Kiltwalk Dundee - prep 4

 

Lud Castle, Arbroath Cliff Trail

Daughter and I have been doing more Kiltwalk practice in and around Dundee recently (including another walk out to Broughty Ferry from the centre of Dundee) but this weekend we headed north for a Saturday morning mini adventure. We caught a bus up to Arbroath first thing and did a walk I haven't done for years - the Arbroath Cliff Trail. This walk starts at Arbroath and ends at the beautiful village of Auchmithie, the place we lived when we first moved to Scotland in 2002 (more about that back as part of this 2021 blog project). This is the map of the approx. 4 mile walk we did today:

First we had a little look around Arbroath, a place we knew very well 2002-04, and then purchased some provisions before we walked along the edge of Victoria Park to get to the start of the cliff walk. I don't normally put pics of myself online these days but here's one of the two of us at the start:

As you will see we use music to help us along our walks (Kiltwalk playlist constantly under construction). Current faves are Karine Polwart's Scottish Songbook, Self Esteem, Rhiannon Giddens, Raye, Ce Ce Peniston and a bit of Wicked. The only drawback is sometimes it makes us walk too fast - this may not be wise when it comes to the 20-mile walk in August.

There were lots of gorgeous views as we made our way along the cliff walk today (and it was perfect walking conditions, not too hot, a bit of breeze). We saw sand martins, a heron and, as you'll see, lots of wildflowers all around. A few walkers (and one cyclist) but pretty quiet on the whole:

The Needle's Eye

The Deil's Heid

The Three Sisters

We'd been told in the toon that the path around Carlingheugh Bay was in bad condition and overgrown and that's obviously still the case as a detour is in place:

Instead it was steep steps down to the beach, a wobble along the pebbles, a picnic on a log then more pebbles, an overgrown path (just ferns, nothing prickly), up more steep steps and back to the path. This means that the trail, not hugely accessible at the best of times, is really not open to all just now. It does have a musically themed art piece at the top of the steps (apparently it's 'The Lord of the Dance' and no one knows who made it). This is its second location as it was moved from the first because it was too near the edge of the cliffs (news story here):

Carlingheugh Bay

Picnic views (this and above)

Spot the heron

After that the path was very easy the rest of the way to Auchmithie, mainly just us, more flowers and the sea.

In our sitting room we have a lovely painting of the Coastguard Cottages in Auchmithie done by our artist friend Steph Masterson. This is it:

So today we enjoyed viewing the Coasties from the other direction (they are on the far right of this pic):

Finally it was past Lud Castle (looks like a whale to me):

and then off to see the Coasties artist in Auchmithie (and her visiting Mum) for tea, cakes and stories. It's a good excuse for some trips out and about this Kiltwalk business. 

You can still sponsor us for the walk in August if you feel so inclined - link here. 

Kiltwalk Dundee - prep 2 and 3

 

   Somewhere between Stranraer and Cairnryan

Our walking preparation for Kiltwalk Dundee in August continues and this time with some wandering out west. The man and I stopped off in Dumfries and Galloway on our way back from friends and family time in Yorkshire and whilst he looked at boats (SkiffieWorlds - see here) I dragged myself along the coast a bit on Monday morning. It was just me as daughter was working back in Dundee. I didn't have any maps but you can see the endpoint clearly on the other side of the Loch so I quickly screenshotted some instructions just in case and set off after breakfast.

It was a very windy day - so windy that the boating was cancelled for the day, filling the cafés of Stranraer with a positive rainbow of sporty hoodies and people looking at weather forecasts (the event lasts a week and I'm pleased to report that the weather was more cooperative from Tuesday onwards). People of all ages enjoy coastal rowing in St Ayles skiffs (it's huge in Scotland - read about the type of boats here) and so it was a mixed crowd and a great selection of other events put on by the organisers. On the Sunday night we had already nipped down to see the music and bar (and the views):

View from the bar, Sun evening

View from Stranraer beach, Sun evening

But back to walking. On Monday morning I walked along the edge of Loch Ryan towards Cairnryan and could see (and feel) why there was no rowing that day. The winds were quite fierce and the waves were crashing against the end of the Loch.

It is a beautiful part of the world overall but like a lot of coastal places it has its share of empty buildings. A new Water Sports Hub is in development so maybe old sites like this one that I passed at the end of the Loch will get new life before too long:

A lot of the walk went along the beach:

Looking back towards Stranraer

And then, once you're past the caravan park, the signs send you off into very green fields:

I didn't see any other walkers the whole way but I did pass some scaredy sheep:

And a whole lotta swans (according to sources a group of swans on water can be a bevy, a bank, a herd or a flock). I'm not a fan of any bird up close that is pigeon-size or bigger so meeting them at this distance was more than enough:

The route I took is meant to be part of a path network (Loch Ryan Coastal Path, part of the Mull of Galloway Trail) but it's pretty unkempt in places and I did wish I'd brought a machete at times. I had also failed to spot the bright red warning about a damaged bridge on page 1 of the online guide:

They were not wrong - one of the little foot bridges is damaged but luckily someone had hooked some branches to climb along. I was very glad at this point that I had not dragged the daughter along this route. I have a bit of a history with the family of setting off on 'short walks' that end up being daylong adventures ("it's just round the corner", "not far now" etc.) so as I awkwardly clambered about, was scratched and stung by nettles and had a few investigations ("where is the path?", "will I have to climb over the ferry port fence?") I was glad it was just me on this little hike (about 5.5 miles).

Eventually I did get to the ferry port (luckily no high fence climbing involved) but I didn't fancy returning by the same route so what to do? 

Cairnryan ferry port

Google said there wasn't a bus for 2 hours but luckily the 11.17 was about 10 mins late so I managed to catch it back. It's always slightly humiliating when the bus manages to do in the flash of an eye what took you most of the morning but there we go, the wonders of the modern world.

The next day the rowing finally got started (and it's still going, last race about teatime on Sat 12th July). We watched some races and enjoyed the Wimbledon-style screens on the hill and the great atmosphere. Teams were mainly from Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands and a few from England but some came from further afield too. 

SkiffieWorlds on Day 1

Road up the coast from Stranraer to Ayr

After that we headed back up the road to Dundee. It has been very hot here the last few days and daughter and I did an afternoon walk in Dundee yesterday and baked (it was too hot for photos, we did 4.5 miles or so). We now have a bluetooth splitter so can listen to the same music without inflicting it on anyone else and incorporate jazzhands and elaborate dance moves into our walk. So if you see 2 women on a red-faced silent disco around town that's us. We are over halfway to our target of £1000 for our Kiltwalk now so if you want to sponsor us there is still time - link here. Just about a month to go till the big day...