My Favourite Walk from Rockcliffe to Kippford

 

Our cottage in Rockcliffe from the public path going past it

A nice stream I have to cross on the way back to the cottage

A private pier and the causeway to Rough Island 

The Tree of the Year as voted by The Woodland Trust in 2021. It is about 65 years old

Myself at The Tree of the Year

Another view of the Tree of the Year with the beach in front of it made up entirely of shells

This Robin followed me all the way along the coastal path

The only people I met on my walk were these Little People

It was low tide but I will do the same walk later this week at high tide

Eaglets feeding in the Urr estuary

There were loads of Crab Apples on the upper path to Kippford.

A Long Awaited Visit to Kippford and Rockcliffe

A long time ago I promised I would take our friends Mark & Leila Hallam to my favourite walk in Dumfries & Galloway along the shore from Kippford to Rockcliffe so today I managed to keep my promise. We left Langholm at 9.00am on a beautiful autumn morning and with high tide set for noon at Kippford we couldn't have picked a better day. Only disappointment was not being able to walk the causway to Rough Island, but that can be an excuse for another visit in the future. 

This is about 10.30am and 90 minutes before high tide

This old Scots Pine is near the car park just as you enter Kippford

This old boat is very photogenic on a high tide.

Some lovely Lillies in one of the local gardens.

The Urr estuary from the high road above the houses

The path from Rockcliffe to Kippford

Rockcliffe beach and the tide coming in, but it was not a very high tide today

A slipway near Rockcliffe

Mark and myself photographed in front of the Tree of the Year in the UK voted by a national newspaper in December 2021. I am disappointed that there is no sign up giving the story of how it was the winner of this award in 2021. 

The Tree of the Year in 2021 and 7th in Europe at the same time.

Mark, Leila, and their lovely dog Henry in front of the famous shell beach in Kippford

Henry has never seen a beach quite like this

Almost high tide

A garden Thistle. We finished our visit after a 4 mile walk with a lovely lunch in the Anchor Hotel

 

A Welsh Get Together at Kippford

 On Wednesday we travelled to Barend Holiday Chalets to meet up with Doreen and Norman Southwell our friends from South Wales. They book a chalet there almost every year, but this may be the last time there as the journey north is now very tiring. This is the view from the balcony of their chalet. We usually go for a long walk when we are there with them but Norman had a bad back and I had problems with my achilles tendon. A sign we are all getting old. Tom as the oldest was in fine fettle and managed to enjoy  the day including drinking red wine plus several other drinks. He has much more stamina than Norman and myself.

It was a beautiful day so we headed down to Kippford for a drink at the Anchor and then a very short walk along the path beside the Urr estuary. Finlay the Golden Labrador is now 13 years old and very slow, but well looked after and a very happy dog. 

Tom with Doreen, Gaye and Norman.

Gaye and Doreen were friends and neighbours from their time in Dalbeattie and then after we were married Doreen came over for a Langholm Rugby Club weekend at the time Bryn Wanderers from South Wales were visiting LRFC and she met Norman. The rest as they say is history as she eventually married him and moved to Wales to live. 

While the men went a short walk along the shore Doreen and Gaye enjoyed a seat in the sun shelter looking onto the estuary and an out-going tide. 

Looking up the Urr estuary

Screel in the distance

Looking down the estuary to Rough island which you can walk to when the tide is out as there is a causeway. It is a spectacular walk that I have done many times over the 50+ years I have been visiting Kippford. 

A large Gnome looking at many other small Gnomes

Three old men who have been friends for many years 

After we had a very nice lunch back at Barend, Gaye and Doreen went to see Gaye's cousin Dora who was 80 that day. A most enjoyable day in good company and excellent weather. 

A Kippford to Rockcliffe Walk with the Southwells

 

We had arranged to meet our friends Doreen and Norman from South Wales at their chalet at Barend near Sandyhills where they are staying for 2 weeks together with their daughter and son in law. The weather forecast was awful but we decided we would still try and get a walk from Kippford to Rockcliffe and back. After we had coffee at the chalet we set out for the walk dressed for wet weather. We were soon casting off various items as it was dry, warm, and muggy, but a perfect walk. We left Gaye and Doreen back at the Chalet to catch up with all the news while Tom and I joined Norman and family for the 4 mile walk. This is the road above Kippford on our way back to the village.  

Rockcliffe at high tide but on a very quiet day

The Ice Cream van is always there and Milo waited patiently for his ice cream.

Norman with daughter Lindsay and her husband Jon

Tom and I have been friends with Norman since the days when he came to Langholm to play rugby for Bryn Wanderers against Langholm 2nds in the mid 70s. Tom used to play against him. He met Gaye's friend Doreen from Dalbeattie who was staying with us and the rest as they say is history.

We had great entertainment watching a couple blow up an inflatable Canoe at Rockcliffe.

When they eventually launched it we all gave them a round of applause

After our meal back at the Chalet this photo was taken by Jon. I will never complain about youngsters spending so much time on their mobiles again.

The Tree of the Year 2021 at Kippford

High Tide at Kippford

The party of walkers, Norman, Lindsay, Jon, and Tom

All 7 of us taken after dinner at the Chalet in Barend. A most enjoyable day in good company.

A Day in Kippford

On Sunday we decided at short notice to have a day out at Kippford as it had been a hectic and difficult week for both Gaye and myself with several friends going down with Covid and also my busy schedule at The Buccleuch Centre. This would be an ideal tonic so we headed off at 9.00am which of course was the old 8.00am before the clocks changed. We parked up in the main car park in Kippford and walked along the sea front and soon came upon this Blossom that was spectacular.

The tide was on its way out so it was just perfect for us to walk the causeway to Rough island in about an hour after our arrival.

This is the UK Tree of the year.

The Causeway to Rough Island. It was a wee bit muddy in places on the way out but much better on the way back. We enjoyed a wee picnic on the shore at Rough Island.

I have admired this tree for many years and am so pleased it has been give the accolade it so deserves.

On our way home we took a short detour to Southerness and stopped at the roadside to take a photo of this herd of Cattle enjoying paddling in a flooded field. We did not enjoy Southerness as its has become quite grubby and is obviously a downmarket caravan site now which is not in keeping with the rest of the area. 

One of the lovely boats moored at Kippford. It was a perfect day except for the fact we could not have lunch at The Anchor in Kippford as they were fully booked for Mothers Day lunches despite the fact when we were there at 12.30pm it was still quiet but as we were leaving it got much busier. We just had a Coffee and a packet of crisps each and then Fish and Chips when we got home.