DAY 114 – GIRVAN TO BALLANTRAE – Walking Scotlands Coast

DAY 114

THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER, 2016

GIRVAN TO BALLANTRAE

13 MILES 6 HOURS

MORRIS, BILL AND PHIL

DISTANCE WALKED SO FAR 1486 MILES

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast we were ready for another day’s coast walk. Last night we enjoyed an excellent meal and a pint or two in our hotel.

It was another lovely day when we set off walking from Girvan on the Ayrshire Coastal Path (ACP). In the lovely sunshine Ailsa Craig, some eight miles out to sea, was a prominent feature which would be with us all day. Initially the ACP routes close to the sea passed Woodland Bay. At Ardwell Bay it crosses the A77 and climbs the hillside above Ardwell farm. The route continues along the hillside below Pinbain Hill before crossing the road again near Slockenray to the sea edge for the walk into Lendalfoot. We walked out of Lendalfoot stopping to view the Russian Varyag ship memorial then passed the caravan site where we had to walk for a distance at the edge of the busy road. Just south of the caravan park we parted company with the ACP and made our way down to the sea edge to view Sawny Bean’s cave. The tide was in and we had difficulty getting close to the cave and continued south as close to the sea as was possible. At times the challenging rocky terrain required hands on scrambling. At Bennane Head we joined the disused road for a short distance then walked on the beach into Ballantrae where we enjoyed a much needed pint in the local hotel before catching the bus back to Girvan.

Summary; A nice if not very interesting walk. Very easy if you stick to the ACP.

Highs; The more challenging stretch from Sawny Bean’s cave made it more interesting ….no particular highlights.

Lows; None really.

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