over the hill you can see Carsphairn to the right in the distance. Following the road round I came to a crossroad where you get a great view of Carlin’s Cairn and the Corserine with Loch Doon just behind them, fantastic hills to climb. If you turn right at the cross roads you come to a bothy called “Shiel of Castlemaddy” which is run by the Mountain Bothy Assossiation. But like all these usful places you get the local and not so local yobs coming up here for their drunken weekends and trashing the bothy and on occasion burning it down. It has been refurbished a few times that I know of over the years.

                                   

 Drumness 

View from the bridge

Carsphairn in the distance

Carlin's Cairn and Corserine

Coffee time

At the crossroads I went straight through which brings you down past Castlemaddy, which is looking rather sorry for itself today compared to the last time I was here. From Castlemaddy I continued down the forest road back to the bridge where I turned right which took me back to where I had parked.

                                                                   Castlemaddy

                                                              Second coffee break 

It was a good run as the weather was great, but I was disappointed to see the state Castlemaddy was in as it was a great base for Scouts to use for outdoor pursuits.