Distance: 10 miles / 16.1 km
Date: Sunday 31st May 2009
Weather Conditions: Warm & sunny, clear skies
Temperature: 25 C
Ordnance Survey Map: Landranger 70 (Ayr, Kilmarnock & Troon)
Guidebook: Pathfinder Guide - Glasgow, the Clyde Valley, Ayrshire and Arran (Jarrold Publishing, 2007)
Critique:
Oh my! Instructions on this walk are diabolical, in places the instructions are just plain wrong! This is a very long walk and in fact really this should be split into 2 walks as a good section of the walk is through the town of Alloway which has nothing in that particular section of that walk of note, so it is far better to split the walk to miss this part out.
Taking this action would also prevent another problem from happening. The car park used in this walk closes at 5.30pm irrespective of the day or the time of year, so there is a very strong chance you could return from your walk unable to retrieve your car! I moved my car to the second Carpark noted on the map in the book, next to the beach near Longhill point. My recommendation is that you do the short version of the walk around the Burns sites in Alloway and then move your car to the beach and continue the walk from there.
OK - now for the walk - on leaving the car par you are instructed after having looked at the Burns Cottage to 'return to the car park and just beyond it turn left onto a paved path at a footpath sign to Auld Kirk and Auld Brig' - what they fail to tell you is that you need to cross the road opposite the carpark and that you need to look very hard for the sign post as it is completely covered by a hedge. The next flaw also involves the fact that the book does not tell you that you have to cross a road to get to the Tam O' Shanter Museum. Finally the worst sin of all...... the section of the walk between points B & C are wrong. The instructions in the book say 'The path later climbs to rejoin the track WHICH BEARS RIGHT and continues to a road' Ignore this instruction completely as you will find yourself double-backing on yourself. You need to bear LEFT!!!!!
The flaw in the second part of the walk near the beach is that it is not made completely clear that there is no pathway and that you are just expected to walk along the beach itself. Once you know this, you are fine, but you can waste time following small paths just above the beach that don't necessarily lead you in the direction that you need to go. Be aware that you will need footwear suitable for walking in sand, unless you want blisters....
Despite the terrible instructions, the two walks themselves are very interesting, and in good weather they pretty spectacular.
Some good tips there! I once had the unpleasant experience of returning to my car to find the car park had shut - what a nightmare.
Posted by: Above and Beyond | June 11, 2009 at 02:13 PM