A Walk Between Kippford and Rockcliffe

 

I manage at least one visit a year to Kippford and Rockcliffe on the Solway shore to walk the lovely path between the two villages. Today Charlie and I timed our visit to start our walk as the tide reached its peak at 10.47am. The sun was shining and there was no wind at all. The sea was like a mill pond.

Most of the yachts have been taken out of the water for the winter so there was very little activity on the water. One man in a small boat with an outboard motor was all we saw.

The only activity on the water was this boat.

A few hundred yards along the shore path is this area where there are lots of interesting little people to be seen.

These three little guys were keeping an eye on us.

Charlie and me beside the Tree voted Tree of the Year in 2021

Lots of nice gardens along the shore walk

Pampas Grass is looking good at this time of the year

This is Robin Rigg Wind Farm in the Solway Firth

This is Hestan Island in the distance. it is accessible by a causeway but only on very low tides at certain times of the year.

The Island in the middle of the photo is Rough Isle which can be reached at low tide via the causeway usually 2 hours each side of low tide. It is not open during bird nesting season in the spring.

Walking back into Kippford on the high route back from Rockcliffe

there are some beautiful houses along this road

The hill in the background is Screel (344m)

The higher path back from Rockcliffe into Kippford

On return to Kippford we decided to sit outside at The Ark Cafe and enjoyed a lovely lunch with the perfect backdrop of the Urr estuary.

A Walk Round Rowanburn

 

Today's Wednesday walk took us up to Rowanburn for a walk round the 2 Nature Reserves and the village streets. We have started many walks in Rowanburn but rarely walked round the village. We included a walk to Rowanburnhead just to increase the distance. Tom caught up with an old friend. 

David, Niall, and Tom in the Barrel Row

This caravan is the perfect spot for a holiday.

In the nature reserve next to the road to Rowanburnhead there are loads of Crab Apple trees, but nobody wants to use the fruit these days. This used to be a coal spoil bing and in my youth 70+ years ago when I lived in Rowanburn it was a great place to play on my bike. There were no trees then. It was over 25 years ago that Rowanburn Amenities Group (RAG) created the nature reserve here and in The Glen at the bottom of the village next to the burn.

The track to Rowanburnhead

Note there are no cars parked on this street as they all park at the back next to the gardens. This was a mining village built in the 1860s. My father started his first job at the age of 14 underground in the Pit in 1919, but he only lasted 6 months as he hated it. 

The start of the Barrel row

One of these houses is no 60 where my father lived before the war.

The second house from the right is no 50 where I lived for 10 years before we moved to Langholm in 1958. It was a great place to live but I was glad to move to Langholm and joined the Boys Brigade in 1958 and that really gave me a great time in my youth.

A Low Level Walk at Meikledale

It's many years since I walked up at Meikledale. Walk 14 from the Langholm Walks Booklet is normally a tough 7 or 9 Mile walk and has not been on my list of popular walks for a long time. However Charlie suggested the start and finish of the walk as a low level 3 mile walk suitable for our regular Thursday walk. It was excellent and brought back many happy memories of days when the tough part of this walk was no problem to me. 

As this area is now being harvested for forestry the contractors have placed a new bridge at Rigfoot.

This takes the heavy vehicles away from the house nearby.

The old road and the new one

The forestry road is a good surface and the scenery is magnificent

This quarry was used to create the road.

At Burngrains there is a new bridge to cross the Meikledale Burn. For those who do not like heights it's a bit formidable and should really have a handrail.

Charlie a bit apprehensive but managed to cross OK

I enjoyed crossing this bridge and if Langholm Walks had created this part of the walk it would have to have a Handrail, but this section is not part of the official walk, just part of our shortened version so not a problem. 

On the way back down the Meikledale Burn there is a Cairn half way up Stibbiegill Knowe and neither Charlie or I know why it was placed there. Maybe somebody can enlighten us.

The nice cottage at Burngrains. The cottages up this valley used to be for Shepherds and their families, but since forestry took over they are no longer required so are sold of for private use.

The Meikledale Burn

A memorial stone at Ewes Hall in memory of the Little Clan

In the field next to the Ewes hall is this stone called Grey Wether Stone. These are large sarsen stones, a type of hard sandstone found scattered across southern England and in fact the big uprights and lintels at Stonehenge. How they came to be in this part of Scotland is unknown. 

A Day on Tarras Valley Nature Reserve

Normally on a Monday morning I drop Gaye of at The Day Centre for her Yoga and then walk round the Pheasant Pens, but this morning I was about to turn left over the Sawmill Bridge when I suddenly decided to go over the hill to walk on the road over the Langholm Moor. It was a glorious morning. It wasn't long before these guys came into view.

This guy crossed the road right in front of me

It looks as if there is not much to see, but this morning I saw 3 Deer, loads of Goats, several Grouse, and a Buzzard all in the space of 45 minutes.

A grand view of the monument in the distance

I was being watched all the time

I was lucky as only a couple of cars came by all the time I was walking on the road. That aeroplane was on its way to London Heathrow from Seattle, which was quite a coincidence as our Fraser was in Seattle last week.

Little Tarras Valley

The Bracken will soon be turning brown. After an hour's minutes walking I was back at The Day Centre to pick up Gaye and it had been a perfect morning for my walk.

After lunch it was still a lovely day so while Gaye was going out for a walk with her friend Adrianne I headed down to Lower Tarras to visit The Ponds. It will be 2 years in November since they were created and what a transformation to the area.

There were Dragonfly's everywhere especially on the first pond and this one was still for a few seconds on a bush beside the seat so I managed to get a photograph of it.

The first pond has different water in it from the second one and as a result there is much more insect life in it. The water in the second pond is from the Merl Well

A new seat provided by Daniel Lacey and I think it was made by his apprentice Mark

The upper pond which has less life it it, but is slowly changing.

Another seat provided by Daniel Lacey making a total of 4 of his at The Ponds now

While I was sitting watching Dragonfly's Jim and Helen Little appeared as they had been a walk on the path created above the ponds where all the trees were felled. It is becoming very popular and they had enjoyed a seat on Tom Stothart's Bench. This walk is about 2 miles circular. I would recommend it and best to go anti-clockwise and climb up the shortest but steepest path first to the right of the ponds and come back via the path to the left of the Ponds and past the seat provided by Langholm Rotary Club.

Another view of the new bench

A side view of the Bench. I enjoyed the hour I spent beside the Ponds and especially watching all the life in the first pond. This could be a perfect time to visit so please make your way there, even if it is just to enjoy a seat on Daniels excellent benches or better still visit Tom Stothart's Bench at the furthermost part of the walk, where you will be glad of a rest.